Gabriel Alegria – Nuevo Mundo (Saponegro Records 2008)
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Every once in awhile there comes a musician who, when playing his or her chosen instrument, seems to carry within a vital life-force that is irrepressible, no matter what the circumstances of his or her playing. At the height of his powers, Charles Mingus was one such musician. Whether he was playing hot or cool, beautiful or ugly, he seemed to be fired up with a raw unparalleled force that appeared to spring from a vortex. Many musicians ever since have come close to literally bursting with this energy. But there are few—very few musicians—that come even close to exuding the intensity of trumpet and flugelhorn player, Gabriel Alegria.
This record, Nuevo Mundo, is a classic testament to creativity of the highest order. In the music contained within it we have a volcanic confluence of modern American music, Peruvian folk motifs and the all-pervasive African roots of both musics. And what Alegria does is funnel the musical lava through his horn whereby he makes a statement that is raw and harking to an ancient future so new that although there are touchstones of the historic past there is also something elementally new, unheard before… and altogether breathtaking.
The recording opens with a wonderful surprise. “Buscando a Huevito,” a three-part suite that swings wildly with trumpets (Alegria and Bobby Shew) and trombone (Bill Watrous) cavorting madly with the various percussion excursions of Freddy “Huevito” Lobaton. The track melds jazz and folk rhythms with dance forms, swinging, that is, from festejo to lando and back to festejo again. This veritable carnival sets the irrepressible tone for the record. It appears that Alegria can twist his rhythmic ingenuity around classic American song as well. “Summertime” gets the Afro-Peruvian treatment and here Alegria shows how cleverly he melds the old New Orleans style—making brilliant use of the plunger mute—while the gentle swing of the original is replaced by the infinitely hotter Latin rhythm, spurred on by the cajon and other percussion played by both Lobaton and Hugo Alcazar.
“El Norte,” takes the chord changes of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” and crosses them with the Afro-Peruvian festejo to turn in another unique new song. Tierney Sutton’s vocals add to the wonderful elasticity of Alegria’s new composition. The interplay between Lobaton and Alcazar is exhilarating. “Las Hijas del Sol,” is a beautiful, elegiac impression of the innocence of children, seemingly against a sepia backdrop and plenty of atmosphere created by Russell Ferrante’s keyboards. Alegria’s glissandos and acrobatic leaps abound throughout as the trumpet begins to describe the skittering of the subject of the song. “El Sur” is another of Alegria’s sketches—this one a mirror of the sea in harness with woodwinds and horn. “Piano de Patio (y Bongo)” could very well describe a bar in the old quarter of a Peruvian town where—in the squeezed notes of Alegria’s trumpet—the spirit of Louis Armstrong cavorts with local percussionists. On this and also “El Mar” there is a wonderful interplay between Gabriel Alegria and Laurandrea Leguia’s tenor saxophone. Acoustic guitarist Walter “Jocho” Velasquez also excels here.
But the stellar performances come largely from the horn of Gabriel Alegria. This record, abounding in energy and innovation could very well be one of the most memorable musical testaments to the meeting of jazz and its seeming alter-ego Afro-Peruvian music.
Tracks: Buscando a Huevito; Summertime; El Norte; Las Hijas del Sol; El Sur; Piano del Patio; El Mar.
Personnel: Gabriel Alegria: trumpet, flugelhorn; Freddy “Huevito” Lobaton: percussion (cajon, cajita, quijita de burro), zapateo dancing; Laurandrea Leguia: tenor saxophone; Hugo Alcazar: drums, percussion; Joscha Ortiz: acoustic bass; Walter “Jocho” Velasquez: acoustic guitar; Bobby Shew: trumpet (1); Bill Watrous: trombone (1); Lisa Harrington: vocals (1, 4, 6); Tierney Sutton: vocals (3); Russell Ferrante: keyboards (1, 4, 6, 7).
Gabriel Alegria on the web: www.gabrielalegria.com
Review written by: Raul da Gama
Opening of Tutuma Social Club in NYC
Opening of Tutuma Social Club in NYC re-scheduled for May 12, 2009 -
New Venue In Midtown Manhattan Featuring Afro-Peruvian Jazz & Cuisine To Present Pianist Andy
Milne, Vocalists Sofia Rei Koutsovitis & Pilar de la Hoz, Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet & Others
(New York, NY – April 28, 2009) Due to construction delays the opening of Tutuma Social Club, a new restaurant/music venue in New York City combining the best in live contemporary Afro-Peruvian Jazz with the fusion cuisine of Peruvian tapas and other dishes, has been postponed until Tuesday May 12, 2009.
The May 2009 music calendar for Tutuma now presents pianist Andy Milne in the debut of the series “Jazz Goes Afro-Peruvian” (5/12-17); vocalist Sofia Rei Koutsovitis in the series “Songs From Argentina To Perú” (5/19-24); and the debut of the series “Jazz From Perú” with vocalist Pilar de la Hoz (5/26-31). The series “Ritmos Negros del Perú” will feature percussionist and Zapateo dancer Freddy ‘Huevito’ Lobatón (5/12-13) and Marcos Napa ‘Bombo’ (May 19-20 & 26-27). Lobatón will also appear during “Lunchtime Criollo” (5/12-18). The Afro-Peruvian Sextet of trumpeter Gabriel Alegría, currently artistic advisor to Tutuma Social Club, will appear 5/14-17 and the NYU Afro-Peruvian Jazz Ensemble will appear on 5/18.
Trumpeter Ingrid Jensen & drummer Jon Wikan and vocalist Angela Vicente, who were originally scheduled to perform at Tutuma April 28-May 11 will be re-scheduled to appear at dates to be announced later.
Located at 164 East 56th St. (at Third Ave.), Tutuma Social Club will be the only locale in the region showcasing both Afro-Peruvian jazz and food on a daily basis. Unlike most clubs presenting “live” music, Tutuma will have neither a cover charge nor a minimum. Music will be featured weekdays at lunch with evening sets presented Monday-Sunday at 8 and 10:30 p.m. Tutuma’s kitchen will be open daily from 11 a.m.-2 a.m. An Afro-Peruvian Jazz Brunch, also accompanied by “live” music, will be held Sundays from 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
For reservations or more information please call 866.988.JAZZ (5299) or visit www.TutumaSocialClub.com.
TUTUMA SOCIAL CLUB MUSIC CALENDAR
May 12-31, 2009
Tue May 12th-Wed May 13th
12:30pm–2:30pm Lunchtime Criollo
Yuri Juárez (Guitars), Freddy ‘Huevito’ Lobatón (Percussion), Others TBA
8pm Jazz Goes Afro-Peruvian – Looking for Gold
Andy Milne (Piano), Freddy ‘Huevito’ Lobatón (Percussion),
Ramon de Bruyn (Bass), Kenny Grohowski (Drums), Yuri Juarez (Guitar)
10:30pm Ritmos Negros del Peru
Freddy ‘Huevito’ Lobatón (Perc & Zapateo Dancing), Yuri Juárez (Gui),
Marcos Napa ‘Bombo’ (Perc & Zapateo Dancing), Mariela Valencia (Voc), Ramon de Bruyn (B)
Thu May 14th-Sun May 17th
12:30pm–2:30pm Lunchtime Criollo
Yuri Juárez (Guitars), Freddy ‘Huevito’ Lobatón (Percussion), Others TBA
8pm Jazz Goes Afro-Peruvian – Looking for Gold
Andy Milne (Piano), Freddy ‘Huevito’ Lobatón (Percussion),
Ramon de Bruyn (Bass), Kenny Grohowski (Drums), Yuri Juarez (Guitar)
10:30pm Gabriel Alegría Afro-Peruvian Sextet
Gabriel Alegría (Trumpet & Flugelhorn), Yuri Juárez (Guitar), Ramon de Bruyn (Bass & Vocals)
Shirazette Tinnin (Drums), Freddy ‘Huevito’ Lobatón (Percussion & Zapateo Dancing)
Mon May 18th
12:30pm–2:30pm Lunchtime Criollo
Yuri Juárez (Guitars), Freddy ‘Huevito’ Lobatón (Percussion), Others TBA
8pm The NYU Afro-Peruvian Jazz Ensemble
Mattias Konrad (Trombone), Jackie Coleman (Trumpet), Nick Myers (Saxophones), Frank Cogliano (Guitar), Claudio Marquez (Bass), Storm Siegel (Drums & Percussion), Ian Chang (Drums & Percussion)
Tue May 19th-Wed May 20th
8pm Songs From Argentina To Peru
Sofía Rei Koutsovitis (Vocals) w/ Eric Kurimski (Guitar), Edward Perez (Bass), TBA (Percussion)
10:30pm Ritmos Negros del Peru
Marcos Napa ‘Bombo’ (Percussion & Zapateo Dancing), Mariela Valencia (Vocals), others TBA
Thu May 21st-Sun May 24th @ 8pm & 10:30pm
Songs From Argentina To Peru
Sofía Rei Koutsovitis (Vocals) w/ Eric Kurimski (Guitar), Edward Perez (Bass), TBA (Percussion)
Tue May 26th-Wed May 27th
8pm Jazz From Peru – Pilar de la Hoz
Pilar de la Hoz (Vocals)
Featuring Juan Medrano “Cotito” (Cajon) w/ Eric Kurimski (Guitar), Edward Perez (Bass)
10:30pm Ritmos Negros del Peru
Marcos Napa ‘Bombo’ (Percussion & Zapateo Dancing), Mariela Valencia (Vocals), others TBA
Thu May 28th-Sun May 31st
8pm & 10:30pm Jazz From Peru – Pilar de la Hoz
Pilar de la Hoz (Vocals)
Featuring Juan Medrano “Cotito” (Cajon) w/ Eric Kurimski (Guitar), Edward Perez (Bass)
About Tutuma Social Club
Tutuma Social Club is the only locale outside Perú showcasing both Afro-Peruvian jazz and cuisine on a daily basis and its “no cover charge/no minimum” policy further distinguishes it from other music venues. The new venture is the brainchild of Santina Matwey, a second-generation restaurateur whose family founded and operates the RayBari Pizza parlors in Manhattan, who has effectively imported to New York City the atmosphere found in traditional peñas, the vibrant urban clubs of Perú. Dr. Gabriel Alegría, a jazz trumpeter and composer known as one of the world’s leading proponents of Afro-Peruvian Jazz, is the club’s artistic advisor. Evening sets by established jazz artists from North and South America will be presented Monday-Sunday at 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. with “live” music also featured weekdays at lunch and on from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sundays during an Afro-Peruvian Jazz Brunch. Tutuma’s menu was expressly designed by two of Perú’s internationally acclaimed chefs Rodrigo Conroy and Carlos Testino and its kitchen will be open daily from 11 a.m.-2 a.m. A membership rewards program is available to repeat customers.
MEDIA CONTACT – Music / Mitchell Feldman / MitchellFeldmanAssociates@Comcast.net / 706.550.0263
Eric Kurimski – Réplica (Lima Limon Records 2008)
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In Peru, Eric Kurimski observes in the notes of his journey to Lima, the concept of time loosely exists. What a remarkable observation by the musician who became besotted with Peruvian music so much so that he traveled to the small South American country to become one of its most extraordinary exponents. This recording, Replica, the debut for Eric Kurimski, is a seminal document of the music of Peru. It is unlike the scores of folkloric recordings made in South America, by a world that has come under the bewitching spell of Latin American music. Here an artist, an important guitar maestro has participated directly in the creation of Afro-Peruvian music. It is a case of cultures colliding – jazz and Afro-Peruvian – to bring new musical creations to life.
Kurimski is a guitarist par excellence. He has adapted a principally classical technique to the stringed instrument, enabling it to sing with both jazz and Spanish inflections. The technique is pizzicato, but the notes are often bent offering sudden and subtle glissandos. This makes the instrument a willing participant in the making of landos and festejos and valses. In choosing these forms Kurimski brings an important aspect of Afro-Peruvian music into focus and that is its inextricable link to the blues context of jazz.
In exquisite fashion, he turns John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” into a joyful lando. The irony should not be lost as the lando featured interior rhythms (forbidden by the Colonial Spanish) and once signified a complete freedom from slavery. “Giant Steps”? How much more significant can the title now be?
More extensively, this record features a fine interplay between guitar and the arch instrument of Peru, the Cajon. Juan Medrano Cotito is one of those little-known maestros of the instrument. His style is bold and he issues a rapid battery of slaps – both with flat and variously cupped palms to berate the box with such an array of tones and pitches that the rhythm is multiplied with a bountiful cornucopia of echoes and resonant vibrations unlike percussion rarely experienced in jazz. This is completely new music where modern compositions such as “Hope For Spring” rub noisily together with “Ronca Canalete” and “Toro Mata”. “Desesperacion,” “Yo No Como Camote” and the unforgettable “Despertar,” by the celebrated Afro-Peruvian master, Carlos Hayre, make this one of the most ground-breaking records of 2008 – one where Afro-Peruvian music meets jazz in a spell-binding collision of artistic cultures.
Tracks: Hope for Spring; New York Titlan; Ronca Canalete; Giant Steps; Yo No Como Camote; Toto Mata; Desesperacion; Despertar.
Personnel: Eric Kurimski: guitar; Juan Medrano Cotito; cajon, percussion, guapeo (3, 6); Carlos Hayre: guitar/electric bass (7); Edward Perez: bass (1, 4, 5, 8); Sergio Veldeos: guitar (1, 5, 8); Yuri Juarez: guitar (2, 4); Noel Marambio: bass (4); Joscha Oetz: bass (3, 6); Charo Goyoneche: vocals (3, 6); Carlos Medrano: cajita/coros (3, 6).
Eric Kurimski on the web: www.erickurimski.com | www.myspace.com/erickurimski
Review written by: Raul da Gama
