Plena Libre, the venerable, high-energy ensemble that help put Puerto Rican roots musicon the international musical map, stays true at heart to the island’s unique plena and bomba pulse, all while flirting unabashedly and engagingly with music from across the Caribbean and Latin world. Dancing with genres from smiling merengue and Cuban songo to Latin jazz and rock, Plena Libre takes a no-holds-barred approach to tradition on Corazón (release: February 26, 2013), keeping the rhythmic core of Puerto Rican music and adding layers of complex, good-spirited brass, strings, and hard-hitting hand percussion.