Cerronato

Cerronato

De Músico, Poeta, y Loco... Cerronato takes its inspiration from the Vallenato tradition of coastal Colombia, but that's not necessary knowledge to bask in the joy of De Músico, Poeta, y Loco... All you really need is an able body to keep pace with the earthy caja and guacharaca rhythms and the laughing accordion. Interspersing various Vallenato approaches with cumbia, the local quintet's debut sweeps listeners onto their feet like a faith healer at a revival. Like the música Vallenato tradition from which it borrows, De Músico, Poeta, y Loco... has a celebratory, live-in-the-present attitude. "Ta' Pilla'o," playfully sung by Javier Palacios, talks of an errant lover caught in the act, while "No Llores Negra" pleas with a lovely stranger to forget her troubles. Themes center on the little dramas of everyday life, but the music is more complex. Rhythms veer like roller-coaster cars, sudden harmonic clashes and frisky vocals tickling and teasing throughout. This is not background music. This is music to live out loud to -- by the hands of Mike Maddux (accordion), Brad Taylor (bass), and vocalists/percussionists Rita Ricardo and Clemencia Zapata. Maddux is tireless on the squeezebox, and Ricardo's vocal range is up to the challenge of the loopy "Cumbia de los Locos" and the merlot-rich "El Mejoral." Not seeking native Vallenato music any time soon? Not to worry. Cerronato brings a bit of Colombia y más to their delightful, highly expressive first album.