I fell for Afro-Cuban and Salsa music after hearing early recordings by the legendary Cuban bassist and band leader, Israel López Valdés – better known as ‘Cachao‘.

During a year back in the UK in my early 20s, some friends decided to put a Salsa band together and I jumped in – first on timbales, then bongos, then bass, then bongos again. We all swapped around, figuring out what would best suit us, and worked hard to get the techniques down to recreate the sounds we were after. We got gigs! The band still exists today in a different format and under the name ‘Miami Smoke Machine’, having taken on a lot of the US Jazz influence found in the Cuban and Puerto Rican diaspora communities, which developed in the States.

When I moved to London to study, I joined Salsa troupe, Zands Collective, based at the conservatory. We were a full compliment, including an impressive brass section.

At the time of writing I’m yet to make it to Cuba or Puerto Rica. I have witnessed some super charged Colombian Salsa in Bogotá and the great Pedrito Martinez in New York.