Salsa Band's Sound Gets Crowds Moving

TACOMA - The fiery, percussive sounds of Bochinche, the Northwest's Latin salsa band, will begin at 8 p.m. Sunday at Prosito, a small Italian restaurant and music club.

The colorful eight-piece band performs mainly original, upbeat Afro/Latin-style compositions. Venezuelan-born lead singer Eduardo Quintero plays hand percussion instruments, while the three back-up singers play congas, electric bass and trumpet. Other instrumentalists play the electric piano, and three additional horn players add their squealing, pulsing rhythms to complete the festive sound. Most of the lyrics are in Spanish.

Prosito co-owner Jim Horrigan said Bochinche, who plays there every other month, always inspires dancing.

``I don't know if Bochinche ever gave dance lessons, or if this was a Fred Astaire Studio group, but there are some terrific samba dancers and rhumba dancers,'' he said.

Bochinche general manager Tom Ries confirms the group's popularity in numbers. Their latest recording, ``Caracas,'' sold 6,000 copies nationwide in both July and August, according to Ries.

``Three weeks ago we hit the national jazz listening charts for the first time ever,'' said Ries.

Prosito, at 3829 Sixth Ave., plays host this week to five other established local acts. From salsa and jazz sounds to rhythm and blues, much of the music is danceable. A cover fee is charged all nights but Monday, and the music gets under way every evening between 8 and 9:30.

``Nu Vines,'' a six-piece rhythm-and-blues band, entertains tonight and tomorrow. Formerly the ``Blue Port News,'' the Tacoma group has played in the area for 20 years and is emceed by ``Billy Blue'' Graham.

On Monday night, the Jay Mabin Quartet, a club regular, will be on stage. Jazz harmonica player Mabin is accompanied by John Bishop on drums, Tom McElroy on guitar and bassist Jeff Johnson, who is fresh from Minneapolis.

Billed as ``Prosito's most popular act,'' The Michael Powers

Group is the usual Tuesday night ingredient. Guitarist Powers calls the club his ``workshop.''

``We're a spontaneous group, but we're more spontaneous there,'' Powers said. Piano, bass and drums round out Powers' contemporary jazz sound.

Jazz saxophones prevail both Wednesday and Thursday night. The Rich Cole Trio performs Wednesday, and on Thursday the Bert Wilson Trio appears. Wilson, from Olympia, is nationally known for his 1960s ``multiphonics fingering system,'' which produces chord-like sounds on the sax, according to Horrigan.

Horrigan and co-owner Sarah McCrory say most of their clientele are musicians or musician wannabes. ``They're here to listen first, and if the music gets them going, they get up and dance,'' Horrigan said.

The cover charge at Prosito is $5 for Bochinche on Sunday, and $3 each evening, Tuesday through Saturday. Music information line is 756-6760.