Latin percussion; Latin-style, flowing bass w/ anticipations alternating roots and fifths...think, like, Oy Ye Como Va...Santana; Horn lines that stretch away from the choppy figure, and sing over the rest.
The main problem is that there's not much 'roll'. Most of the instruments, most of the time , are locked into the 'da-da-dum' figure. Might do well with a layering of different textures..connective stuff...sustaining counter melodies in the horns...to get it off the runway, before the choruses. The bass needs to sustain, and the 'ands' of the 4/4 are entirely vacant when you're not playing the ride....a pop from a conga or cowbell, for example, would lend 'roll'.
One other thing I didn't hear were voices leading in the chord comp. Basic triads...thirds in the horns...mariachi...not a chromatic thing, hitting tensions I can recall. I don't even think there's a b7 on any of the V chords. Especially in the layouts in the bridges.....a little blue-ness would give it some ...errr...poignancy. That's something you could add..the triads on the piano leave lots of open harmonic space.
The piano is not hitting the beats, a lot of the time...and it makes the tune sound kinda ragged. A good roll from percussion, latin bass, and sustaining horn lines [it's the accuracy of the horns in the figure that showcase the slop in the piano] would make it a lot more appealing, I think.
Send me an mp3 of the first verse and chorus....vox, piano and drums. I'll put in the stuff I'm talking about, just to see if it works. For fun and learning.
