TIEMPO LIBRE translates as 'Free Time' in Spanish, and the band of the same name are taking the phrase literally by using time out from other musical commitments to do something they particularly enjoy. And in the process they're earning a formidable reputation as one of Miami's hottest up-and-coming Latin American bands.
At a festival in Chicago recently, where the band supported the 'Queen of Salsa' Celia Cruz at one of the last appearances before her death in July, Tiempo Libre - who are yet to release a CD - were the surprise hit of the evening getting a crowd of 12,000 on their feet in record time.
Certain restrictions will probably prevent them repeating this feat at the Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium, but the septet have already proven a hit with one Asian crowd at June's Hua Hin Jazz Festival in Thailand.
'We consider this our most exciting and successful concert experience,' says Jorge Gomez, the band's pianist, leader and principal composer. 'We were not sure how the Thai people would like Cuban music, but we were thrilled by the warmth and excitement. Our Hong Kong show will be a little different. Most of the time we play in venues where people are up dancing, but we enjoy the concert setting very much. We'll tailor our programme to offer Latin jazz - pure timba.'
Timba - a uniquely Cuban jazz form seldom heard outside the island - is a common passion among the members of the group, aged from 26 to 37, and this shared interest led directly to their formation. 'We all knew each other in Cuba and played together in various lineups, but the group was formed in Miami where we all met up again. Each person has his own personal story of how he left Cuba, but we all left more or less for the same reason - to realise our dreams. Everyone is now based in Miami,' Gomez explains.
Miami and Havana are the twin capitals of Cuban music, and Gomez, bassist Jorge Bringas, percussionist Fernando Pina, conga player Raymer Olade, trumpeter Julio Ariel Diaz, vocalist Joaquin Diaz, and Rodolfo Fofi Gomez who doubles on flute and saxophones, established their formidable reputation in the demanding session scenes of both cities.
'Each of us has played with stars of the Cuban music scene from Celia Cruz, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Omara Portuondo, N.G. La Banda, Beatriz Marquez, and the Miami Sound Machine. And each one is still involved in projects outside of Tiempo Libre,' observes Gomez.
