Culebra is also the name of a band which was active in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1980s, performing a repertoire of many genres of original Caribbean and Latin dance music. Named after the small island off the coast of Puerto Rico by the same name, the group was one of the leading groups playing at clubs, festivals such as the Haight Street Fair and, in particular, the San Francisco Carnaval during the golden age of the SF Carnaval in the early 80s when the Carnaval parade in San Francisco went from 26th Street in the Mission all the way downtown to the heart of Civic Center.
Many notable musicians played and recorded with Culebra, which appeared in configurations ranging from a quartet up to a 15-piece large band. The album Sun Music, recorded at Starlight Sounds in Richmond with engineer Jamie Bridges, included the following musicians in the line-up: Jordan Amarantha, O.J. Ekemode , Rasul Siddik , Keith Jones, Carl Herder, Danny Montgomery, Kuumba Rhymer, Dennis Kaufman, Geneva, Lillian Alexander, and Jefferson Braswell. The album, featuring all original compositions by Jefferson Braswell, was recently bounced to digital and remixed with additional trap drum tracks (replacing electronic drums on certain tracks) provided by drummer Chris McGrew.
The tracks on Sun Music, which can be heard at Tropical Outerspace on MySpace, run the gamut of several danceable genres from the Caribbean and South America, and include:
Karma Dub (reggae ) Rasul Siddik (trumpet), Keith Jones (bass), Chris McGrew (drums), Jefferson Braswell (guitar, keyboards)
Primavera (salsa dura ) Rasul Siddik (trumpet), Keith Jones (bass), Chris McGrew (drums), Jordan Amarantha (congas), O.J. Ekemode (sax), Jefferson Braswell (guitar, vocals)
Samba del Mar (samba ) Danny Montgomery (drums), Carl Herder (bass), Jordan Amarantha (congas), Dennis Kaufman (piano), Jefferson Braswell (guitar, vocals)
Full Moon (reggae bossa ) Kuumba Rhymer (drums), Carl Herder (bass), Jordan Amarantha (congas), Dennis Kaufman (steel pan), Lillian Alexander (vocals), Jefferson Braswell (guitar, keyboards, vocals)
Carryin' Around (ska) Kuumba Rhymer (drums), Carl Herder (bass), Rasul Siddik (trumpet), Lillian Alexander (vocals), Jefferson Braswell (guitar, keyboards, vocals )
Cinnamon Bay (calypso) Kuumba Rhymer (drums, percussion), Carl Herder (bass), Rasul Siddik (trumpet), Dennis Kaufman (steel pan), Jefferson Braswell (guitar, keyboards, percussion)
A New Day (reggae) Kuumba Rhymer (drums), Carl Herder (bass), Jefferson Braswell (guitar, piano, keyboards)
Carnaval Tropical Outerspace ( samba/rock/funk SF Carnaval '81 suite ) Kuumba Rhymer (drums, timbales), Carl Herder (bass), Rasul Siddik (trumpet), O.J. Ekemode (sax, talking drum), Jordan Amarantha (congas, bongos), Dennis Kaufman (steel pan), Geneva (vocals), Jefferson Braswell (guitar, keyboards, quatro, percussion)
Zouk Alors (zouk) Carl Herder (bass), Lillian Alexander (vocals), Jordan Amarantha (congas), Jefferson Braswell (drums, keyboards, guitar)
Dominica Fajou (merengue) Jefferson Braswell (guitar, congas, bass, keyboards, drums )
Musicians who also participated in live performances by Culebra include D.C. Carter, Gary Monitto, Steve Fogel, Sam Peoples, Kim Atkinson, and Ghasem Batamuntu.