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Reviews: MUSIC.
Until Juan Luis Guerra and Victor Victor came along, the music of the Dominican Republic was mostly thought of as just great dance music. Through their talents as composers and performers, the world now knows that the Dominican sound can appeal as much to the head as to the feet.
Guerra scored a well deserved Grammy nomination this year for his album Fogarate! (Karen Records), the stylish follow-up to his Grammy winning Karen release Bachata Rosa. Fogarate--a word used only in the Dominican Republic--refers to both the sting of a poisonous plant and a state of sexual excitement. The album dresses the merengue and bachata rhythms up with strings, hints of Mozart, a dash of Afro-Cuban jazz, and good old-fashioned romanticism.
For an authentic touch, Guerra brings in Francisco Ulloa and his band, the best exponents of traditional merengue in the island nation. Also along for their strong contributions are most of the members of New York's top Latin jazz unit, Seis Del Solar. And Guerra does something he always said he wouldn't do--sing in English. It's just one cut with the bouncy backdrop of the lazy bachata rhythm, but it's enough to whet the appetite of fans who have been prodding the defensive Dominican to perform in English. No matter...