Guitar and harp are the dominant instruments throughout this album. Felix has a great voice and a really excellent singing techniques, good projection and injects a lot of feeling into his vocals.

Felix's writing song writing skill is very good. I particularly liked track 9, which has a funky, swinging feel to it and showcases the excellent skills of the band.

What I specially like about this CD is that although it is clearly a blues CD, Felix always seems to manage to sneak in a little of that Latin flavor so that even on the covers, he gets his own take on things. To me this differentiates Pressure Cooker from tons of other CD's A cut that really stands out for me is number 4 "Listen Here" By E. Harris, Felix really outdoes himself on harmonica on this instrumental track, and I love the groove. Another thing that I like is his choice of cover material - not your usual blues standards!

The cover art is nice and simple, using black and white inside and colour for front and back to very good effect.

Arriving in the U.S. from his native Cuba in the late 1960's, Felix Cabrera is a singer/songwriter and harmonica player who as been a part of the New York blues scene since the early '70's.

Felix gradually fused his Cuban musical background with the blues, rock, and R&B influences found in his new home. Felix led his first band The A Train, into various engagements backing up such blues legends as Honeyboy Edwards, Victoria Spivey, Tarheel Slim and Sunnyland Slim.

Felix was involved with The Internationals, and later in the '80'she formed his group Felix and the Havanas. During this time they opened for high profile artists such as James Brown, Buddy Guy, Wilson Picket, James Cotton and others in venues around the New York Metropolitan area.

Felix released his first album "Next" which received accolades in the New York and College press, and was released in Europe in 1991. His second album "Cu-Bop, Cu-Blues" released in the late '90's also received good press and continues to sell well today.

With this newest album released in Summer of 2001, Felix seemed poised to bring his unique blend of talents to a new level.

CD can be obtained from Fountainblue Entertainment, Inc. 91-38 114th Street, Richmond Hill, NY 11418, USA Tel: 718-847-3281, Fax 718-805-8502 email: fountainbue@mindspring.com Web site: www.fountainblue.com

Louise Peacock
ONYX Canada - Music Publicity, Promotions and Management
email: wezel@wezel.com
email: onyxcan@wezel.com
WEB page: http://www.wezel.com/onyx

This review is copyright © 2001 by Louise Peacock, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved. Copy, duplication or download prohibited without written permission. For permission to use this review please send an E-mail to Ray Stiles.