Billy Gibbons Returns To Cuban Music Roots

The Sharp Dressed Man singer took Latin percussion lessons from his bandleader father Freddie Royal's friend Tito Puente in his teens and now he's keen to show off his salsa and Afro-Cuban skills on his new album, which is scheduled for release in October (15).

The guitar great admits Cuban music inspired the new album, which was recorded in studios in America and Spain with musicians like New York-based Cuban singer and bandleader Chino Pons, Puerto-Rican raised keyboard player Martin Guigi and vocalist Alex Garza.

The album, tentatively titled Perfectamundo, includes tracks sung Spanish and an Afro-Cuban version of Lightnin' Hopkins staple Baby Please Don't Go.