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Latin Roots: Gregorio Uribe Big Band

Gregorio Uribe performs at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.
Tiana Timmerberg
/
WXPN
Gregorio Uribe performs at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

With 16 musicians in tow, Gregorio Uribe has certainly earned the right to call his ensemble a "big band." The ambitious frontman fuses the cumbia rhythms he heard growing up in Colombia with the 1940s flair of American brass to create music that is rich, explosive and undeniably danceable. In this session, Uribe sings, plays the accordion and conducts as the band performs highlights from its 2015 album, Cumbia Universal.

HearCumbia Universalon Spotify.

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Talia Schlanger hosts World Cafe, which is distributed by NPR and produced by WXPN, the public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania. She got her start in broadcasting at the CBC, Canada's national public broadcaster. She hosted CBC Radio 2 Weekend Mornings on radio and was the on-camera host for two seasons of the television series CBC Music: Backstage, as well as several prime-time music TV specials for CBC, including the Quietest Concert Ever: On Fundy's Ocean Floor. Schlanger also guest hosted various flagship shows on CBC Radio One, including As It Happens, Day 6 and Because News. Schlanger also won a Canadian Screen Award as a producer for CBC Music Presents: The Beetle Roadtrip Sessions, a cross-country rock 'n' roll road trip.