Gabriel Espinosa – From Yucatan To Rio (Zoho Music 2009)

The journey from Yucatan to Rio was a really smooth one. It was brimful with samba and bossa nova, with a little baroque thrown in probably the happy memory of a childhood resplendent withy the music of Bach and Vivaldi. And there is plenty of everything in evidence on the record that Gabriel Espinosa has produced to commemorate his spirit journey from the place of his birth to the place he dreams of harmoniously.

From Yucatan to Rio is a mellifluous musical expedition led by this mature bassist, who crafts his music with utmost confidence and grace, surrounded by a galaxy of stellar acolytes. And they sparkle – each bringing a glow to this record teeming with musical gems. Claudio Roditi seems to occupy a pivotal place here, and bassist Espinosa has created room for the trumpet and flugelhorn player to not only solo with fluidity, but also bond tight with alto saxophonist, George Robert (on most songs) as well as with clarinetist, Anat Cohen on “Nuevos Horizontes.”

Bassists are rather rare as bandleaders and – baring a few exceptions – they have chosen to drop their bull-violins in favor another instrument (a piano perhaps?) to leading from the front of the ensemble. Often this necessitated by the harmonic position that a bassist is required to hold in the lower end of the harmonic spectrum. Of course Mingus is the most prominent exception that comes to mind, although he also soloed sometimes. Unusually, Espinosa chooses not to solo, but does yeoman work in the depths of the lower registers. His ostinato passage on his arrangement of Jobim’s “Agua de Beber” is superb.

Espinosa also creates special room for his percussionists – shared by Antonio Sanchez and Adriano Santos, each on five of the tracks, with Dende playing everything that the drummers do not. Antonio Sanchez shows why he is a percussionist of choice for so much of a cross-section of session work today. His sensibility as a colorist knows no boundaries and when he crosses over – with a timeless solo in a samba, the effect is stunning. On “Klavier Latino,” Sanchez displays a majestic command over shading and accents as he romps ahead and behind the song’s inner tempo, finally breaking out with a clatter and rumble into a sensational solo supported by voices and ensemble.

Adriano Santos continues the proud tradition for men like Milton Banana, Wilson Dos Neves and Paulo Braga and his backbeat on Jobim’s “Agua de Beber” is flawless and rolls off the skins with alacrity. This song also features a fine vocal interpretation by the fabulous New York Voices – Darmon Meader and Kim Nazarian. Pianist, Helio Alves another bright Brasilian voice on the New York scene steps out – as he does several times throughout the record trading licks with the indefatigable Romero Lubambo as well as Roditi and Robert – on “LP 07” an unforgettable travelogue.

Anat Cohen lights up the crepuscular, “Nuevos Horizontes” with a warm, woody glissandos as she breaks out of the music with a solo that melts like butter dappling the song with gold. Alison Wedding appears to be part of the star power on this record as well. Not only is her writing fascinating, as evidenced on “We’ve Come Undone” and “Remain” but her interpretations remain some of the high points of the record as well. Her phrasing is svelte as she leaps across the melody in heart-stopping breaths.

Espinosa, it appears here, is showcasing not his virtuoso side, but his composing ability and his fabulous arrangements. In this he appears to be quite simply a wonderful fit for the emotive music of Brasil and this is more than merely a superficial feeling. The depth of emotion of his music is truly touching and that is why the Brasilian theme works even though it is a relatively sedate rhythmic excursion.

Tracks: Agua De Beber; Klavier Latino; LP 07; We’ve Come Undone; Nuevos Horizontes; Morning Breeze; Azul Y Negro; Remain; Maria; Huracan.

Personnel: Gabriel Espinosa: bass, background vocals; Claudio Roditi: trumpet, flugelhorn; George Robert: alto saxophone; Helio Alves: piano, keyboards; Alison Wedding: lead vocals (4, 8), background vocals (2, 9), alto (1); Antonio Sanchez: drums (2, 5, 6, 8, 9); Adriano Santos: drums (1, 3, 4, 7, 10); Darmon Meader: (vocals (1); Kim Nazarian: vocals (1); Anat Cohen: clarinet (5); Romero Lubambo: guitar (3, 4, 6, 8, 9); Dende: percussion; Patricio Espinosa: background vocals (9).

Gabriel Espinosa on the web: www.myspace.com/gabrielespinosafromyucatantorio

Review written by: Raul da Gama

Paoli Mejias – Jazzambia – Recording Session

On this earthy and emotionally charged record, Jazzambia (2008), percussionist Paoli Mejias may appear to be showcasing his skills, but in actual fact, he is doing much more than that. He is actually setting out to draw a not-so-tenuous rhythmic line between the music of Africa and of Puerto Rico. In his own very personal vision of Puerto Rico the glue that binds this is European programmatic music and, of course, the African-American idiom of jazz.- Raul da Gama

Jazzambia is independently produced by Paoli Mejías. Featuring internationally acclaimed musicians: Miguel Zenón – Sax; Jaleel Shaw – Sax; Antonio Sánchez – Drums; Tony Escapa – Drums; Luis Perdomo – Piano; Hans Glawischnig – Bass; Paoli Mejías – Percussion & Chris Cheek – Sax; Christian Nieves – Cuatro / Puerto Rican Guitar; Rafael “Tito” De Gracia – Timbales; Ricardo Pons – Sax and Yan Carlos Artime – Chorus.

Photographs by Sarah Vogel

Paoli Mejias – Jazzambia (Paoli Mejias Records 2008)

On this earthy and emotionally charged record, Jazzambia (2008), percussionist Paoli Mejias may appear to be showcasing his skills, but in actual fact, he is doing much more than that. He is actually setting out to draw a not-so-tenuous rhythmic line between the music of Africa and of Puerto Rico. In his own very personal vision of Puerto Rico the glue that binds this is European programmatic music and, of course, the African-American idiom of jazz.

This is established right in the first track, “Diaspora,” which opens in a purely derivative Latin American context. Then as soon as he solos, the music breaks down into a richly crafted narrative meandering from African roots, through a fine European sensibility. Finally the music flows back into the Latin American metaphor, before a re-statement of the theme, but this time more robust and melodic, yet featuring a resolution of the African and the Latin American. Miguel Zenon states the European in an alto saxophone tone; Mejias rediscovers the African roots and then the wonderfully sensitive piano meandering of Luis Perdomo brings the song home to Puerto Pico in smart rhythm. And this is very much the case, only more traditional, on Nestor Toro’s track “Jibarology,” which features the electrifyingly colored cuatro work of Christian Nieves.

However there is much more to this record than the first two extraordinary tracks and Mejias takes the listener through them with a wonderful array of percussion from the African and the Brazilian to the Puerto Rican and also the American.

There is the beautiful ‘singing’ track, “Logos” and the oblique tribute to he bebop masters – “Fragment,” which features a rising star, Jaleel Shaw on one of the most lyrical alto saxophone excursions imaginable. Shaw returns to wax lyrical on “Sentimental Cha,” a swinging cha cha shuffle. And then there is the dynamic attack throughout, of Luis Perdomo, a direct musical descendent of the great Eddie Palmieri. Perdomo – true to his penchant for a percussive Latin attack creates an enormous swathe of rhythm around the melodic elements of his Latin signature and defines the musical thrust of the record.

And there are also some fine challenging rhythmic excursions where the musicians employ complex time signatures. Bassist Glawischnig’s “El Tintero” is a classic case in point, where this very mode can be seen in the energetic introduction of the song and then throughout the song.

Mejias also states in his dedication that he wanted to pay tribute to the powerful ancestors in his musical family. And if his intention was to praise the griot tradition, which he was born into then this record, with its rhythmic heart that beats around a rich tapestry of melodic and harmonic journeys, then Mejias has truly succeeded in creating a magnificent testament to his heritage.

Tracks: 1. Diaspora; 2. Jibarology; 3. Logos; 4. Fragment; 5. El Tintero; 6. Sentimental Cha; 7. Links; 8. Lo Cierto que es lo incierto; 9. Seres.

Personnel: Hans Glawischnig: bass; Luis Perdomo: piano; Antonio Sanchez: drums (1 & 2, 5 & 6 & 7, 9); Tony Escapa: drums (3, 4, 8); Miguel Zenon: alto saxophone (1 – 3); Jaleel Shaw: alto saxophone (5 & 6), soprano saxophone (7); Ricardo Pons: alto saxophone (8); Chris Cheek: soprano saxophones (9); Christian Nieves: cuatro/Puerto Rican guitar (2), guiro (2, 8); Rafael (Tito) De Gracia: timbal (4, 8); Yan Carlos Artime: chorus (4, 5); Paoli Mejias: all percussion and all percussion solos on all tracks.

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Paoli Mejias on the web: www.paolimejias.com

Review written by: Raul da Gama