Kevin Moore at Timba.com :

“Nils Fischer is one of the top percussionists in Europe, touring and recording constantly with the likes of Nueva Manteca, Fabian Nordarse, the Cubop City Big Band, Carlos Matos, Drums United, and many others, sharing the stage with such legendary figures as Giovanni Hidalgo, Orestes Vilató, Pío Leiva, Paquito d'Rivera, and Chocolate Armentieros.

In 2007 he enlisted the help of two of the giants of timba, Alain Pérez and his close friend Pepe Espinosa, to record an ambitious album of timbafied arrangements of songs made famous by the New York salsa icon Joe Cuba.

As with Juan Ceruto's tributes such as Gracias Formell and A puerto padre, it's fascinating to trace these cutting-edge modern arrangements to their origins.

For example, let's take the opening track, Ariñañara, which was written by Chano Pozo in the 1930s and first recorded by Miguelito Valdés and Casino de la Playa in 1940. Here's the opening (source). About 30 years later, Joe Cuba recorded this version (source), which inspired the young Nils Fischer as he learned his trade listening to old vinyl LPs he had sought out in European record stores.

Now let's skip forward yet another 30 years and see what Nils, Alain, Pepe, Grammy award-winning trumpeter Brian Lynch, and Jon Fausty (arguably the world's greatest Latin music recording and mixing engineer) did with the same passage (source). By the middle of the track, the band is playing pure timba, with a bloque-laden "pedal" gear change leading into a torrid solo from Pepe[...].”

Omar Walker at Salsapower.com:

“German percussionist Nils Fischer, who has been a fixture with Lucas Van Merwijk (from the Netherlands), ventures out with his own recording and just like Lucas, the songs on this CD are also an homage to one of the great ones, Joe Cuba.

Unlike Cuba’s sextet line-up, Mr. Fischer decides to go with a big band sound, and what a sound it is. "Ariñáñara", written by the late, great Chano Pozo comes out of the gate like a dog in heat. With horns blaring, percussions faster than the speed of light and sonero Fabian "Huracán" Nodarse just spitting fire, this sets the tone for the rest of the project.

One of the beautys of this recording is Nils' approach of paying tribute without copying the original song or sound. On "Bochinchosa" he goes for that mid-70's, New York trombone sound, while "El hueso" plays faster than anything Joe Cuba himself recorded. "Lo bueno ya viene" mixes the vibraphone sound (trademark in Joe's music) with a three-trombone line up that's to die for.

While the trend of redoing songs is a bit stale, you cannot argue the dedication and authenticity of the music when it has this much flavor. A must!”

DJ Margarita, San Francisco:

Excellent!  Absolutely one of my new favorites! 

This great CD starts off with a hard hitting favorite "Ariñañara" with "Timbazo" flavorings!  ¡Vaya brother, esto si que quema!  This track is nothing short of "scorching!"

The entire project is filled with new renditions of "Joe Cuba" favorites such as "Tremendo Coco", "El Hueso", "Guaracha Y Bembe" and "Cachondea!" Exquisitely produced by Nils Fischer and promising to thrust any dancer onto any dance floor!  You'll feel the exciting rhythms of Timba which are likened to the heart beats of these amazingly talented musicians.  The line-up of musicians who performed on this project reads like a "Who's Who," and is truly "All-Star."

If you like your Salsa "Red & Hot," & with plenty of "Swing," then you'll most definitely want to add this CD to your collection.  Highly recommended to anyone who appreciates finding hidden treasures in music, and to Dj's who enjoy sharing  such treasures and quality such as can be found here with Nils Fischer & Timbazo, "¡Gracias Joe Cuba!"  If you're an enthusiast and/or fan of Joe Cuba, then you'll find this to be an incredible tribute to the days of Joe Cuba  and his Sextet.

Pietro Carbognani, Italy:

“The German percussionist Nils Fischer, with his debut disc, presents himself to the World Latin community with a truly excellent musical project.

The superb arrangements from the great pianist Marc Bischoff (in almost all of the tracks) and the precise execution and impeccable approach of a group of musicians from all around (from 10 countries) have given a glossing over to these old hits.

The participation to the project of the Cuban bassist Alain Perez, of the trumpeter from the U.S. Brian Lynch, from the Cuban timbalero Josè Pepe Espinosa, from the Cuban singer Fabian Nodarse “Huracan”  and from the other great professionals of the sector give yet another guarantee to the quality of the music contained in this CD.

“El Hueso”, “Guaracha y Bembè” and  “Cachondea”  are a few tracks to signal here however, my personal favourite is “Bochinchosa”…for which the execution of the piece is simply WORLD BEATING!!!

A CD that will be talked about and that will remain in the case of many a DJ for a long time to come...

VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!”