Sotavento: Melding sounds of Diaspora

Latin American music is more than just Ricky Martin. Too often, popular music fans get stuck in the idea that music from the southern continent means one of three things: salsa, merengue or samba. Happily, there's a lot more to Latin American music than those strict categories. Sotavento is an established example of contemporary Latin American style.

In fact, it's pretty hard to pin down just what kind of music Sotavento plays. The members themselves come from six different countries, and have been performing in the U.S., Europe and Latin America since 1981. Take a little bit of Peruvian pipes, some Piazzolla inspired tango, throw in some jazz, and you'll get a close approximation of what Sotavento sounds like. To make such an eclectic concoction, the band spans a wide range of musical culture. Between the six members, the group plays 30 different Latin American instruments. The origins of the instruments span from the pre-Columbian era to the present. Sotavento plays the tiple (from Colombia), cuatroo (from Puerto Rico) and the tolooche (from Mexico). They are also masters of the guitar, flute and violin.

The percussion instruments sound a little more familiar. Marimba, congas, and bongos combine with the less familiar bombo leg�ero and caj�n. Not to mention the quijada, the donkey jaw. Sotavento uses these instruments to weave the styles of traditional Latin American music into a sound that's familiar but surprising at the same time.

The music of Sotavento is especially exciting because it is truly a part of a Diaspora. Sotavento tries to incorporate the varied sounds into its performance, including mixing Pre-Columbian rhythms and with European and African sounds. This creates to an entirely new sound, which the group keeps refreshing and honest..

Sotavento plays Finney Chapel, Friday at 8 p.m.