Mario Calire: Press

Concert Review - August 10, 2007

Party disguised as concert gets crowd moving

By Charles R. Cross
Special to The Seattle Times

Ozomatli hit the stage with "Dos Cosas," and this lively stew of funk, salsa and world beat had the crowd up and moving. This band switches genres, languages and singers quickly but the real powerhouse is drummer Mario Calire. Even rapper Jabu Smith-Freeman acknowledged this before "City of Angels" when he said, "I let the beat talk." Though Ozomatli tore through eight songs in a 45-minute set, it felt like they were just getting started when they ended.

Ozomatli - Live At The Fillmore - Concord/New Note

This double-disc pack (CD-DVD) features the band's live performance at the renowned San Franciscan venue. Ozomatli, very evidently a multi-racial crew, have been together for nearly ten years and whilst watching the DVD or listening to the CD you begin to see how such a mad, crazy bunch of musicians, chop and fuse almost every conceivable musical genre, particularly Latin music and hip-hop into their wild set. Percussionists Jiro Yamaguchi and Justin Poree sit square on to drummer Mario Calire's crisp drums, creating a solid foundation for the MC's and other musicians to ply their trademark musical mayhem. Calire was last heard of in The Wallflowers, so Ozomatli is a major change of direction for him and he handles it all with acute deftness of touch, never getting in the way of the percussionists, or fellow band members. Throw in a turntablist and bass player Wil-Dog Abers, who firmly knows where the 'one' is at all times and the fun begins to take a hold upon your very soul.
The band veers through 'Believe', '(Who Discovered) America?', 'Saturday Night' and 'Como Ves', taken from their recent Grammy-winning "Street Signs" record and a bunch of catalogue tunes, making this double pack a sensational listen and visual treat all in one.
I'd heard of the band, but after watching this DVD and listening to their incredible fun-packed music, this only makes me want to go and see them and sample for myself their sheer joy at making music together. If your life is quiet and meaningless, buy this set and get a whole new lease of life courtesy of Ozomatli. Sensational.
* * * * * (5 stars)

OZOMATLI - Live At The Fillmore
Concord

Music: If you've never been to an Ozomatli show, consider your life to be vastly incomplete. To fill in this gap a bit, purchase this album and absorb the super-spicy tunes that are guaranteed to move you. If the catchy, cruising beats of "Believe", "Saturday Night", and "(Who DIscovered) America?" don't get you moving, the intense Latin rhythms of "Chango" and "Como Ves" certainly will. The high-powered closer, "La Misma Cancion", reveals only a hint of the energy that makes an Ozomatli show a surreal experience.

Drumming: Mario Calire is a far better drummer than the one Wallflowers fans saw years ago when a steady beat was mandatory. On "Chango" he shows off some wicked cascara and tom action that meshes tightly with percussionists Jiro Yamaguchi and Justin Poree.

Verdict: Even if you're completely devoid of any rhythm whatsoever, this album will move you. Get your dancing shoes.

Ozomatli
Street Signs
Mario Calire
Media Type: CD
RATING: 8





Fusing funk with Latin rhythms, and a jazz sensibility with hip-hop, Ozomatli’s latest album is a grooving festival for the ears. The group’s seamless mix of traditional and urban feels is one that few others can duplicate honestly. This an album is loaded with catchy melodies over pulsating drums (MARIO CALIRE) and percussion (JUSTIN “EL NIÑO” PORÉE, JIRO YAMAGUCHI) that are always deep in the pocket. And while each song has a different emphasis, the band never looses its identity. If you haven’t heard Ozomatli yet, check them out. Before long you’ll be grabbing your sticks to play along.

Martin Patmos

Ozomatli CARLING ACADEMY, BRISTOL (MON 22 AUG) OK - I know a reviewer should be objective but I must declare an interest: I have seen Ozomatli maybe eleven times and I'm convinced that they are the quintessential embodiment of the reason why music has always been a life force. The band firmly believes that by giving their soul to performance then the souls of all present will be enlightened and enlivened into a state of higher bliss. And, personally, I think they've got it right. I expounded this theory to various members of the band later in the night as we melted into the floor of the Star & Garter and I have to report that they didn't argue (though they did move away slowly, smiling all the while). Respect Wil-Dog, respect Ulysses! Hopefully you'll get the sick off your shoes... The gig proper started with Babyhead, whose hyper-ska and hip-hoppery was a perfect warm-up for the main band. Boasting one of the best moving brass sections in the West, the 12-piece line-up delivered an energizing set that the dense crowd really appreciated, but even they would concede the Big Moment to Ozomatli, taking the stage and creating a solid good time groove of Latin/hip-hop fusions that hit the spot over and over again. The 10-piece band appeared to a big roar from a highly expectant crowd that never subsided until they finally left the foyer. Asked for 'fists in the air', the mob obliged, and though it had a Nuremberg ring to it, I couldn't help but grin at the mutuality of the moment. They moved on to an Indian vocal groove and if the tabla playing was more like timbales and the drumming was pure hip-hop... whatever. We loved it, even if it was George Harrison-lite. They went from Mariachi to Mambo, but the grooves were never knowingly overloaded, and even an improvised 'Give Peace A Chance' was fine. This was a gig where, if you caught anyone's eye, they smiled at you. What more do you need to know? F*cking brilliant. (Tony Benjamin)



Julian Owen
Music Editor
Venue Magazine
64-65 North Rd
St Andrews
Bristol BS6 5AQ

10 reasons why Ozomatli wins the battle of the bands
R e v i e w
By Dan Nailen
The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune


The Grammy-winning Los Angeles band Ozomatli produces a mishmash of sound befitting a group whose members are of Mexican, Jewish, Japanese and Creole-Choctaw Indian descent.
The indefinable but mesmerizing sound incorporates traditional Latin music, world-beat, hip-hop, funk and rock, with instruments as varied as bongos, clarinets and accordions along with traditional rock tools such as electric guitars and bass. Wednesday, the 10-man collective took over The Velvet Room for two hours of groove-tastic singing and dancing, proving once again that Ozomatli is one of the best live music acts around, regardless of genre.
Here are 10 reasons Wednesday's Ozomatli show was better than the last concert you went to:
1) The insistent blast of horns on "Dos Cosas Ciertas" is not only a perfect song-opener, but an ideal show-opener as well, with the trumpets, saxophones and trombones kicking the audience Wednesday into high gear.
2) Asdru Sierra, the band's stocky trumpet player and primary vocalist, has one of the prettiest voices to come from a tough-looking dude, whether delivering an older Ozomatli track like "Cumbia de los Muertos" or "Believe" from "Street Signs," which won this year's Grammy for Best Latin Rock Album.
3) "Vocal Artillery," the set's third song, is a massive singalong for fans at every show and gives the two MCs, Jabu and Justin Poree, a chance to shine early. It's a classic hip-hop approach, the call-and-response, and works perfectly on Ozo's audiences.
4) The dynamic duo of guitarist/singer Raul Pacheco and bassist Wil-Dog Abers have been playing together for so long that the two sunglass-wearing, shaved-head guys at center stage have some hilarious dance moves down pat. You never get bored watching those two.
5) Horns, horns, horns! Horns are rarely a bad choice for a band, and Sierra's trumpet, Ulises Bella's saxophone and Sheffer Burton's trombone give Ozomatli's music a soulful backbone on songs like "Eva" or the hyperspeed "Chango," two of Wednesday's highlights.
6) MC Jabu used the chance to freestyle rhymes in one song to bust a few lines from the theme for '80s hip-hop flick "Beat Street." That's old-school, folks.
7) Ozomatli's latest in a long line of drummers, Mario Calire, has more funk than any former member of The Wallflowers has a right to.
8) "Como Ves," the first song on Ozomatli's first, self-titled album, is one of the most addictive songs in the band's catalog and a regular at any Ozo show. It was a worthy lead-in to the encore.
9) DJ Spinobi, the group's low-key turntablist, adds just the right colors from his spot in the back of the stage.
10) Ozomatli ends each of its shows by joining the crowd on the dance floor, instruments in hand, for a quick drum circle and parade around the room, sealing the sense of community built throughout a show. And who isn't happy going home late after a rousing round of the "Hokey-Pokey”?