Ozomatli Rouses Crowd With Hot Mix

Who needs wine to lubricate your dancing shoes when you’ve got Ozomatli, the self-dubbed L.A. gods of dance? Mixing salsa, hip-hop, reggae and world beat, the 11-man group brought the beyond-capacity crowd at the Dragonfly on Thursday all the Bacchanalia of a wine fest without the sloppy spills.

A ubiquitous presence on the local club scene for the past two years, Ozomatli has ushered in a new L.A. dance movement with its tight four-piece horn section and a rhythm section that includes chunky bass vibrations, turntable scratching, Afro-Cuban congas, drums and soulful guitar.

At Thursday’s show, cut short 20 minutes by the L.A. Fire Marshal because of overcrowding, Ozomatli carried off unexpected musical juxtapositions harmoniously: DJ Chali 2na’s deep baritone toasting fit right in among reggae-inflected cumbias and big-band brass made way for ‘70s-era and Malo-style rock.

Earlier in the evening, the bilingual, roots-oriented Quetzal spun a capable web of East L.A. Chicano power pop, made up of Mexican corridos, boleros and jump blues glued together by ethereal vocals, while Maywood natives JABOM (Just Another Bunch of Mexicans) fused funk, blues and rock in a substantial opening set.

Take note: The sound of the future won’t be powered by synthesizers and drum machines alone. Look for timbales, congas and a Chicano sensibility in the mix.

* Ozomatli plays every Thursday at the Dragonfly, 6510 Santa Monica Blvd., $7. (213) 446-6111.