Jerry Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band

By David Font-Navarrete

"I am bilingual. I speak Spanish and English. I can play the blues and I can play the rumba." -Jerry Gonzalez

The Fort Apache sound is completely unique. One reviewer eloquently describes it as an "ongoing thesis of Afro-Cubanized hard bop." The Apaches have genuinely inspired my own obsessive devotion to music, and they're my heroes. Most of their recordings are available online- I recommend Descarga.com. They also appear in the award-winning documentary "Calle 54." "Rumba para Monk" and "Obatala" are CDs I'd need on a desert island ...


Here's a discography of Jerry Gonzalez & the Forth Apache Band, the world's
greatest Latin Jazz group:

"Rumba Buhaina" (2005)
"Fire Dance" (1996)
"Pensativo" (1995)
"Crossroads" (1994)
"Moliendo Cafe" (1991)
"Earthdance" (1990)
"Rumba para Monk" (1988)
"Obatala" (1988)
"The River Is Deep" (1982)
"Ya Yo Me Cure" (1979)