More Noteworthy Recordings of 2011
By Raul da Gama, Janine Santana, Wilbert Sostre
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Claudio Roditi – Bons Amigos (Resonance Records) 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. Since then he has criss-crossed America playing with the likes of Tito Puente, Mario Bauzá, Ray Barretto and Dizzy Gillespie… Read full review by Raul da Gama. |
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Silvano Monasterios – Unconditional (Savant Records) Silvano Monasterios reaped the benefit of a valuable education. Born in Caracas, Monasterios studied classical piano at José Lamas Conservatory, learned the traditional rhythms associated with sambas of South America, and studied jazz at home with his father. This combination has integrated and developed Monasterios into a superb composer and performer. After winning a scholarship award for best soloist at the Miami Jazz Festival, he moved to the United States to attend Miami-Dade College. He has several jazz honors both here and in Venezuela… Read full review by Janine Santana (jazzhistoryonline). |
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Jane Bunnett & Hilario Durán – Cuban Rhapsody (Alma Rec) Saxophonist and flutist Jane Bunnett exploration of cuban music started back in the 1990′s and she is a frequent visitor to Cuba. So Bunnett is not a newcomer to the world of latin music. In fact Bunnett received the 2002 Smithsonian Institute Award for her contributions and dedication to the development of latin jazz. On her new release Cuban Rhapsody, Bunnett recorded with her long time musical friend pianist virtuoso Hilario Duran. Their music partnership goes back to 1990 when Bunnett went to Cuba to record her album Spirits of Havana. Bunnett and her husband… Read full review by Wilbert Sostre. |
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Diego Urcola Quartet – Appreciation (CAM Jazz/Sunnyside) Diego Urcola’s is a voice that remained somewhat hidden—certainly tucked away—for two decades in Paquito D’Rivera’s quintet. And then there was the subdued role he played in Los Guachos, the fabulous larger ensemble. However the graceful candour of his voice is irrepressible and it was only a matter of time when he would be heard for what he really is and plays. Urcola is distinct and a singular artist in the manner of his more famous countryman Leandro “Gato” Barbieri. The trumpeter plays with sensuous swagger and digs deep into his own soul for… Read full review by Raul da Gama. |
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Antonio Adolfo – Chora Baião (AAM Music) Antonio Adolfo is not very well-known outside of Brazil—yet! His beautiful new recording "Chora Baião" (Cry Baião) is a successful marriage of traditional northern Brazilian musical forms (which meld African, European and indigenous cultures) and jazz. Adolfo has taken the music of two beloved Brazilian artists, Guinga and Chico Buarque, whose fortes are choro and baião and arranged it with his own elegant flavor. He respectfully maintains the integrity of these two masters while infusing his own mastery of composition and arrangement. The album opens with “Dá O Pé … Read full review by Janine Santana (jazzhistoryonline). |
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Wayne Wallace – To Hear from There (Patois Records) Wayne Wallace continues to explore the infectious Afro-Cuban rhythms on To Here From There, the follow-up to his 2010 Grammy-nominated album, Bien Bien! (Patois Record, 2009). Wallace is a trombonist with vast experience that includes collaborations with artists such as Count Basie, Joe Henderson, Lionel Hampton, Sonny Rollins and Tito Puente. Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet plays like they were born in Cuba. The danceable “La Escuela” with its piano montuno and the distinctive clave of the Cuban son is dedicated to La Escuela Nacional de las Artes… Read full review by Wilbert Sostre. |
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Hendrik Meurkens – Live at Bird’s Eye (Zoho Music) 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, Toots Thielemans, has cast a refreshing light on Brazilian music, focussing on the angularity and aching beauty longing of its beloved choro. Not only has he brought a new instrument (the harmonica) to… Read full review by Raul da Gama. |
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Oscar Pérez Nuevo Comienzo – Afropean Affair (Chandra Rec) Originally from Queens, pianist Oscar Perez studied both classical music and jazz. He focused on jazz because he was able to acquire more work in nightclubs than concert halls. Yet his classical music training comes through in his original compositions. The title work of the present recording, “Afropean Affair” is a commissioned suite from Chamber Music America which combines themes of the past, present and future of music from African, European and jazz sources. While some of the press material claims that Perez is creating a new musical form, I hear this… Read full review by Janine Santana (jazzhistoryonline). |
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Sánchez, Harris, Scott – Ninety Miles (Concord Picante) Three young music virtuosos join forces in the Ninety Miles Project, one of the best albums of 2011. Grammy nominated vibraphonist Stefon Harris, New Orleans native, and also Grammy nominated trumpetist Christian Scott and Grammy winner saoxophone master David Sanchez. Ninety Miles is the distance between the USA and Cuba, two countries with great political differences but with a greater love for good music. Recorded in Cuba with cuban pianists Rember Duharte and Harold Lopez Nussa, Ninety Miles is also the result of the visit and exploration of Cuban music… Read full review by Wilbert Sostre. |
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Afrodisian Orchestra – Satierismos (Youkali Music) And now comes Satierismos a superb homage from the large Spanish ensemble, Afrodisian Orchestra. These are extraordinary musicians who have—to a man—a wild sense of creativity. Each of the members of the orchestra show outstanding technique especially pianist Marta Sánchez and under the majestic musical direction of Miguel Blanco, the ensemble displays a tremendous genius for tonal color and command of instrumental timbre. But their greatest asset could well be their monumental sense of rhythm, particularly how to take control of this aspect of the… Read full review by Raul da Gama. |
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Sammy Figueroa – Urban Nature (Senator Records) For years he has been heard as the driving percussion force behind many disparate legends in a variety of music genres. Involved in multiple Grammy-winning projects, and well versed as a multi percussionist in a variety of world rhythms, he is firmly established as a first call recording and touring musician. Yet this is not where Sammy Figueroa will stay. He has stepped away from being a sideman to shine as a leader. Figueroa’s skills, mature savvy and humor are revealed with perfect timing in his new CD, “Urban Nature”. While the groove of this recording is Latin… Read full review by Janine Santana (jazzhistoryonline). |
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Magos Herrera – Mexico Azul (Sunnyside Records) Magos Herrera is the Cassandra Wilson of latin america. There are similarities in their warm, sultry tone, their bluesy feeling and strong command of the jazz language. What makes Magos Herrera different and certainly a unique voice in the jazz world today is her latin heritage that she proudly displays in all of her music. The CD notes describes México Azul as a celebration of México’s golden age of cinema and television. That was back in the 30′s and 40′s. A lot of good music came out of that era, and Magos did a good job in the song selection for this album… Read full review by Wilbert Sostre. |
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Duduka da Fonseca Trio Plays Toninho Horta (Zoho Music) Plays Toninho Horta marks the arrival of Da Fonseca as a masterful interpreter of fine repertoire and inasmuch, as he has made Horta’s music his own, something of a “composer” as well. Da Fonseca is clearly one of the finest rhythm colorists around. He is one of several musicians who followed in the footsteps of fellow-Brazilians, Santos, Claudio Roditi and Nilson Matta in locating themselves in the United States. In bringing their artistry abroad, these musicians have become virtual ambassadors for Brazilian musical culture in that country. As is the case with… Read full review by Raul da Gama. |
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Francisco Mela and Cuban Safari – Tree of Life (Half Note) Francisco Mela is a man who lives to drum. He studied in his native Cuba and at Berklee College in Boston. He has been known to rehearse twelve hours a day. He caught the attention of Joe Lovano, and the saxophonist hired him for his band Us 5, and strongly encouraged Mela to compose and perform his own music. “Tree of Life” is Mela’s third CD as a leader and it features his band Cuban Safari, which, in addition to Mela’s drums, includes Elio Villafranca and Leo Genovese on piano, Uri Gurvich on sax, Ben Monder on guitar, Luques Curtis on bass, and Mauricio… Read full review by Janine Santana (jazzhistoryonline). |
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Kalani Trinidad – Crossing Bridges (Self produced) Flutist Kalani Trinidad is one of the brightest young stars in the Puerto Rico jazz scene today and the first Puerto Rican to win a Presidential Scholarship from Berklee School of Music in Boston. In his style Trinidad echoes the best of the great Puerto Rican flutist that came before him. One may hear on his music the finesse and sensitivity of a Nestor Torres and the inventiveness and intensity of a Dave Valentín. The music on Trinidad debut album Crossing Bridges has elements of smooth jazz on compositions like “Ubiquitous Being”, fusion jazz on “Noche en Madrid”… Read full review by Wilbert Sostre. |
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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. Since then he has criss-crossed America playing with the likes of Tito Puente, Mario Bauzá, Ray Barretto and Dizzy Gillespie. In Brazil he played with Jose Gonzalez and a host of others. He has played in every idiom of music: from bebop to rumba, samba and was nominated for his first Grammy in 1995 for his quintessential solo album Symphonic Bossa Nova with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Ettore Stratta.
In recent years, Roditi has come into his own again in intimate settings that he has created with fellow Brazilians, percussionist Duduka Da Fonseca, bassist Leonardo Cioglia among others. And his work literally shines in deep bronze colors and shades. Roditi has a singular voice as melodious and spare as that of Lee Morgan and Clifford Brown, both of whom he once cited as reasons for his coming to the US. However, Roditi has forged a path of his own, melting the sensuous nature of Brazilian music into an idiom aglow with the infinite ache of saudade and alive with bebop. So stunning and inimitable is his sound that he seems to set fire to a room in which his music is heard and much of this comes in fact from the exquisite recordings he has made with George Klabin and Resonance Records.
His third album is Bons Amigos that takes its name from a gorgeous melody created by another fine Brazilian musician, Toninho Horta. Once again Roditi soars and this time, it seems, into the proverbial azure so much so that he creates a blues of his own. It is the warmth of his tone, which can be both heartbreaking and joyous at the same time, that seems to emanate from so deep within his musical soul that it brings with it a gravitas that creates splashes of color and shade of mauve and brown and gold as well as indigo and deep blue. His silken timbre is gracefully resonant and infinitely bold and his notes rise and fall like cascading waves. He is—in a word—unique. Roditi has also picked his repertoire here with such studied majesty that the charts sound positively regal even as they are quite accessible to even the casual fan.
“O Sonho,” with its brisk “maracatu-like” rhythmic attack makes a stunning beginning for the album that rises to greater heights as it progresses. Roditi’s latest drummer, the brilliant Mauricio Zottarelli gives notice here that he is a force to reckon with as he shades the piece with earthy tones and polyrhythms. Elsewhere—on “Fantasia” for instance—Zottarelli shows how sensitive he can be. Roditi is also joined by the Brazilian guitarist, Romero Lubambo, one of the finest and oddly, one of the most neglected geniuses of modern guitar. Lubambo shows his ingenuity throughout, especially on “Amandamada” where he appears almost vocal-like on electric guitar. Nicaraguan pianist, Donald Vega is another member of Roditi’s stellar cast here and wastes no time in showing how much in the pocket he is, especially on the trumpeter’s original, “Levitation”.
Then there are the two outstanding pieces on the album: the first is “Ligia,” a heartbreaking ballad featuring Roditi on vocals. With a voice so full of longing and remarkable phrasing, Roditi negotiates a marvelous piece. And then there is “Piccolo Samba” played on the piccolo trumpet, a rather difficult instrument that Roditi has appeared to have come to terms—even mastered in his own way. This chart also features a fine solo from the Italian bassist, Marco Panascia.
This album must surely cement Claudio Roditi’s reputation as a modern master of brass and win him both accolades and awards if true aficionados in this otherwise dismaying industry are paying close attention.
Track Listing:
1. O Sonho
2. Para Nada
3. Bossa de Mank
4. Ceu e Mar
5. Bons Amigos
6. Ligia
7. Levitation
8. Fantasia
9. Amandamada
10. Piccolo Samba.
Personnel:
Claudio Roditi: trumpet, flugelhorn, piccolo trumpet, vocal (6); Romero Lubambo: electric and acoustic guitars; Donald Vega: piano; Marco Panascia: bass; Mauricio Zottarelli: drums.
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Claudio Roditi on the web: www.resonancerecords.org/claudioroditi
Review written by: Raul da Gama
New CDs – October 2011 – Part 2
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CD: Without A Doubt Track: Monterey Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. On this new release (the fourth one to date), percussionist Steven Kroon and his band give us more of his unique, unmistakable sound, reminiscent of the Spanish Harlem (El Barrio) neighbourhood, with its melting pot of cultures and diversity, where musical rhythms collide and blend in a seamless manner. Steven’s music is fresh, lively, full of energy and positive vibes. |
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CD: Bons Amigos Track: Piccolo Samba Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Claudio Roditi has just put out a superb recording. Bons Amigos is the work of a true Master, surrounded by his best friends, his very special horns, and his very special bandmates. Piccolo Samba, the track showcased here, couldn’t be more representative of the innovation and creativity of this modern musical genius. As humble as only himself could be, Roditi embodies the best of the best in a Jazz artist. |
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CD: Urban Nature Track: Latin What? Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. A distinguished sideman who has become a successful leader. That’s Sammy Figueroa. From the very first note on Urban Nature, the musical mastery is evident. A great follow-up to Figueroa’s two previous Grammy nominated albums. Pianist Silvano Monasterios and bassist Gabriel Vivas -both hailing from Venezuela- lend a big hand with their compositions on this project. |
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CD: Unconditional Track: Farmacia Del Angel Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Venezuelan pianist Silvano Monasterios’ first release on the Savant label is his fourth to date. Classically trained, Monasterios has come a long way since his early days at the esteemed José Angel Lamas Conservatory in Caracas. Based in Miami, Florida, Monasterios is coming out of his southern territory to project himself at a national scale. He is outstanding as a composer and soloist. |
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CD: Afropean Affair Track: The Illusive Number Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Another great American pianist making a name for himself and his band is Oscar Pérez. Born in New York to a Cuban father and a Colombian mother, he absorbed his musical heritage from an early age, and after a long way getting his act together, he joins the wave of jazz artists who are erasing the distinctions between straight ahead and Latin jazz, as they forge a new idiom in the evolution of this great American art form we call Jazz. Afropean Affair is Oscar’s second recording. |
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Latin Jazz Network Radio – Jukebox – August 2010 Playlist
Click here to launch our audio player. See our playlist below.
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Um Abraço Pra Claudio – An Interview with Claudio Roditi
July 17, 2010 by danavas
Filed under Interviews
Interview conducted by: Raul da Gama
My palms are wet, but I am not nervous—just uncontrollably excited to be talking with Claudio Roditi, an iconic figure in music. With Brasilian guitarist, Ricardo Silveira and percussionist Duduka da Fonseca, another Brasilian and long-time resident of the Big Apple, Roditi is a seminal figure in the pursuit of a rare idiom in music. Some call it Samba Jazz. If that was meant to conjure images similar to Latin Jazz it certainly goes a long way in to putting the sound into a rather straight jacketed perspective. What would be more appropriate should have been a term like Afro-Cuban music. That term has color and suggests a whole palette of sounds. Musica Brasileira- Jazz somehow does it better. It suggests a complete setting; the feelings and emotions of saudade and alegria that are at the heart of and course through the music called choro and disappear under the surface of the broad palette of sounds—not just rhythms—but sounds and silence of both urban and pastoral Brasil.
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This really is what Claudio Roditi brought to the idiom of jazz, melded it in, blending the shuffle of samba with the swagger of swing, pouring in molten emotion from a heart and soul filled with music. It is what I saw when I went back to one of my favourite images of the musician. This appears on the film version of Dizzy Gillespie’s United Nations Orchestra, one of the last great big bands to grace our planet. This is the fabled performance of Dizzy’s great band at the Royal Festival Hall, London on June, 10, 1989. There are many occasions to gasp in wonder. One sticks in my memory: Dizzy kicks off the set with a rousing version of “Tin Tin Deo” and it is time for the formidable trumpet section to get into the act. The section comprises its leader, the great Dizzy himself, Arturo Sandoval, playing both trumpet and piccolo trumpet and Roditi. The next track is D’Rivera’s “Seresta” and Paquito holds court. His solo is timed for last, after Diz’s wild romp all over the horn, the voice cracking with characteristic Dizzyness and after Sandoval’s pyrotechnics on his trumpet. Roditi returned to solo on “A Night in Tunisia.” Here he captures not only the romance and magical mystery of the North African destination, but also its complex rhythms. It is easy for him. He is Brasilian, of course. Roditi also features prominently in the triangular conversation at the end of the song.
As his turn arrives, Roditi stands, closes his eyes and breathes softly as he sets a blue flame to the embouchure, that blows out gingerly but with spectacular loops and pirouettes. The musical whorl unfolds with the sensational cold fire that Claudio Roditi has been known for. He shuffles the notes, weaving in and out of phrases and lines that suggest a Brasilian twist to the song. The track is Paquito D’Rivera’s “Samba for Carmen” and soon Roditi is in a three-way conversation with Paquito, Slide Hampton, who joins in and himself. Just when the musicians are getting comfortable with that bag, he switches almost unnoticed into a wide, swinging mode, soaring as if chasing one note after the other that escapes the bell of his horn, flying high and mighty. Through all this his eyes are shut as if he were in a gently swinging trance. He might have been. The music more than suggests it—that Musica Brasileira- jazz, picked up with swelling polyrhythm by the other Brasilian in the band, percussionist, Airto, who shuffles his gongs, pandeiro, and rubs his cubical. But Claudio Roditi’s eyes remain closed. Saudade, e paz e alegria…
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This is what I hear in Claudio Roditi’s voice… peace, longing and joy. Nothing has changed since then. I expect that nothing will as I dial the number given me for his home in New Jersey. The phone rings and a soft male voice says “Hello…” as if singing a song.
“Claudio..?” I ask… “Yeah,” he answers, and now it’s his turn… “Raul? Contente encontrá-lo…” he continues. I ask to continue in English, always embarrassed by my watered down, Anglo Portuguese accent. He agrees.
I feel I know his music better than I know him when I call, so my aim is to get to know him. What made him come to the United States and stay for so long? Most Brasilians do not. Their longing for Brasil is too much to keep them away from that country for too long. Their connection is umbilical and that chord is never cut. Something else is mystifying. I have just heard his new album and it is one full of his songs. I believe that he is a marvellous composer. He just does not know that. Either this or perhaps he does not think so himself. I want to know more about this and as it relates to his album, Simpatico I hope that we’ll talk about that too. And of course I will ask about Brazilliance x 4. That is an album that gets regular airplay at my house. The groove is hypnotic and exhilarating.
I can hardly wait. I jump right in. “Well, Claudio, let me begin by asking you when you came to the United States and how did you decide to come here?” I ask.
His answer is somewhat oblique, like the way he attacks a solo—inside out: “It was sometime in the mid-60’s… I had always loved to play jazz and there were very few people who were playing it in those days. Remember these were the heady days of Bossa Nova…. I mean don’t get me wrong. I love Bossa… I was playing that too, but…” his voice trails off for a bit as if he is nostalgic…
“But I was crazy about jazz… I heard Dizzy Gillespie, Miles, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan—a particular favourite of mine—in fact they say I remind them of him…” he adds. “Who is ‘they’? “I ask…
“Critics… writers…” he says with a short laugh. I am just glad that I did not suggest anything like this. Of course, I also believe that while his approach may be like Clifford Brown, or even Fats Navarro, a sliding type of attack…legato and even slurred, as well as more deeply intoned notes, unlike the dazzling, sharp brightness of, say Dizzy, even Miles…
I let that go… perhaps I will bring it up later… and wait for him to continue.
“As I was saying,” he continues, when I stop pontificating, “In 1966, I took a trip to Austria to attend a jazz camp and I ended up staying there for a year. This trip was one of the most meaningful for me. I got to play with some fine guys there. There were no restrictions… I was in heaven… I was playing trumpet there and then I met Art Farmer, a great guy and a great horn player. He was playing the much softer, flugelhorn and I loved the sound. It was then, with Art’s encouragement that I took up the flugelhorn.
“Art was a great guy. He showed me many things and we enjoyed some fine times together. I think that if not for Art I may never have played the flugelhorn, or it would have taken a lot longer for me to discover this instrument…
“Anyway… as I was saying, I loved the Austrian experience. I was able to get away from Brasil… not that I was desperate to, but I was always hoping that I would be able to get a more world experience. I also knew that once I went to Europe I would somehow have a greater chance of getting to America… I don’t know why I thought that, but I certainly felt more confident that I would go the America and be able to realize my dream of playing the music of jazz…”
I am curious. Can this be coming from a Brasilian? I ask him, “But what about Brasil?”
He probably could see that coming and he was ready. “Listen,” he said, I am Brasilian. I will never stop being Brasilian and the culture will always lie there. You will always hear me sounding Brasilian underneath it all. I cannot help that… It is deeply etched in me… It comes from deep within, and I don’t even know about it. But as far as jazz is concerned, my love for this music is enormous. It feeds me in a different way… Also, I did want to ‘make it’ here…”
And so you did, irmaõ, I say to myself, so you did… And how!
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“Then I came to America,” he says, as if that were the most natural thing to do. “…That was in 1970… And I set up shop here. It took me awhile but there were Brasilians here and they were helpful. I got into the Berklee School of music… A couple of years there and I had the opportunity to dwell upon the style of Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan there… Maybe that is why everyone talks about it…
“I made connections and these were all over the place and in six years (1976) I moved permanently to New York. One of my best early memories of my time in New York was hanging out at the Village Gate… I remember also Ray Barretto—and I remember him very fondly—in fact I played with him at the Village Gate. There is a recording somewhere…” he adds, as if these details are too much to remember… His voice trails off…
“You know,” he says suddenly, as if remembering something too important not to bring it up immediately and making a jump-cut in his own biopic in the bargain, “I have a unique career… You talked about my Brasilian-ness… well; I must be the only Brasilian musician to play with almost every kind of musician… You know what I am saying?
“I have played with Tito Puente, Mario Bauza in his big band… I have played with Jose Rodriguez in Brasil. I have played in salsa bands and in hard-core Afro-Cuban ensembles—too many to name here—including those deeply dedicated to Yemaya… And I have also played with Art Farmer…”
“And Dizzy Gillespie,” I remind him. “Yes, Dizzy too… You know what, it is crazy these days. Even now people who do not really know me… But when they recognize me they say to me, ‘Hey! Aren’t you the guy who played with Dizzy Gillespie?
“Two weeks ago, I was in Pittsburgh with Roger Humphries (the drummer, who played with Horace Silver on his quintessential Blue Note album, Song for My Father in 1964) and his brother Gregory and this young Latino trumpeter comes up to me and says just that… How I laughed… To think that I am still remembered from that band…”
I too find that quite amazing. Claudio Roditi has moved so far from there, even though he still plays in that Big Band, which gets together sometimes to play Dizzy’s repertoire. But Roditi has such a singular style. In fact he was recognized twice for it very publically. The first time was in 1995, for his solo work, Symphonic Bossa Nova with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Ettore Stratta, which was nominated for a Grammy that year. The second came in 2009 when Brazilliance x4 (Resonance Records, 2009) was nominated again. In this music, which is far from the mainstream pop and hip-hop music, to be nominated is recognition enough. The rest is politics.
George Klabin’s record label offers a new musical home for Claudio Roditi. Klabin is a great patron. You can tell, when Roditi speaks of him so fondly—as if Klabin knows exactly why. But here Roditi is going and always seems to be there, waiting for him. It is on the tip of my tongue to get to the second reason that I am talking with Claudio Roditi—Simpatico. But he beats me to it. He explains the difference between the two.
“Brazilliance is different for me, for two reasons. First, you know, of course, that it is a ‘live’ record. We were playing this gig at Rising Jazz Stars, in Beverley Hills and Klabin went over the tapes sometime after that and realized that we had something there, so he brought us in to the studio to fill it out. I took Duduka (da Fonseca), pianist Helio Alves, and bassist Leonardo Cioglia into the studio and recorded other tracks. In the end, we settled on what you hear on the album, but essentially it came about because of that gig.
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“But Simpatico was totally different. I wanted to do an album of just my songs—songs I had composed myself… George Klabin likes the idea of ‘Roditi, The Composer…’ It is kind of flattering to me. I have never thought of myself as a composer, but I too got caught up in the excitement. I had composed one song with Ricardo Silveira, my great friend the guitarist, when we played together in 1980; I think it was, when we were playing with Herbie Mann. I have written some charts over the years, but never thought of doing an album of my own compositions. I am funny in this way… When I write more, I play less… and when I play more, I write less or nothing at all… You know what I mean?”
Of course I do… But to hear him say it somehow is a startling admission. I wonder then if he suppresses his urges to compose, especially when the ideas start to come fast and furious at times.
“Oh I write those down, but to sit and work at a piece and polish it takes time and it is difficult to refuse a gig or some other assignment… And you know how things are at this time, eh?” He seems to read my mind. I think that we are on sacred ground now, so I do not probe or pursue something that he adheres to with such cold logic. So I approach his second Resonance Records release…
Simpatico has a softer ring to it than his previous production, Brazilliance x4. The title is an evocative one. Roditi is listening to his inner voice here. And he is giving in to its desires and its notions. It is a voice with secret chords and changes that speaks to the soul. To listen is to hear treat the matters of the heart with sympathy and let unbridled desire flow. This perhaps is how the music first happens. Then the hard work of polishing the songs begins. With Claudio Roditi it did not matter… he has had all the time in the world.
Part of the polished nature of the album is the players Roditi has surrounded himself with. Pianist Helio Alves and percussion colorist, Duduka da Fonseca are regular band mates. Both musicians, like Roditi, are Brasilian, but long time residents of the United States, as comfortable in the jazz idiom as they are creating oceans of sound in Musica Brasileira, the idiom that Roditi helped shape. They also understand perfectly how to get involved in the musical tapestry that Roditi weaves softly around him and are virtuoso players in their own right. To add another damper to the mix, Roditi hosts Michael Dease, a young trombonist who plays brilliantly throughout, adding a touch of class in his contrapuntal playing and reading of Roditi’s playing. Romero Lubambo has long been fancied as an inheritor of the majestic spot left vacant by Laurindo Almeida. A guitarist with a deft touch and very expressive intonation and dynamic, Lubambo brings an air of grace to complement the pianism of Helio Alves. John Lee, occupying the bass chair, in place of Leonardo Cioglia, is an old friend and band mate from Dizzy’s United Nations Orchestra. Roditi had played with Luizão Maia, another electric bassist from Brasil, years earlier and somehow, Lee fits the slot quite well, as Maia would have, had he been there for the asking. Roditi and Lee develop a wonderful understanding throughout and the bassist solos on “Slow Fire” using a tremolo that feels like a con arco stretch.
Roditi’s compositions reveal a startling warmth about the composer’s nature. In a sense this is reminiscent of Jobim and Johnny Alf, the latter happens to be a particular favourite of Roditi. Alf never got the recognition he deserved and was writing music in the Bossa Nova mode long before it became standard to call it so. But being a self-effacing musician, he continues to live and write in relative anonymity in Brasil. Roditi champions his cause yet again with an elegiac ballad, “Alfitude” honouring his long time friend. The song has a find inside-out melody that twists and winds in a downward spiral with Roditi and Dease playing counterpoint in the first chorus, before Roditi stretches, squeezing out notes that speak of the silent admiration he has for Alf and the anguish at his being ignored before Dease returns to solo with compassionate grace, followed by a beautiful break by Alves.
On “Piccolo Blues” Roditi plays the little trumpet with such dexterity, making it appear so easy to play. In reality it is notoriously difficult to play. Nevertheless, Roditi shows his mastery of it with a fiery opening theme that plays homage to the blues idiom as well. An old friend, Kuno Schmid, orchestrates “Slow Fire” and Roditi is back on familiar ground, playing behind and ahead of strings again as he did on his first Grammy nominated album, Symphonic Bossa Nova. Roditi’s playing burns with a bright blue flame here as does John Lee’s.
“How Intensitive” is an oblique Bossa Nova tribute to Jobim and even features a sly quote from Jobim’s own, “How Insensitive.” There is unmistakable romantic side to Claudio Roditi and this manifests itself in his elegiac charts, all ballads in honour of his wife of many years, “A Dream for Kristen.” Then there is the homage to his parents, “Alberto and Daisy” a blues for a friend, “Blues for Ronni” and a magical tribute to a friend’s daughter, “Waltz for Joana.” This last song features a vocal by Roditi that shows him to be a singer with perfect pitch on this deceptively simple melody. It bodes well for more vocal work in future as Roditi joins the ranks of Chet Baker as a master of the ballad, singing unlike Baker in a husky and captivating tenor with warmth and regal splendour.
I ask Roditi how easy it was to make this album. “Not very,” he answers, “But I was made comfortable by George Klabin’s confidence and support,” he adds. “I was also happy to be back in the studio with Helio, Duduka, Romero, John and Michael. And Kuno is fantastic when he gets going. George and he have a tremendous rapport.
“So in the end it became a very rewarding project. I suppose I had to get it out of my system… composing I mean,” he says with a bright laugh. Would he do it again? Somehow I want to hear him say, “In a heartbeat.” But Claudio Roditi being Claudio Roditi he says with a barely perceptible shrug, “I don’t really know… I want to play so I guess that means no composing for a awhile.” How about gathering some older charts and reworking them for a big band, or doing them in symphonic form, I ask. “Who knows,” he says sounding as if he is considering the prospect. And there is that commitment to play Musica Brasileira-Jazz… Like the rest of his fans around the world and in Brasil, I can only wait with bated breath.
Claudio Roditi on the web: www.facebook.com/claudioroditi
Interview conducted by: Raul da Gama
Latin Jazz Network Radio – Jukebox – March 2010 Playlist
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Latin Jazz Network Radio – Jukebox – October 2009 Playlist
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Gabriel Espinosa – From Yucatan To Rio (Zoho Music 2009)
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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
Claudio Roditi – Brazilliance x 4 (Resonance Records 2008)
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Charles Mingus would have loved the way Claudio Roditi plays his horn. He is most like Clarence “Gene” Shaw. And like Shaw, Roditi knows the importance of the space between the notes; when to play a note; a quick flurry, or merely a short intricate phrase… and when not to play. His voice is unique; his sound is bright, delivered in short, round bursts of emotion and energy. And because he is one of the most thoughtful musicians around, he almost never plays a wrong note. On Brazilliance x 4 Claudio Roditi is on top of his game, once again. Moreover like the great bebop musicians, whom Roditi no doubt admires—men like Bird and Diz, who was his boss for several years in the United Nations Orchestra—he solos with sonorous rhythm and a quiet fire always aglow, but is the epitome of brevity, always… In and out in a few bars, perhaps a chorus or two. This way the music is always magnificently highlighted, while Roditi and his cohort merely embellish its intricacies in short gentle bursts.
This is Roditi’s first Resonance record and it is a splendid one indeed. He is joined here by three stellar, first call musicians—Helio Alves on piano, Leonardo Cioglia on bass and Duduka da Fonseca on drums. Their expert reading of the charts is near perfect and the empathy with the trumpeter and flugelhorn player is significant. In a day when showboating is the order of the day, each of the musicians here are practically self-effacing. But the music is not. The tunes here cover much ground in contemporary Brasilian music—from Victor Assis Brasil, Johnny Alf, Joao Donato, Durval Ferreira and Raul de Souza—a Miles Davis chart, “Tune Up” and four Roditi originals. All the songs are played in the Bossa Nova mode and the energy is kept up throughout the record.
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Roditi’s original tribute to the great Brasilian percussionist and composer, “Song para Nana,” is a dreamy excursion into a glowing soundscape, creating an almost halo-like quality for the track. Alves solos with exquisite taste and is also mighty glissando. Duduka da Fonseca is restrained and his splashes of brassy color on the cymbals stoke the composition throughout. “Tema para Duduka” has a sturdier bossa nova rhythm and showcases the drummer’s unbridled skill to great effect. The second half of the song belongs to Duduka da Fonseca, who turns his arms and legs, sticks and drums and cymbals into a harmonic and rhythmic constellation. Of course none of this would be complete without the steady strutting of Leonardo Cioglia, who provides a perfect foil for Fonseca to take the song into the stratosphere.
The Brasilian standards at the start of the record are wonderfully recast and in doing so Roditi is also giving notice that he is not merely a Brasilian with a penchant for jazz, but also a soulful Carioca at heart. “A Vontade Mesmo,” “E Nada Mais” and “Quem Diz Que Sabe” provide ample evidence of this. The live track at the back end of the record and the superb sound throughout make this record one of the finest in 2008/09 so far.
Tracks: Pro Zeca; E Nada Mais; A Vontade Mesmo; Tune Up; Rapaz de Bem; Dinner by Five; Song for Nana; Tema para Duduka; Quem Diz Que Sabe; Gemini Man.
Personnel: Claudio Roditi: trumpet, flugelhorn; Helio Alves: piano; Leonardo Cioglia: bass; Duduka da Fonseca: drums.
Claudio Roditi on the web: www.resonancerecords.org/claudioroditi
Review written by: Raul da Gama
