OTRA is one hot latin jazz dance band that I saw performing at the Blue Nile in New Orleans. I met Sam Price, the bassist, when I was drawing him performing with another group at a club on Bourbon Street. “You’ve got to come to Frenchman Street and draw!” he said, and drew me a map to get there the following evening to see his own band perform. Frenchman Street is very cool, Sam was right; a small winding street with little jazz clubs interspersed with pink and blue shotgun houses and magnolia trees. On a warm spring night the air smells like honeysuckle and the people and music spill out of the tiny clubs on to the street. So I went to the Blue Nile and saw Sam’s band Otra – they were HOT! Sam gave me one of their CD’s, I’ll give you the description from the liner notes and let them describe their music: “The backbone of OTRA is no doubt the fire-hot, hip shaking beats oozing out of percussionists Humberto ‘Pupi’ Menes and the always smiling Cristobal ‘El Canon’ on timbales. Together the soaring horns, propulsive grooves, and shake that a** sound make OTRA an unbeatable combination.” – Indeed! If you want to dance to some a** shaking sound like the crowd at the Blue Nile (see drawing above and below!) then check out their sound at www.otramusic.com – it lives up to their description!! - Veronica

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