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PROFILING RICARDO ROMERO OF MAMBO JUMBO
Ricardo from a very popular band here in Salt Lake City has given us the opportunity to
interview him. He tells us what is like to be part of band, play the beautiful rhythms
that we love to dance to.
Latin percussionist, drummer and studio musician. He has been playing professionally for more
than twenty years in the scene inside and outside of Utah. He now comes under our Profiles with
an unbelievable humbleness and originality. Ricardo, the leader of Mambo Jumbo.
Can you give us a bit about yourself?
Hi there, my name is Ricardo Romero..... hummm... Native from Utah - Born and Raise let's just say!
Studied Afro-Cuban, Puerto Rican, and a little bit of Dominican for quite some time. My marital
status at the moment is single and... of course... I am the leader of Mambo Jumbo Band.
What is exactly that you do as a leader of Mambo Jumbo?
Well, I do most of the in-town bookings really. My agent Susan does a lot of the bigger bookings,
and engagements. Regarding music when we play, I am a "Conguero" and I also switch
to "Timbales" and to the drum set - I am also what they call a "Bongosero" - I play
tambora and all the hand percussion in the band.
What does Mambo Jumbo mean, where did it come from?
Well, first you have to understand the word Mambo. Where Mambo is really a section of
a song, it's a beat, a series of beats that make a rhythm. The name of Mambo Jumbo came
from when we were going through a phase of switching names and from a series of names a while
back... four or five years ago. We started with the name "Latin Jazz". And it really came as
a meaning from PLAYING BIG MAMBO RHYTHM, so we incorporated the word "Jumbo" which means big. So
we stuck with the name.
Who is part of Mambo Jumbo?
Huuu... There has been a couple of people that have been coming in and out of the band for the
past years. But the people that have been with me the longest would be Carlos Arroyo, he takes
care of a lot of things like the website, he takes care of a lot of the P.A. - He is the sound
tech guy. Lee Thomason has been with me for a couple of years, Ryan Sheppard the trombone
player, and right now I have a piano player name Jeff, my bass player is Ben Johnson. Lee plays
the trumpets by the way. Then I have three guys up front from Venezuela - My lead vocal is
Carlos Garcia, my other lead vocal and background vocal is Jose Reyes and I also have another
vocal who comes with us occasionally, his name is Santos.
You probably have a lot of fun hu? Describe the attitudes of your group
Well, we like to EAT a lot... hehehahahehehee... I am the shy one in the band believe it or not.
I am the serious one too. We all have some pretty interesting characters. I mean, I work with
some class-act people... you know? I've hand picked a lot of these guys because of the attitudes
they have. They are great to work with, they are all good "sight-readers" - In fact, we are about
to release our new CD, which is going to be 85% Original. I love to work with these guys, they
understand the musical concept I am going for, they know how to read me, they know different
styles... And I like it that we all make Mambo Jumbo not just a Salsa or Merengue, but all types
of rhythms too. That's all I can say really about the guys, it's a lot of fun, we joke, we have
fun on stage, we get serious... it's like a household, and that's because we spend a lot of time
with each other, either rehearsing, learning new material... just having a great time. But for
the most part Mambo Jumbo Swings, Mambo Jumbo can play Descarga Salsa Dura... all sorts of
rhythms.
How long has Mambo Jumbo been around?
It's been around for... oh I would say almost 4 years. But prior to Mambo Jumbo was about
four of the same guys, it was a Latin Jazz band. We didn't have a name for the group back then
but people called us Caribbean Latin Jazz. And at one point we wanted to do more Salsa, Merengue,
Cumbia, you know... music from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and my favorite place
Cuba.
Did Mambo Jumbo go through any bad experiences in the past?
Well, there is always little bad experiences... specially when you feel like family. I mean, it's
like having 8 or 9 brothers, so there is always going to be some disagreements. But we agree that
we disagree, and we go on. When we get on stage, we let all that bull$#@! go, and we take care
of business.
Have you guys played outside the state?
Yes we have, but we would like to more often... You know? Our main objectives is to keep
busy, keep working, play on the clubs we really like to play like Mambo Club,
Caribbean Nights. We've had good opportunities in the past. I remember that four of us
had the opportunity to do the closing
ceremony at the Olympics for Gloria Estefan, we did open for Fulanito, we opened up for Dave
Mathews. Usually most of the people call us within the state, whitin Salt Lake City because
here not a lot of people can afford to bring people from outside of Utah.
Right now we got our hands in San Diego California. We are trying to focus there at the moment. We
have done the Pacific Bell Company in Los Angeles, we also played at the Pacific Bell Park in San
Francisco, we have been in Las Vegas. Right now our focus is Los Angeles, and San Diego at the
moment.
I know that all the people here in Salt Lake City support the Salsa Scene, and I would like to
see that happen a lot more too. I mean, we go honest when we play, and I think people appreciate
that when we do it that way.
Do you compose or who composes in the group?
Well, I think there is 9 Arrangers in Mambo Jumbo right now. The people who write the charts
seriously have been a combination of different guys in Mambo Jumbo.
Do you believe you contributed to the Salsa Scene here in Utah?
Yes, I would say so. The focus that I tried to put in Salt Lake City about Latin Bands has been
very extensive. That is because in the past, people who look at Salt Lake City, they look at
it with a bad sight, they have a bad look at the area. That's why I started Mambo Jumbo, to put
a quality band here in Salt Lake City, to give back the gift of Music - the universal language. I
know I am not fluent in Spanish, but I am pretty good in a world language, which is music. I like
to think that I understand the music language very good... My focus is to have people look at
Salt Lake City and see a rich Latin Community and have a good perspective of Utah. It's good
to represent our cultures here in Utah.
What do you prefer play the most, Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue?
Salsa is just something that will NEVER GO. Merengue the same thing. It's like apples and oranges,
but if I were to pick, I would say Salsa. I love to play Salsa! - It caters more to the
instruments that I play. We are still growing in some rhythms you know? I mean, some of my
favorite ones are Bomba, Plena, Son, Guaguanco, Rumba... but Salsa and Mambo is what I
like the best, but I also like music from different music. Joropo from Venezuela, I love
Brazilian music. I mean, we just want to play so many more rhythms.
If you had the chance to change anything on the group what would it be?
At the moment, I wouldn't change anything on the group, just keep improving upon it. Mambo Jumbo
is pretty strong right now. Personal wise, I love Mambo Jumbo, I like the way it's going.
What do you expect from the Scene in Utah?
Huuum... Well, everything changes. I know it will change here in Salt Lake City even more. I've
seen it grow a lot so far, and hopefully it grows even bigger. I like Salt Lake and all, but
something that I want to do is move somewhere else in the Nation. But I do expect the scene
to grow in Utah.
What do you think people need to know about Mambo Jumbo?
What I would hope they would understand, is that when they see us... they might see us serious
on stage, or a bit distracted, or smiling... or... whatever their interpretation of Mambo Jumbo
is. I would like the people here in Salt Lake City to know that every time we play, we play
from the heart, we go out and try to do the best possible for our community, and I would like
for the community to give us that respect, NOT just us, but our culture, give the respect
to everyone here.
Do you have any future plans?
Personally, I would love to do something bigger and better with Mambo Jumbo. Just keep busy,
do what we want to do. Take care of more businesses in the future. I love what I do, so I would
like to see myself kick @$$ at what I do in the future.
Have you seen UTAHSALSA.COM, what do you think about it?
I get emails from you guys a lot. I like that it is informative, something that I would like to
see in the site is for people to be more open, more honest, work together to get better here
in Utah. I would like to see people to support the Scene more... there have never been so
many Latin clubs, dancers in the state, so use this tool to support that.
Anything else that you would like to say to people?
I would like to greet everyone out there, people that come and dances with me all the time. Work
together, and keep the scene alive and growing, sometimes the community falls into the "she said",
"he said" bull$#@!*!, just treat people good and be honest. Keep a good positive attitude, and
change all that bad influences.
Guys, support the Salsa scene here in Utah, come check us out sometime!
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