NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Since 2011, Los Hacheros have been setting dance floors aflame with a gritty soulfulness that echoes legends such as Ray Barretto, Fania, and Arsenio Rodriguez, but with an immediacy that is unmistakably New York, now. Although Los Hacheros is a band of only 5 musicians, the group manages to sound like a conjunto of 12. Eddie Venegas (Marc Anthony, Orquestra Broadway) plays trombone, violin and sings chorus, Itai Kriss (Edmar Castaneda, Grupo Latin Vibe) sings, plays flute, campana, and guiro, while Jimenez is in charge of lead vocals and congas. William Ash (Alfredo de la Fe, Brenda K Starr) holds down the tumbaos on baby bass while Plasse plays the tres, a guitar-like instrument originating from the Oriente Province in Cuba. Utilizing this unique instrumentation, Los Hacheros draws on charanga and salsa to create a sound distinctly their own.
