Recently, Central California’s own Mento Buru released their Christmas album entitled “East Bakersfield Christmas”. This is a six song ep/album that has reimagined Christmas classics from Nat King Cole, Augie Rios, and famous composer Richard Jones. Mento Buru is composed of Matt Munoz on vocals/saxophone, Cesareo Garcia on drums, Caleb Moore on bass, Salvador Galindo on guitar, Jay Smith on keyboards, Paul Perez on saxophone, and Justin Kirk on trombone. Mento Buru combines genre flavors such as ska, Latin alternative, Jamaican ska and reggae sounds to create music that you can totally vibe to.
The album was recorded at Triple Seven Recordings in Bakersfield while being mixed by Jon Graber(Goldfinger, MXPX, and Brasstracks) and mastered by Dave Fore. “East Bakersfield Christmas” was made possible by a generous grant from The Hub of Bakersfield “Cash for the Arts” program and is available via Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora, and YouTube. Here is what we had to say about the record:
Mento Buro’s newest release East Bakersfield Christmas comes out just in time for the radio DJ’s looking for the newest Christmas tunes to spin. I was a little skeptical to review a Christmas album as someone who has been bombarded by the genre growing up but Mento Buro’s album starts with the bi-lingual classic Donde Esta Santa Claus? complete with horns and a distinct Latin flavor that could get any Christmas party bumping. All in all this is a good West Coast Ska EP, with smooth reggae rhythms with a range of Latin influences, this album also sports one of the grooviest Greensleeves on planet Earth with a dubbed out version of the Christmas classic. I might not find myself playing this year- round but come holiday-time some of these songs will definitely end up on my party playlist!
Here is the track listing:
1. Donde Esta Santa Claus? (Augie Rios)
2. Jingle Bell Rock (Bobby Helms)
3. What Child Is This? (Richard Jones)
4. Feliz Navidad
5. The Christmas Song(Merry Christmas to you) (Nat King Cole)
6. Donde Esta Santa Claus? (Spanish version)
Fans can find Mento Buru at the following locations:
