Luis Martelo‘s been a working trumpet player for years now, awards, gigs all over Portugal, the whole résumé, well before “Sabroso” ever existed. It’s the first single off an album he’s putting together. First real salsa attempt too, apparently, though honestly it still just sounds like him. Nuno Correia shows up on the track, Nuno Junqueira produced it, Dinis Silva co-produced. Martelo’s said Arturo Sandoval is basically the reason the song exists, and from what he’s said about it, this one felt different for him, like an actual step forward rather than just single number whatever.
Sabroso
This one came out of shows he played on Pico Island, out in the Azores, and yeah, you can hear it. Ocean air, a crowd already having a good night, that loose feeling that good Latin music just has built into it. He’s not faking his way through salsa here either. Spend two minutes with this and it’s obvious he actually spent time with the tradition before he started writing, none of it feels tacked on or researched five minutes before recording.
His trumpet is doing most of the work, and it’s good. Warm, a little playful, never turns into an over confident moment, which happens a lot with players this technically solid, they can’t help themselves. Every phrase here is chasing the groove, not standing on top of it showing off. Percussion’s lively but stays in its lane, and somehow the mix keeps everyone audible, which shouldn’t be as rare as it is on tracks this packed.
Here’s the thing I actually like about “Sabroso”: it’s fun, but not hollow. There’s something underneath it about travel, about crossing into somebody else’s culture and doing it with respect instead of just borrowing the aesthetic, about music actually doing what people always say it does, connecting people who’d otherwise have nothing in common, not even a language.
Final Thoughts
This is a solid preview of wherever Martelo’s headed next. Skilled playing, genuinely good time, no notes. Definitely an artist you need to watch out for. Stay tuned to MusicOnTheRox.com for all your music news and reviews.
