Album Review | Carlos Xavier Releases ‘Vive Todo Ahora’

San Francisco singer-songwriter Carlos Xavier recently released his debut album, Vive Todo Ahora (Live Everything Now), a collection of piquant salsa music influenced by artists such as DLG, Frankie Negron, Marc Anthony, Luis Enrique, and Michael Stuart.

Xavier describes his inspiration, “I was into that Urban New York salsa sound that fused gospel, R&B, and pop and formatted it into the structure of salsa. There is no higher feeling to me musically. As an American boy born in San Francisco but 100% Latin with parents born in Nicaragua, I felt blessed to have these roots and music running through my veins from two different parts of the world.”

Presently available via streaming, the CD is slated to release April 26.

Spanning six years of creative effort, Vive Todo Ahora was produced by Efrain Davila, and features the crème de la crème of salsa musicians: Ruben Rodriguez (bass), Luisito Quintero (percussion), Julia Diaz and Gerardo Rodriguez (trumpet), Jorge Dobal (trombone), Dave Shul (guitar), and Guianko Gomez.

The album’s title — Vive Todo Ahora — was engendered by a documentary on soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo. In the midst of watching the documentary, inspiration struck Xavier like a bolt of lightning.