''Funky Jibaro'' is an album by the Puerto Rican musician Yomo Toro. Released in 1988, it was his first widely distributed album.

Production

''Funky Jibaro'' was produced by

Robert Musso The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

. Toro used a 10-string cuatro on the album, which he played left-handed and upside down.

Daniel Ponce Daniel Ponce (July 21, 1953 – March 14, 2013) was a Cuban-American jazz percussionist. He was born in Havana, Cuba, and Ponce played locally in Havana from age 11, and played percussion in a group called Watusi. He was exiled from Cuba in 19 ...

played congas. ''Funky Jibaro'' combined elements of salsa, folk, and charanga with Toro's expert cuatro playing.

Critical reception

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

deemed the album a "sweet mountain record," contrasting it favorably to then recent "city" and "ethnomusicological" salsa albums. '' The New York Times'' noted that, "with his electrified cuatro, which sounds like a mandolin that's been pumping iron, and his speed-demon technique,

oro Oro or ORO, meaning gold in Spanish and Italian, may refer to: Music and dance * Oro (dance), a Balkan circle dance * Oro (eagle dance), an eagle dance from Montenegro and Herzegovina * "Oro" (song), the Serbian entry in the 2008 Eurovision S ...

makes the cuatro a lead instrument for salsa and hybrids of other pop styles from all around the Americas." The '' Chicago Tribune'' determined that, "though the few ballads are an acquired taste, the rest of the numbers, nearly all lively, Latin-inflected Toro originals, are a jaw-dropping display of facility, funk and feeling." The ''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'' stated that ''Funky Jibaro'' "balances out the flamenco flavor of his remarkable cuatro playing with a spicy mix of percussion and warm melodic backing from the violin." AllMusic wrote that Toro uses "the cuatro for catchy riffs, for backing the vocalists, for extended solo displays of virtuosity, and for laying out grooves when he isn't busy with other duties on the instrument."

Track listing

References

{{authority control Yomo Toro albums 1988 albums Island Records albums