Puchi Colon – Vertical Praise Live

Puchi Colon
Vertical Praise Live
Jovi Music (2011)
www.puchicolon.com

By Bob Marovich for The Black Gospel Blog.

Gospel and praise and worship music are being embraced by more and more Latino churchgoers. Proof positive is the rising popularity of Latino artists such as Joann Rosario Condrey, Michelle Bonilla, Paulis Sanchez, Linda Agosto, and Puchi Colon.

Puchi Colon and his ensemble are the Miami Sound Machine of P&W. On their latest release, Vertical Praise Live, they demonstrate why. An aggressive brass section and a veritable orchestra of percussion instruments underlay Colon’s handsome baritone that, in its understatement, is ideal for the salsa style he makes his own.  The lyrics are soothing, but the musica urges listeners to get up and dance in the spirit.

Vertical Praise Live was recorded on April 2, 2011 at Living Water Fellowship in Kissimmee, Florida, near Walt Disney World.  But while people were riding the monorail in the Magic Kingdom, Colon was in the “casa del rey,” singing songs in Spanish and English “con jubilo,” to borrow one of the song titles.

The musicians are studio-quality instrumentalists with plenty of passion in their playing. Especially effective is “Rey De Mi Vida” (“King of My Life”), on which the band turns up the intensity such that the conclusion becomes a praise jam session. This happens again on the closing piece, “Que No Pare,” which also benefits from a singable melody.

In between, Colon settles into a two-song acoustic “unplugged” section led by acoustic guitar a la Israel. Of the two unplugged songs, “All That I Need” is the finer of the two, although “We Wanna Worship” will likely be more familiar to Colon enthusiasts.

Vertical Praise Live is Puchi Colon’s best work to date because outside of being at the live performance, the best way to experience salsa P&W is a live recording. It is praise music that doesn’t just invite you to participate, it orders you to do so.

Four of Five Stars

Picks: “Rey de mi Vida,” “Que no Pare.”