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Ozomatli tours US with Chali 2na
Grammy-winning Latin-pop ensemble Ozomatli will reunite with its original MC, Chali 2na, for a US outing this fall.
The nine-piece band will be out with O.A.R. through mid-August and has a few more shows lined up before launching the "Headz Up Fall Tour" Oct. 26 at New Orleans' Voodoo Music Experience. Ozomatli and Chali 2na will make their way to the West Coast by mid-November, stopping for two-night stands in Seattle and Boulder, CO.
Before the reunion gets underway, the members of Ozomatli will live their dream of headlining California's Hollywood Bowl. The Los Angeles natives have been tapped to top the bill at the Sept. 21 finale of the annual KCRW World Festival Concert Series. The show, which will also feature Michael Franti & Spearhead, Lila Downs and Nortec Collective, will mark the largest headlining performance of Ozomatli's 13-year career.
The group has been touring the globe all year to support its fourth full-length studio release, "Don't Mess With the Dragon," which surfaced in April 2007 and cracked The Billboard 200. The set--which showcases Ozomatli's genre-bending mix of salsa, hip-hip, jazz and funk--was written and recorded with a firm commitment to collective creation, according to the band's bio.
"It's always a struggle to be creative together, as a unit, but this was by far our best time in the studio together," percussionist Jiro Yamaguchi said. "It takes maturity to work together and we are all getting better at communicating."
Several songs from "Don't Mess With the Dragon" are streaming at Ozomatli's MySpace page.
The record follows 2004's "Street Signs," which scored the band its second Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock/Alternative Album. Ozomatli also released a concert CD/DVD, "Live at the Fillmore," in 2005.
