Intoxicating Salsa by Trombonist Bosch

The Los Angeles debut of trombonist Jimmy Bosch as a bandleader on Thursday at the Conga Room should have been advertised as “A Workshop in Sabor.”

Sabor, the Spanish word to describe music that is particularly tasty or spicy, was ever-present in a performance that demonstrated Bosch and his combo is one of the most devastating forces in Latin music today.

Bosch was in town to promote his debut album, “Soneando Trombon,” a collection of solid New York salsa tunes that is tightly arranged and conjures up a festive mood. But few would have predicted that tunes such as the rambunctious “Descargarana” or thedeliriously paced “Gaviota” would sound so intoxicating live.

A look at Bosch’s resume puts everything in perspective. The trombonist spent years playing for timbalero Manny Oquendo and his inimitable old-school combo Libre. Indeed, Bosch’s lead singer has been borrowed from Libre. Frankie Vazquez sings with the panache of a real superstar.

But Bosch goes even beyond the four-trombone, heavily percussive sound of Libre. The roots of his spice go back to the golden years of the Fania label, when salsa became a real Pan-American genre merging Cuban and Puerto Rican song structures as well as drawing upon big-band jazz and ‘70s R&B; influences.

A song such as “La Soledad” could belong in any Hector Lavoe or Willie Colon concert from two decades ago. Far from being dated, salsa has proved to possess a timeless quality, and its ferocious bite has been recaptured marvelously by Bosch.

Now that salsa seems to be winning an audience beyond its Latin base, as demonstrated by the film “Dance With Me,” anyone curious about the sound should certainly explore Bosch. Whereas the practitioners of the insipid “salsa romantica” are elevated to superstardom, the real thing for now remains hidden in relative anonymity. But, hopefully, not for long.