Vancouver Impressions: Pinoy-Led Latin Band Makes Waves
by Mel Tobias (Planet Philippines)

Raphael (Rabbie) Geronimo, British Columbia’s leading percussionist and leader of the popular Latin band RUMBA CALZADA, recently released his 4th CD. It’s simply titled Rumba Calzada Album 4. There are 10 original songs with seven composed by Rabbie, who is no longer referred to as Boying Geronimo’s talented young son. If you recall, Boying was an accomplished and well-known musician and dancer both in the Philippines and Canada. He suffered a heart attack while performing at a leading Makati hotel in Manila. He died in June 1985.

Rabbie eventually got the band together again and added new talents. It took several years and a couple of CDs to establish Rabbie’s musical reputation. Rumba Calzada now leads in the neuvo fusion Latin music movement and picked up a few award nominations along the way.

Album 4 is a fitting follow-up to Rabbie Geronimo’s acclaimed Generations album, released in 1997. The latest Rumba Calzada sound can be aptly described as a Latin jazz album with the combined rhythms/elements/style of Salsa, Bomba, Guajira, Cumbia, Mambo to Afro. The contagious sound is novel, contemporary, distinctive and perfect for either passive listening or active dancing. It is apparent that Rabbie’s musical career will flourish because he is determined to evolve, grow, mature and experiment. He now creates his kind of music for today’s global urban generation.

What exudes in this well-executed album is a homogenous feeling which joins all the different performances of the talented band members on piano, trombone, trumpet, and saxophone. Rabbie can be heard singing and playing timbales, drums, congas, bongos and Guiro on several tracks. The titles of the tracks such as Bomba de San Anton, Rapid Mambo, Afro Spirit and Bongo Thing evoke fiery moods.