This past December 1 at the Miami Art Museum’s 2005 Art Basel exhibit, Javier Garcia and his band exploded the new definition of “Miami Sound” into the open sky above hundreds of international art aficionados and the growing troupe of Garcia’s loyal fans. The group, lead by the versatile and energetic Garcia, who is writer/composer/producer, sings lead vocals, plays guitar, and doubles in on timbale and the occasional conga solo, showcased songs from his critically acclaimed second album, “13” (“trece”). Already recognized as a new rising force in Latin music, Garcia showed Art Basel’ers the reason why: electrifying the crowd, which could not contain itself from dancing along with the group’s powerful and deeply rich sound.

Garcia, needing the right cast to help drive his cross-cultural musical vision, is backed up by a percussionist in addition to a drummer, a horn section including trumpet and trombone, as well as a keyboardist and bass player. When the group is at full throttle, usually with Garcia holding nothing back behind the microphone and skillfully synching the players with the eye contact and hand gestures of a seasoned leader, they can bring a massive force of sound. But the well-rounded tribe of players also brings plenty of details to fill the spaces between exclamation points on the album’s vibrant, rhythm-driven songs, layering hints of jazz and blues, reggae and traditional Carribean/Latin flourishes throughout each song. Garcia also mirror’s this characteristic virtuosity with a chameleon-like lyrical style, flowing seamlessly from Spanish to English as well as from Cuban Son to Ska to Rap.

Without question, Art Basel fans got a taste of the REAL Miami from Javier Garcia, who introduced instant Latin classics such as “la Rumba”, “Llego Chango”, “Lagrimas Negras”, and “Me Gustaria.” Responding in kind to Garcia’s energy and pulsating rhythms, the crowd did not let the moment slip away without a fight, screaming and applauding “O-TRA, O-TRA” (“One-More, One-More”) for encore after encore into the night!