Rebel Tumbao is the merging of the earth shattering rhythms of Afro-Cuban soul and the conscious-raising mission of Reggae. At the center of this creative endeavor is its brain-soul-child, pianist/arranger Matt Jenson and José Claussell, world-renowned timbalero with Maestro Eddie Palmieri for the past 18 years. José and Matt are two inspired musicians who have naturally come together because of a calling to play deep, soul nourishing music and a genuine concern for the well being of the planet and the people who live on it. This supercharged music is much more than just music because it carries the power to raise consciousness and transform lives.

Click on the music player to the right, above the picture, and listen to excerpts of Rebel Tumbao playing Matt’s arrangements of Marley’s Is This Love, Stir it Up and Rebel Music.

This 10 piece group presents deep Latin-soul arrangements of Bob Marley’s music and Matt Jenson’s consciousness raising compositions, leading the way towards the global paradigm shift so desperately needed today. The sound of the group is squarely based in the sonic depths of the 1960-70’s soul, reggae and Afro-Cuban eruption yet arrives in the early 21st century creatively merging these styles with a depth of understanding and subtle use of electronic textures.

Based in New York City and Boston, it is a multi-cultural group consisting of the traditional Afro-Cuban rhythm section of congas, timbales and bongo/hand percussion, then add two trombones, 2 back up singers (with vocal work in both English and Spanish), piano and bass. The lead vocal chair is occupied by the inspired powerhouse vocalist, Toussaint Yeshua (Soulive, Wyclef Jean, Damien Marley), son of a Baptist preacher and devoted gospel, soul and reggae singer. He delivers THE MESSAGE like no other.

Says Jenson, “It’s taking to heart Marley’s intention to fight down ignorance, greed and fear, to speak the truth and to free the people with music! It’s bringing forward the transcendent Afro-Caribbean message born out of our African ancestry and the subsequent struggle to live in peace and unity. Rebel Tumbao is a groove and feeling that emanates from the core of Mother Earth, the earth that we now so desperately need to take care of, and then shoots upward bypassing the foibles of mankind delivering us to the joyous heights of what ultimately we are all working towards; TRUE FREEDOM, enlightenment.”

José Claussell puts it this way, “We’re talking about a great artist (Marley), and to do something that’s quasi, that doesn’t come from the soul, would be sacrilege. We have great music, and Matt created these arrangements through a spiritual muse and this spiritual connection between the band members and the audience, whether we’re performing the Marley arrangements or Matt’s originals, that’s what transpires on stage. If you ain’t saying something, you ain’t playing nothing!”