Rebel Tumbao: Bob Marley Inna Latin Vibration Debuts at Berklee July 6

June 15, 2006

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	Rebel Tumbao
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With Rebel Tumbao, Matt Jenson has created something entirely new. Bob Marley's music is set to pianist/arranger Jenson's brilliant Afro-Cuban arrangements and played by a 10-piece band. "Perhaps my two biggest musical loves are reggae, but specifically Bob Marley, and more traditional Afro-Cuban styles," says Jenson. "This project is the result of my years of work in both genres and is a truly inspired and original merging of the depths of both styles, while bringing this concept to the 21st century with subtle use of electronic textures and sampling. Bob Marley was very intent on 'freeing the people with music.' So are we!"

Rebel Tumbao's lineup includes Berklee Assistant Professor Ernesto Diaz (congas); students Scott Flynn (trombone) and Shanise Brown (vocals); alumni Alex Alvear (bass, vocals), Squantch (trombone), and Regina Daniels (vocals); and Manolo Miarena (bongo, vocals) and Toussaint Yeshua (lead vocals).

The group also features Jose Claussell, timbalero for Latin music legend Eddie Palmieri. Says Claussell, "We're talking about a great artist, and to do something that's quasi, that doesn't come from the soul, would be sacrilege. We have great music, and Matt created these arrangements through a spiritual muse. That's what's going to transpire on stage." Jenson met Claussell while studying with Palmieri at a Latin jazz camp in Vermont, and the two developed a friendship that evolved into the formation of the group. Jenson saw Claussell perform a few years before they met and knew he wanted to play with the musician. Says Jenson, "His intensity and humility are a combination that is totally enticing. He's a timbalero who uses space and really speaks on this instrument. He also deeply understands, and is helping develop, what I'm going for with this project."

Rebel Tumbao 'tumbao' is the Spanish slang word for 'groove'- takes some of Marley's best and least known works, leaves the vocal treatments as they appeared in the original (in English), and adds engaging coro/soneo sections and some kicking mambos as well. While the vast world of Latin music and the vast world of reggae and Bob Marley have been around for quite some time, what's new and exciting is the reworking of these energies with vision and purpose. Says Jenson, "Ultimately, that's what this project is all about: the merging of the Sun of Bob Marley with the Sun of Latin music...Sun energy, positive vibration, enlightened and truthful."

Matt Jenson also leads his group The Acid Reggae Xperience, an experimental reggae/dub/neo-soul band which performs occasionally in Boston. His only full-length recording to date is entitled This Is Acid Reggae: One Drops, Spirituals and Riddim. Jenson teaches the popular Music and Life of Bob Marley performance studies class at Berklee. 

Rebel Tumbao will also be performing at the Montreal International Reggae Festival, July 15, and the Vermont Roots Reggae Festival, August 12. Please visit www.rebeltumbao.com or www.acidreggae.com for more information.

For editorial information or digital photos, the media may contact:

Margot Edwards
Office of Public Information
medwards@berklee.edu
(617) 747-2004