There’s a group of Cuban musicians coming to the Admiral Theatre in Bremerton Friday, but don’t call their music salsa.

While to the untrained ear it may sound similar, it’s actually a unique form of Cuban music called timba.

Timba is considered to be a hyped up form of salsa with rhythm and swing being more important than melody and lyricism. The music includes influences from Afro-Cuban music, rap, funk and soul. Timba is to salsa what soul is to R&B — the same roots but with different branches.

One reviewer described timba as: “Traditional Cuban classics meet soaring joyful vocals and an impressive horn and percussion section driving a booty-shaking party guaranteed to pick up your mood.”

It takes a group of musicians with a solid background in classical music and jazz, as well as traditional Cuban music to play pull off that combination, and the group coming to Bremerton is up to the challenge.

The Florida-based Tiempo Libre is a septet founded and led by pianist Jorge Gomez, a graduate of Havana’s Escuela Nacional de Arte, or ENA, Cuba’s premier music conservatory.

Gomez has played with a wide range of salsa and jazz musicians both while living in Guatemala and after coming to the United States in 2000.

Rounding out the group are Leandro Gonzalez on congas, Eduardo Quintana on flute and saxophone, Joaquin Diaz on vocals, Pavel Diaz on trumpet and Angel “Pututi” Arce on drums.

“Tiempo libre” means “free time” in Spanish, and the group was originally formed by Gomez as a way to have something to do when not touring and performing with other bands. Band members were found among ENA classmates living in the Miami area, and they soon found themselves putting other projects on the back burner as the group took off.

They have gone on to wow audiences at clubs, festivals and concerts across the United States and in Asia.

If you want to take the beat home with you, the group has released two CDs, “Timbiando” and “Arroz con Mango.”

Tiempo Libre plays 8 p.m. Oct. 28 at the Admiral Theater, 515 Pacific Ave., Bremerton.

Tickets are $18 general admission, all seats reserved. Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. dinner and main floor seating are $49, reservations required. Tickets are available at the box office, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or by phone at (360) 373-6743. wu