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Although not originally sprung from the swamp of Louisiane nor any true rose of Spanish Harlem, Los Po-Boy-Citos are stirring up dance parties all over our fair city with the boogaloo, a short-lived but widely spread phenomenon of the mid 1960s, is built on strong Cuban rhythms, featuring congas and brass. Their debut album, New Orleans Latin Soul includes obscure boogaloo covers such as “Danzon Boogaloo” and “Wobble Cha” as well as Latinized versions of “Big Chief” and “Mother-in-Law.” Born instead in many a Garden District living room jam session, these seven NOLA transplants—Jason Brettel, drums; Dan Cutler, bass; David Greengold, vocals/congas/percussion; Luke Huddleston, trombone; Jacob Leland, saxophone; Jack Pritchett, trumpet; Matt Sakakeeny, guitar—crawled to the city, each for various reasons. However, it was just a matter of time until they found their home in its music. “It’s a good fit with the New Orleans music scene and ethos; New Orleans music is known for its strong Latin influence,” says saxophonist Jacob Leland.
But what are a bunch of white boys doing playing 1960s Latin soul, anyway? According to Leland it’s simple: “First of all, it’s great music, second of all it’s fun to dance to.” Recently voted as the Best Emerging Artist in OffBeat’s “Best of the Beat,” the little po-boys didn’t just morph from heaven. “Between us, we’ve been in jazz, rock, reggae, funk, Brazilian, traditional Cuban, and classical ensembles,” says Leland.
“At some point, the question with music is not whether the tradition is your birthright but whether you can play it, and, so far, we seem to be doing pretty good,” says Leland.
