Los Hombres Calientes

Is there a relationship between New Orleans second line and samba? Are there any similarities between New Orleans music and Afro Cuban music were a few of the many questions that young Irvin Mayfield and others asked when they first stepped into the institute.

The training process was arduous and time consuming. Unlike the popular opinion, the world of percussion is by far the most demanding and

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oldest of all forms of music. Let’s face it, without rhythm melody would be no more and life would cease to exist.

This process and the implementation of its rules over decades of trial and error. How can a few musicians, whose limited musical experience limits them, over come this huge hurdle of digesting the main ingredients of the Diaspora.

Hundreds of hours if not thousands of hours were spent training the bassists, pianists, drummers, vocalists and horn players who have graced the stage with Los Hombres.

The first Hombres project had a budget of 16k. Which did not cover the total cost of producing the record. Summers Multi Ethnic Institute of Arts subsidized the effort and our in home studio set the stage for what was to come.

The rhythm section came in first. Victor Atkins, David Pulphus and Jason Marsalis were given a crash course on Son, Guaracha, Samba, Iyesa, Abakua, Palo, Makuta, Yuka, Merengue, Rumba, 3/2 and 2/3 clave. This was not easy but we pulled it off. There were errors made and clave was crossed many times but the end result was something that all seemed to appreciate.

After recording the rhythm section I called in Irvin who merely had to dance over the top of this bed of rhythms. The process of overdubbing the trumpet was the least strenuous. After this was accomplished I was left alone to complete the production while they all went back to their daily lives.

I worked the tracks for 2 weeks stacking congas, bells, clave, bata, tambores, shekere, guataca, timbales, surdo, pandeiro, guiro, agogo, repique and vocals on various tracks.
Producing, engineering and performing simultaneously I achieved my goal and it turned into gold. That first effort put Los Hombres on the map and launched an unknown recording label to all time heights.

No members of Los hombres, with the exception of myself, had been a part of a major award-winning project. The group eventually won Billboard Latin jazz Album of the year 2001. Within the next few years the group found itself nominated again for the Billboard Latin project of the year and a Grammy nomination.