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Richmond, Virginia, is hardly the first place that springs to mind when the subject of contemporary salsa comes up, but it’s the home of Bio Ritmo, an eight-piece band active since the mid-90s that’s been tinkering for years with the classic clave-driven sound forged by the Fania Records roster in the 60s and 70s. They’ve tried a relatively poppy approach and dabbled in the jacked-up beats of Cuban timba–they have a curiosity that’s not stifled by purism–but the down side of the members’ varying musical backgrounds (reggae, disco, rock, et cetera) is that no one is a bona fide salsa virtuoso.
Bio Ritmo plays a free ticketed show tonight at the Old Town School at 8:30 PM as part of the La Peña series, then does a somewhat pricier gig Saturday night at the Colombian restaurant Las Tablas at 9 PM.
