Jimmy Bosch:
the best trombonista
in Salsa and
Latin Jazz today!

by Robin Davies

Jimmy Bosch: the best trombonista in Salsa and Latin Jazz today! Bosch is an artist who's been playing professionally since age 13, swinging and rolling Latin music like Sammy Sosa hits home runs. His talented and gifted trombone playing has placed him in the royal court of the Latin music industry, performing and recording with artists like Celia Cruz, Willie Colon, Ruben Blades, Oscar D'Leon, Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Conjunto Libre, Marc Anthony, Danilo Perez, La India, Fania All Stars, and the list goes on. Many music critics and artists consider Bosch one of the most expressive and talented musical arrangers, directors, composers, players, and lyricists around.

Bosch has now stepped into the arena of solo artists, recording two solo CDs: his first, "Soneando Trombon", and his latest, "Salsa Dura", both on RykoLatino records. Bosch's CDs are a collage of genres rooted in the Caribbean. Son, plena, yambu, guaguanco, guajira, mozambique are some of the styles Bosch has recorded that are virtually unheard in the United States in their traditional form.

However, New Jersey-Puerto Rican born Bosch, does his music the old-fashioned way. "It's about keeping the tradition," says Bosch. "I like to use a lot of the different rhythms I listened to growing up and do it the way it was done way back when in the sixties and seventies. This is when people listened to a whole record, they'd actually played and listened to the whole album! My CDs are like that--you can listen and play them in their entirety," comments Bosch.

This is evident on his latest CD "Salsa Dura": the songs and their musical arrangements are searing with effusive rhythms that storm their tempestuous traditional beats into the listeners ears like a warm intoxicating tropical rain. Bosch's lyrics are some of the finest and tender urban poetry written today. He gives the listener a rare glimpse into the soul of a true artist by sharing his pain with the loss of his brother in the song La Noticia, urging us to educate and protect ourselves in the fight against AIDS worldwide. In Impacto Tendremos, La Cacarra Bosch shares his sense of humor as he writes about the stressful experience of a car breaking down on the highway in rush hour traffic.

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey and raised in the flats of Hoboken, Bosch is the fourth of nine children. His parents Alberto and Blanca Bosch came to the United States via Puerto Rico as teenagers in search of a new life. His family has always had deep musical roots "My father was a notorious dancer, he loved dancing. My Mom, when she was a kid in Puerto Rico, would sing at parties with a trio. She sang the boleros." Bosch continues, "My Uncle Israel was heavily into singing flamenco."

Bosch's family was poor. "We didn't have much growing up.There were a lot of children in the house. We were definitely not middle class," says Bosch. His father owned a grocery store where Bosch helped out as a kid sweeping the floors and stocking groceries, but his father Alberto was a heavy gambler. "At one point he did really well between working and gambling, but then he moved on," Bosch recalls. "Mom and Dad separated. He moved back to Puerto Rico and died a few years after." Bosch gives his mother the credit for rearing the children. "We got a lot of love from Mom. Dad did what he could. But we got a lot of love from Mom," says Bosch.

In elementary school Bosch took a serious interest in music, joining his grade school band and practicing everyday after school. "I think for me when most kids got into playing ball and sports, I got into playing the trombone. I fell in love with it," says Bosch. "I stumbled onto that [the trombone]. I asked for the saxophone in school, but they said they only had the trombone. So I took it. At the time the thing was bigger then me." Laughing, Bosch continues, "What I loved and still do today most about it, is it's closeness to the human voice [and] it's sound."

In the neighborhood he was deemed the "Trombone Sonero" because of his unique vocal like trombone playing. Bosch believes the way he developed this unique sound was from his daily practice sessions in his early days. "I never really had good trombone teachers growing up," comments Bosch. "So what I did was imitate the voice, the drums, the lead singers that I heard on records."

By age 13, Bosch was playing professionally with local New Jersey groups. "I bounced around from any band and every band that called me for a gig and a rehearsal. The bandleaders would go to my house and beg my Mom for permission to take me out bring me back safely, promising her they wouldn't let me drink or do drugs. I didn't want to do any of that anyway. I just wanted to play music. I was having a blast. And I was getting paid! Seventyfive bucks [a show] for playing horn. I was having fun doing what I loved doing. I was a happy-go-lucky kid. I still am," says Bosch.

Bosch notes he was aware at a young age his destiny was music. "I discovered early on that God was using me to brighten people's lives. One of the ways I did that was playing music. I do that honestly from my gut. I listen to my angels and just let things happen," recalls Bosch. He says this is why he was so driven so young. "I was hungry. I had a real hunger. It's like an energy--a burning desire to play. I would say ëI'm gonna play with this band and that band.' I was talking about bands I was listening to on records," Bosch continues. "I found out the names of the clubs that my brothers and sisters went to [in New York]. I'd say ë I'm going out there with my horn [to] play.' I'd get to that club, remember my ID was the trombone case, I'd go in and stand in front of the stage, [and] ask the and bandleader if he would let me come up and play solo. It was really daring [and] risk taking. Oftentimes they'd look at me and think "Who the hell does this kid think he is?"But several bands would let me get up."

By his late teens Bosch was already a seasoned musician he then decided to study music formally. He enrolled at Rutgers University, but dropped out after two years. He was playing with the top orquestras in the New York Salsa scene, which lead to recording sessions with the greatest artists in the Latin music industry. Bosch's career was took off --he began to touring with Manny Oquendo and Orquesta Libre, Ray Barreto and Isreal 'Cachao' Lopez this is where he he attended the "real music university" and learned "the real monas [musical riffs]" that developed and honed his current intriguing electic improvisation skills.

After a few years of global touring and living the high life, Bosch, at age 31, found himself at a low point in his life, caught up in the partying and drinking. "I realized that I was no longer growing as an artist," says Bosch. "I was being irresponsible with my family, my work, missing rehearsals or showing up unprepared." Bosch continues, "I was loosing my spirituality and this scared me." He then enrolled himself into a new school called 'life change' and created a new pathway. "My philosophy in life is to allow yourself to experience and change. If the path you're on is negative, get off and create a new one," comments Bosch.

He began reinventing himself by becoming a solo artist which gave birth to new challenges and vistas: song writing and composing. "It was never my intent to become a songwriter--it just happened," recalls Bosch. "When I did my first CD, my brother Ruben died and I wrote a song. Then, on the second CD, my other brother died...that's how I wrote La Noticia. Both died of AIDS and that's just two of the reasons I wrote Impacto Tendremos."

When asked about the future musically, Bosch says, "My vision is that people of all age groups and nationalities get in touch with the kind of songs and music that I play. I don't believe that this music belongs to any particular age group or nationality. My music is a passionate [and] spiritual music - it is a ëWake up!' kind of music," says Bosch. "What's different about my Salsa band form...is that other bands revolve around the singer...mine is an open format...everyone is featured. It's not about Jimmy Bosch, it's about the ten guys on stage playin' and the audience groovin'."

Jimmy Bosch:
the best trombonista
in Salsa and
Latin Jazz today!

by Robin Davies

Jimmy Bosch: the best trombonista in Salsa and Latin Jazz today! Bosch is an artist who's been playing professionally since age 13, swinging and rolling Latin music like Sammy Sosa hits home runs. His talented and gifted trombone playing has placed him in the royal court of the Latin music industry, performing and recording with artists like Celia Cruz, Willie Colon, Ruben Blades, Oscar D'Leon, Israel "Cachao" Lopez, Conjunto Libre, Marc Anthony, Danilo Perez, La India, Fania All Stars, and the list goes on. Many music critics and artists consider Bosch one of the most expressive and talented musical arrangers, directors, composers, players, and lyricists around.

Bosch has now stepped into the arena of solo artists, recording two solo CDs: his first, "Soneando Trombon", and his latest, "Salsa Dura", both on RykoLatino records. Bosch's CDs are a collage of genres rooted in the Caribbean. Son, plena, yambu, guaguanco, guajira, mozambique are some of the styles Bosch has recorded that are virtually unheard in the United States in their traditional form.

However, New Jersey-Puerto Rican born Bosch, does his music the old-fashioned way. "It's about keeping the tradition," says Bosch. "I like to use a lot of the different rhythms I listened to growing up and do it the way it was done way back when in the sixties and seventies. This is when people listened to a whole record, they'd actually played and listened to the whole album! My CDs are like that--you can listen and play them in their entirety," comments Bosch.

This is evident on his latest CD "Salsa Dura": the songs and their musical arrangements are searing with effusive rhythms that storm their tempestuous traditional beats into the listeners ears like a warm intoxicating tropical rain. Bosch's lyrics are some of the finest and tender urban poetry written today. He gives the listener a rare glimpse into the soul of a true artist by sharing his pain with the loss of his brother in the song La Noticia, urging us to educate and protect ourselves in the fight against AIDS worldwide. In Impacto Tendremos, La Cacarra Bosch shares his sense of humor as he writes about the stressful experience of a car breaking down on the highway in rush hour traffic.

Born in Jersey City, New Jersey and raised in the flats of Hoboken, Bosch is the fourth of nine children. His parents Alberto and Blanca Bosch came to the United States via Puerto Rico as teenagers in search of a new life. His family has always had deep musical roots "My father was a notorious dancer, he loved dancing. My Mom, when she was a kid in Puerto Rico, would sing at parties with a trio. She sang the boleros." Bosch continues, "My Uncle Israel was heavily into singing flamenco."

Bosch's family was poor. "We didn't have much growing up.There were a lot of children in the house. We were definitely not middle class," says Bosch. His father owned a grocery store where Bosch helped out as a kid sweeping the floors and stocking groceries, but his father Alberto was a heavy gambler. "At one point he did really well between working and gambling, but then he moved on," Bosch recalls. "Mom and Dad separated. He moved back to Puerto Rico and died a few years after." Bosch gives his mother the credit for rearing the children. "We got a lot of love from Mom. Dad did what he could. But we got a lot of love from Mom," says Bosch.

In elementary school Bosch took a serious interest in music, joining his grade school band and practicing everyday after school. "I think for me when most kids got into playing ball and sports, I got into playing the trombone. I fell in love with it," says Bosch. "I stumbled onto that [the trombone]. I asked for the saxophone in school, but they said they only had the trombone. So I took it. At the time the thing was bigger then me." Laughing, Bosch continues, "What I loved and still do today most about it, is it's closeness to the human voice [and] it's sound."

In the neighborhood he was deemed the "Trombone Sonero" because of his unique vocal like trombone playing. Bosch believes the way he developed this unique sound was from his daily practice sessions in his early days. "I never really had good trombone teachers growing up," comments Bosch. "So what I did was imitate the voice, the drums, the lead singers that I heard on records."

By age 13, Bosch was playing professionally with local New Jersey groups. "I bounced around from any band and every band that called me for a gig and a rehearsal. The bandleaders would go to my house and beg my Mom for permission to take me out bring me back safely, promising her they wouldn't let me drink or do drugs. I didn't want to do any of that anyway. I just wanted to play music. I was having a blast. And I was getting paid! Seventyfive bucks [a show] for playing horn. I was having fun doing what I loved doing. I was a happy-go-lucky kid. I still am," says Bosch.

Bosch notes he was aware at a young age his destiny was music. "I discovered early on that God was using me to brighten people's lives. One of the ways I did that was playing music. I do that honestly from my gut. I listen to my angels and just let things happen," recalls Bosch. He says this is why he was so driven so young. "I was hungry. I had a real hunger. It's like an energy--a burning desire to play. I would say ëI'm gonna play with this band and that band.' I was talking about bands I was listening to on records," Bosch continues. "I found out the names of the clubs that my brothers and sisters went to [in New York]. I'd say ë I'm going out there with my horn [to] play.' I'd get to that club, remember my ID was the trombone case, I'd go in and stand in front of the stage, [and] ask the and bandleader if he would let me come up and play solo. It was really daring [and] risk taking. Oftentimes they'd look at me and think "Who the hell does this kid think he is?"But several bands would let me get up."

By his late teens Bosch was already a seasoned musician he then decided to study music formally. He enrolled at Rutgers University, but dropped out after two years. He was playing with the top orquestras in the New York Salsa scene, which lead to recording sessions with the greatest artists in the Latin music industry. Bosch's career was took off --he began to touring with Manny Oquendo and Orquesta Libre, Ray Barreto and Isreal 'Cachao' Lopez this is where he he attended the "real music university" and learned "the real monas [musical riffs]" that developed and honed his current intriguing electic improvisation skills.

After a few years of global touring and living the high life, Bosch, at age 31, found himself at a low point in his life, caught up in the partying and drinking. "I realized that I was no longer growing as an artist," says Bosch. "I was being irresponsible with my family, my work, missing rehearsals or showing up unprepared." Bosch continues, "I was loosing my spirituality and this scared me." He then enrolled himself into a new school called 'life change' and created a new pathway. "My philosophy in life is to allow yourself to experience and change. If the path you're on is negative, get off and create a new one," comments Bosch.

He began reinventing himself by becoming a solo artist which gave birth to new challenges and vistas: song writing and composing. "It was never my intent to become a songwriter--it just happened," recalls Bosch. "When I did my first CD, my brother Ruben died and I wrote a song. Then, on the second CD, my other brother died...that's how I wrote La Noticia. Both died of AIDS and that's just two of the reasons I wrote Impacto Tendremos."

When asked about the future musically, Bosch says, "My vision is that people of all age groups and nationalities get in touch with the kind of songs and music that I play. I don't believe that this music belongs to any particular age group or nationality. My music is a passionate [and] spiritual music - it is a ëWake up!' kind of music," says Bosch. "What's different about my Salsa band form...is that other bands revolve around the singer...mine is an open format...everyone is featured. It's not about Jimmy Bosch, it's about the ten guys on stage playin' and the audience groovin'."