reviews

The Daily News - * Critic's * Choice *
By David Hinkley

It's not uncommon for a band that starts somewhere in the jazz idiom to poke around and find music from other styles that it then incorporates into its own sound.So the premise of Ritmojunction won't come as any surprise to jazz fans. But the way they carry it out on their self-titled debut CD (CaeSar) is worth the attention of fans from all over the spectrum, with a strong shot of Cuban and Latin rhythms built on bebop and other more traditional jazz roots.

Ritmojunction is a trio out of Washington DC, and they salute the town in tunes like "G'town Groove" and "18th Street Cha Cha." They fill out their sound on the record with what at times sounds like most of an orchestra, with nice guest solos by David Sanchez ("Sparks on the Beach") and Dave Valentin ("El Mambo Filo"), among others.