Bruce Springsteen surprise with Little Steven at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park<\/p>\n Bruce Springsteen surprise with Little Steven at the Oct. 26, 2025 TeachRock benefit the Stone Pony in Asbury Park.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/media-video><\/div>\n <\/story-highlights> There’s a new beat on E Street.<\/p>\n Anthony Al<\/a>m<\/a>onte<\/a>, percussionist for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band<\/a>, has just released \u201cConversando Con La Luna\u201d and it’s full of suavemente salsa beats with splashes of rock, pop and Latin jazz.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve always loved salsa,\u201d said Almonte to the Asbury Park Press. \u201cIt’s the first genre of music I was really passionate about, and with this record what I wanted to do was incorporate really all of my musical influences and experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOxigeno De Amor,\u201d which closes out the album, features a jazzy salsa flow with Almonte’s easy tenor capturing the magic of the summer moonlight air.<\/p>\n \u201cThat song is definitely the direction I wanted to take the album,\u201d Almonte said. \u201cIt’s a salsa tune but there\u2019s influences from various genres from my background. The song has a sensibility where I\u2019m talking about wanting the oxygen of love for someone, which lends of itself to the sentiment of the rest of the album. It’s not as much being in love and directing that toward the person but reflecting on the experience of love, reflecting on the experience of being in love, and the oxygen of love. It was a perfect starting point and direction for the rest of the tracks.\u201d<\/p>\n A record release show will take place Thursday, July 9 at Dizzy’s Club, part of Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.<\/p>\n Guests on the album include Ronald Borjas, Alexander Abreu, and Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Marc Qui\u00f1ones, Jeremy Bosch and Carlos Henriquez, along with Rich Mercurio of the Disciples of Soul and Charlie Giordano and Little Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band.<\/p>\n \u201cConversando Con La Luna<\/a>\u201d is released on Van Zandt’s Wicked Cool Records.<\/p>\n \u201cStevie loves all styles of music but his passion for Latin music is pretty awesome,\u201d Almonte said. \u201cOne of the things I leaned early on is Stevie loves Tito Puente and the mambo era. When we get together, have dinner and hang out and he puts music on, one of the first things he always tends to put on is mambo, Celia Cruz, which is phenomenal. To have the chance to have him on this record, a Latin record, it was super special for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Almonte, a 33-year old New York City native, was recruited for Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul by bassist Jack Daley after percussionist Everett Bradley left for Bon Jovi. He was recommended for the role in the E Street Band by Van Zandt, who’s the music director.<\/p>\n Almonte was a hit right away with E Street Band fans, starring with a drum off with Max Weinberg on \u201cE Street Shuffle\u201d during the \u201cLetter to You\u201d tour in 2023 to 2024. He also gained notice with E Streeters Curtis King Jr. and Ozzie Melendez for their social media videos of backstage song-and-dance routines before the E Street Band shows.<\/p>\n Almonte, King Jr. and Melendez, now known as the Funky Mofos, will play the Spring-Nuts Seaside Serenade main event<\/a> Sunday, May 31, at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park. The trio plays classic funk like Sly and the Family Stone’s \u201cDance to the Music\u201d and arena rockers like Kansas’ \u201cCarry on Wayward Son.\u201d<\/p>\n The Spring-Nuts are a Springsteen fan club and the show will benefit WhyHunger and TeachRock.<\/p>\n \u201cI have such a great time being on the road with the E Street Band,\u201d Almonte said. \u201c(The Funky Mofos) are a bunch of guys who happen to play in the greatest band in the world just having a really good time playing music for the folks out front.\u201d<\/p>\n The Springsteen and E Street band’s Land of Hope and Dreams American Tour wraps up Saturday, May 30, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The No Kings-themed shows have drawn praise for their musicianship and forthrightness in facing the moment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s inspiring to watch someone like Bruce do what he does and stand the way he does,\u201d Almonte said. \u201cTo have this band backing him, it\u2019s powerful and having Tom Morello as well with us and seeing the reaction of the people. Bruce has a way of conveying to the public, to the audience, that is so moving. How can you not be in awe and inspired by that?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time we step up on that stage, it\u2019s history and I think the audience knows that and they want to make sure they catch that.\u201d<\/p>\n Go: Anthony Almonte \u201cConversando Con La Luna\u201d record release show, 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9, Dizzy’s Club at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Frederick P. Rose Hall, Broadway at 60th Street, New York City. $25 to $55. jazz.org\/dizzys<\/a><\/p>\n
\nFour-minute read<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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