Radio Flor is the 4th album by Cascada de Flores, a SF bay area acoustic Latin Jazz band. This wonderful album transports you back to a different period when radio united folks across geographical boundaries - way before the internet & the streaming phenom that we are steeped in today. Think 1920s & 1930s &
the songs in this CD take you back to that period with its beautiful, pleasant & gentle melodies complete with adverts & that crackling & hissing sound, which was part & parcel of that era’s radio experience. The CD is structured like almost an hour long radio show with radio jingles.

XEW radio was Mexico is what the group had in mind when they created this album that pays homage to the golden age of radio in Mexico & Latin America.Jorge Lisega & Arwen Lawrence founded the group.Arwen is on vocals. Jose plays lead guitar & vocals - he isthe voice of El Dandy, Saul Sierra-Alonsois on double bass, leonicita & chorus, Marco Diaz is on trumpet, piano & vocals and Brian Rice is on percussion & chorus. Rice trained in western & Indian classical music. He learnt to play the tabla.

PLAY ANY TRACK. THEY ALL WORK.

1. Sintonia is a delightful radio jingle that sets the mood for this CD.
2. Haunting, beautiful & mellow melody.
3. Wonderful & pleasant ballad.
4. Gentle & mesmerizing ballad. Beautifully rendered. Soothing.
5. A radio break. La Hora Azul is a radio commercial. A throwback to the 1930s.
6. Slow & melodious. Unhurried pace.
7. A superb rendition of the 1952 song “With ASong In My Heart.”
Sung by Arwen Lawrence.
8. Peppy & foot tapping ballad in Spanish with that wonderful old world charm.
9. You may not understand the words, but you can certainly sense the longing & pain in this beautifully sung ballad.
10. El Dandy - what a charming little, original radio jingle.
11. A fun track that makes you want to do the mambo, rumba & salsa.
12. An original composition with wonderful harmony.
13. Slow, dreamy track.
14. A minute long guitar riff & then the female vocals kick in. Its got that old tyme sound about it.
15. Salsas El Brujo is a charming little radio jingle.
16. Mellow track that will have you doing a gentle dance. Reminds you of sunny afternoons spent with family & friends with good food, laughter & margaritas.
17. A slow, pleasant track that reminds you of your abuela’s (grandma’s) sitting by the radio & listening to the song. The joy of listening to good music.
18. A fitting end to the album with an advert signaling the end of a radio show.

Kamla Aug 2014