The incessant, driving rhythms of the rumba and the tango reverberated around the walls of the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts this weekend.

A capacity crowd was introduced to the Grammy award-winning sounds of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra on Saturday night. The opening piece, 'Rumba Urbano', was "hot and heavy" in the words of pianist/ conductor Arturo O'Farrill.

It was an exciting piece, full of energy, with the melody leaping around the orchestra sections from alto sax to trumpet, piano to percussion.

The infectious beat was anchored by the percussionists on conga and bongo drums and the nimble fingers of the bassist.

With four trumpets, four trombones, five sax, a piano, bass and three percussion, the orchestra produced a full, vibrant sound, rich in multi-layered texture.

Rather than being tucked away at the back somewhere, the percussionists were front and centre, the horns arranged in an arc around them.

Among the trombones was a surprisingly familiar face: local musician Graham Maule was enlisted at short notice to fill the gap left by a regular member of the ensemble, who turned up at the airport without a passport.

He was prevented from joining the orchestra in Bermuda the following day due to the poor weather on the US East coast.

The opening number was followed by something from the old school: 'Sambia', the Latin beat more pronounced, opening with a sweet melody from the trumpets before the saxes ratcheted it up a notch.

It was astonishing to watch the musicians run up and down the scale and have immense fun while doing it.

The third number featured Bobby Porcelli on solo sax in 'Song for Chico', and was followed by the big band jazz sound of 'Dan Juango,' a sultry, sensual piece inspired by the rhythms of Argentina.

The 'Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite', composed by Artuo O'Farrill, Sr., when just in his 20s, closed out the first half of the programme. The trumpets opened with a slow, sweet melody that tugged at the heart strings, before the pace picked up with an energetic riff by the percussion section, and continued with an exciting range of texture and tempo, the shifts punctuated by strident chords from the whole ensemble, an aural antithesis of the pauses between movements in a classical composition.

'Caravan' opened the second set, followed by an ironic tribute to emancipation, 'Forty acres and a burro'.

'Wild Jungle' described by Mr. O'Farrill as the "Iron Chef of the Saxophone" featured an exciting joust between two saxes, while 'Timobo' displayed the amazing talent of the percussionists.

Ceding to the demands of an enthusiastic audience, the orchestra returned for an encore "Para los Rumberos', which featured guest trombonist, Graham Maule and baritone sax Jason Marshall.

As the crowd filtered away into the night, they could be heard humming phrases snatched from memorable pieces, energised by the vibrancy of this extremely talented ensemble.