Elio Villafranca & Arturo Stable – Dos y Más (Motéma 2012)

Elio Villafranca is one of the most exciting young trio of pianists to come out of Cuba in recent years; the other two being David Virelles and Aruán Ortiz. That number may well have been a quartet, had Arturo Stable chosen to remain a pianist—an instrument he started out with—before he chose percussion as his means of musical communication. But then again, Villafranca did begin his musical life as a percussionist before he chose the piano as his instrument [...]

Bye-Ya! The Latin Jazz Quintet – Further Arrivals (Challenge 2010)

On Further Arrivals two forces of nature come together. One is the molten voice of Brian Lynch’s trumpet and the other is the very exciting European quartet that goes by the name: Bye-Ya! On the face of it this fine ensemble might appear to be a tribute to Thelonious Monk and, indeed, their chattering approach to music might well be the debt they owe to His Great Outness. However, the music dances to a Latin American rhythm and so, these three men and a woman [...]

Mario Adnet – More Jobim Jazz (Adventure Music – 2011)

Of all the musicians who have contributed to keeping the repertoire of great Brazilian composers alive, Mario Adnet may be making the greatest contribution here. Like trombonist Roswell Rudd, soprano saxophonist Steve Lacy and pianist Misha Mengleberg who gone to great lengths to keep the music of the great pianist and composer Herbie Nichols’ and (to a certain extent) Thelonious Monk’s repertoire alive, the guitarist Adnet has created some of [...]

Jovino Santos Neto Quinteto – Corrente (Adventure Music – 2011)

From the first notes of the lilting, swaggering Afro-Caribbean melody of “Corrente” it is clear that Jovino Santos Neto is on his surreptitious way to making his Quinteto album, Correnteone of his most memorable to date. From there on, whether he is rendering a baião, a choro, marcha, samba or xoté, it is clear that his mastery of crossing rhythms as they collide with the idiom of jazz is sublime. The magical and beguiling polyrhythms of “Two Friends [...]

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

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 beloved world-wide by Latinos was accepted as it opened the door to a new audience for the music. To be honest, Cole’s versions of the songs my parents loved [...]

Grupo Falso Baiano – Simplicidade (Massaroca Records – 2011)

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 was recorded live at Yoshi’s Club in Oakland, California in July 5, 2010, and captures vividly the richness and beauty of choro music [...]

Peter MacDonough – The Woo (Self produced – 2010)

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 of Music. But what MacDonough did here is a Latin Jazz version of a complete movie soundtrack. And just as Coltrane did on My Favorite Things [...]

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

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 Puerto Rican pianist Eddie Palmieri. The “afinque” on this piece (afinque means playing tight) is reminiscent of the glory days of salsa music [...]

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 finely tuned with each other, particularly in the title cut, but why, oh why did they choose to leave out percussion [...]

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 was one of the first Brazilian musicians to relocate in the United States of America: in 1970 as a matter of fact [...]