Estrada Brothers Release First CD : The group dates to the ‘50s. Now the players have hit a new stride in Latin jazz. The collection’s title? It’s ‘About Time.’

About time, indeed.

The Estrada Brothers, Ventura County’s premiere gift to the Latin-jazz world, have at long last released their first official CD, “About Time,� on their own Rumba Jazz label. Thanks to the organizational and motivational efforts of Raul Rico Jr., the band’s energetic percussionist who also has popular Latin-jazz programs on KCSB and KCLU, the CD has completed the often prolonged birth process that occurs when you do it yourself.

A few weeks ago, the group shook the walls at a CD release gig at the Sea Cove in Santa Barbara, one of the venues in the region friendly to Latin-jazz pulses. The band also will play at Heritage Square in Oxnard on Friday, the Olivas Adobe on July 29, and at an in-store performance at Cymbaline’s in Santa Barbara on July 30.

The family musical saga dates back to the early ‘50s, when older brother Angel, a pianist, started a group with charter member Henry on saxophone and flute and, on drums, Ruben, who was still in junior high school. The original Estrada Brothers quickly rose in the ranks at local gigs, especially on the weddings circuit.

Ruben’s seminal career was momentarily interrupted when labor commissions refused to let the young drummer work because of his age. “When they stopped me, my mom said, ‘Why don’t we dress you up to make you look old?’ They used to put a big coat on me and a little fake mustache. I snuck back into the group.�

He also took up the trumpet, listening to Chet Baker albums and studying initially with future Ventura County Symphony Conductor Frank Salazar, then teaching at Oxnard High School.

“I guess the vibes were picked up when Tito Puente came into the picture,� said Ruben, now an accomplished vibist and the group’s leader. “A lot of people were using vibes in Latin music. My brother, Angel, was the one who wanted to learn how to play the vibes.

“We were buying all kinds of albums pertaining to vibes, and Cal Tjader was the most important one. But we also had to keep up with our jazz, plus we had our wedding work, so we had to keep up with our commercial music. With the help of my father, we had all kinds of music around the stuff, classical, jazz and pop.�

The brotherly group was together for nearly 25 years, through the ‘70s, with the three brothers in tow, but then Angel got out of music and into real estate. Personnel shifted and the band began to take off again in the ‘80s, when Rico joined the group, along with bassist Malcom (Ian) Peters and pianist Joe Rotondi Jr. Young Ruben (Cougar) Estrada Jr. took over on drums, adding a new generation to the band. The young, hot trumpeter Adolfo Acosta also joined the ranks.

A fine, versatile drummer, Cougar is also found drumming behind the popular band Spencer the Gardener, which plays a unique blend of surfer and spy-movie tunes. Music was in the blood, and in the house. Ruben said of Ruben Jr.’s move into music, “He used to always follow me on the sidelines. It reminded me of what I used to do as a kid. He’d pick up on some of the drums around the bedroom. The vibes were always set up in the living room, and he’d be banging on those.�

The band has gotten more seriously into the Latin-jazz groove, opening for the likes of Stan Getz, Ruben Blades, Tito Puente and Poncho Sanchez--Ruben plays vibes on Sanchez’s upcoming tribute to Tjader.

After the band released a quickly made cassette in 1990, a New York-based Latin label, Top Ten Hits, picked it up and made a CD--it apparently made some waves, but the band never saw any money from the deal.

“So we decided to do it on our own this time,� Ruben Sr. said, “and so far we’ve been very lucky. We’ve gotten a lot of airplay. It’s in stores and we’re getting some good response and reviews.�

With the new CD out, Ruben is excited about having a document of the band’s progress, but, because it was recorded two years ago and delayed because of the inevitable hobgoblin of finances, he’s ready to plunge into the next recording.

“Right now, I’m working on tunes for the next album, which will be more original,� he said. “In fact, we have so many plans for it, we don’t know where to start. That’s the way it is right now: We’re in the closet before we bring out the stuff.�

Forty years later, the Estrada Brothers are hitting a new stride. It’s about time.

Details

* WHAT: The Estrada Brothers.

* WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday.

* WHERE: Heritage Square, 715 S. A St., Oxnard.

* HOW MUCH: Lawn seats are free; seats are $1.

* CALL: 483-7960.