Reviews

David Murray Cuban Ensemble Plays Nat King Cole (Motema 2011)

Review written by: Janine Santana Nat King Cole’s Latin influenced recordings of 1958 and 1962 were performed in both Spanish and Portuguese. Cole spoke neither, but sang the lyrics phonetically, maintaining his signature phrasing style. Although it sounded odd to native Spanish and Portuguese speakers, his obvious affection for the songs... [Read more]

Grupo Falso Baiano – Simplicidade (Massaroca Records – 2011)

Review written by: Wilbert Sostre Unlike Bossa Nova, a widely recognized style in the US, Brazilian choro is relatively unknown outside Brazil. The members of Falso Baiano with their refined and gorgeous sound are trying to change that. Falso Baiano is a choro ensemble based in the United States. Their new release Simplicidade: Live at Yoshi’s... [Read more]

Paoli Mejias – De Jazzambia A Mi Tambor – El Concierto

Review by Danilo Navas Master percussionist Paoli Mejias belongs to a generation of artists who are redefining puertoricanness in musical terms with their artistry. Mixing diverse Afro-Caribbean styles with global rhythms, based upon traditional/popular puertorican music, bomba, plena, aguinaldo, and holding it all together within the realm of modern... [Read more]

Peter MacDonough – The Woo (Self produced – 2010)

Review written by: Wilbert Sostre The whole concept of Peter MacDonough’s album The Woo: A Latin Jazz Suite for Soprano Saxophone, from the cover art to the name of the songs is based on the movie The Wizard of Oz. Reinterpretations of movie songs is not something new in jazz, John Coltrane did it with My Favorite Things, a song from The Sound... [Read more]

Rick Arroyo – Mr. P (Arroyando Music – 2011)

Review written by: Wilbert Sostre Born in Bronx, NY, multi instrumentalist Rick Arroyo began playing piano at the age of 9, drums at age 11, congas, vibraphone at the age of 14 and has worked with some of the best Latin jazz musicians in the US. All that experience shows on his album Mr. P. The album starts with “Mr. P”, dedicated to master... [Read more]

Peter Schärli Trio w Ithamara Koorax – O Grande Amor (TCB Music)

Brazilian vocalist Ithamara Koorax and the Swiss trio of pianist Hans-Peter Pfammatter, Trumpeter Peter Schärli and bassist Thomas Dűrst work together to transcend any barriers of culture and physical distance. Switzerland, where the core of this group is from is not the first area one thinks about when considering Latin Jazz! These musicians are... [Read more]

Claudio Roditi – Bons Amigos (Resonance Records – 2011)

Most fans, even aficionados of contemporary music, still only vaguely know the great trumpeter Claudio Roditi as the “Brazilian who joined Arturo Sandoval in Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra”. It is a pity that Roditi’s musical reputation rests on so narrow a spectrum in his enormous musical career. Few know, for instance, that Roditi... [Read more]

Duduka da Fonseca Trio Plays Toninho Horta (Zoho Music – 2011)

One of the main reasons why Brazilian music has been preserved and, more importantly, kept alive through the generations has been the readiness of newer generations of musicians to create repertory albums in homage to that country’s master musicians. Over the years there have been a slew of beautiful tributes to classical masters such as Heitor... [Read more]

Hendrik Meurkens – Live at Bird’s Eye (Zoho Music – 2011)

Hendrik Meurkens is, most certainly, one of the greatest musical adventurers from Europe. The harmonica wunderkind who also happens to be a fine vibraphone player seems to have almost singlehandedly rediscovered Brazil decades after Stan Getz and Joe Henderson did almost five decades ago. In doing so Meurkens along with the grandmaster of the harmonica,... [Read more]

Laura Fernandez – Un Solo Beso (Self Published – 2011)

There is a certain fire that burns with a quietude that, although atypical of the Latin soul, still contains much of the passion that is contained in it. In fact the passion is so contained that the fire actually soars with its very chill. The music of Laura Fernandez “burns” with this cold fire. Much of Miles Davis’ music was “hot” in that... [Read more]