For his second Leeds Jazz Festival 2025 show, Leeds world music/global beats boss promoter Lubi Jovanovic is bringing the mambo and salsa fire to Belgrave Music Hall on Friday 23rd May. Live on stage, top 12 piece mambo/Afro-Cuban jazz/salsa ensemble Orchestra Mambo International. If you love the music of Latin legends Tito Puente, Ray Barretto and Eddie Palmieri, you will love this band.
Orchestra Mambo International is a 12 piece UK ensemble founded and co-led by DJ Lubi and salsa/Latin jazz trombonist Jonny Enright (Grupo X). They play classic salsa, mambo, Afro-Cuban jazz and cha cha cha inspired by Latin music legends like Tito Puente, Machito, Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barretto, Tito Rodriguez and the Fania All Stars. They feature musicians and singers from Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Spain, Brazil, DR Congo and the UK who are based across the country - London, Yorkshire, Manchester, Lincoln and Scotland.
They released two successful singles in 2024, ‘Mambo Te Llama’ and ‘Baila Mi Cha Cha’, through UK analogue music label ATA Records, These had huge radio support worldwide from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Huey Morgan, Craig Charles, Jamz Supernova, Cerys Matthew (BBC 6 Music), Jamie Cullum (BBC Radio 2), Soweto Kinch (BBC Radio 3), Tony Minvielle, Helen Mayhew, Chris Philips, Jez Nelson (Jazz FM), Coco Maria (NTS), Bandcamp Radio and World Salsa Radio (LA). In December 2024, they were invited by Cerys Matthews to play a "Live At Maida Vale" session for her Christmas show. They are releasing their third single "Mi Mambo" at this show.
They've played great live shows at Blues Kitchen Manchester, Brudenell Social Club Leeds, The Forge Camden, MusicPort Festival, Band On The Wall Manchester, Halifax Piece Hall, 229 The Venue London and Howard Assembly Room Leeds. They've just been announced at Glastonbury Festival 2025 where they are playing the GlastoLatino stage. Tonight, they make their Leeds Jazz Festival debut with top London salsa singer Nana Clara joining them onstage to perform the songs of Cuban salsa legend Celia Cruz.
Special guest DJ for the show is international salsa superstar Gia Fu from Hong Kong. Host of the best salsa/mambo party in China, Canton Mambo in Hong Kong, she is fanatical vinyl collector of Latin music - salsa, mambo, Latin jazz, Latin bugalu - and her sessions for My Analogue Journal are very highly respected. She DJs regularly in the USA, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico as well as in Europe and Asia. She also produced/released music including her Chinese/mambo fusion track "Canton Mambo". This is her first ever show outside London.
The band's friends from Sabroso Dance Company of Leeds, the north's premier mambo dance company, will be performing a show and jamming with the band, as they've done at shows throughout 2024. DJ Lubi will be spinning classic salsa and mambo before, between and after two live sets by the band until the early hours of the morning. A great finale for the big summer salsa and mambo party in Leeds.
Doors 8pm. Live sets 9pm and 10.15pm. Mambo dance show 12 midnight. Salsa/Latin DJ clubnight 11pm-2am.
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