Paquito D’Rivera with the Pablo Aslan Ensemble – Tango Jazz: Live at the Lincoln Center (Sunnyside Records – 2010)

One of the greatest love affairs in music is the one between folk music and dance. This extremely covert relationship has spilled over into contemporary music as well—more so in musical excursions in Europe (where even Igor Stravinsky sang its praises with compositions of his own) and in Latin America. One of the most beloved of all these affairs is the storied one of the tango, a voluptuous one between characters born in countries as far removed as Finland, Spain and France—mixed in with vibrant ones in Africa—then transported across oceans to a brave new world where they came to rest principally in Argentina and Uruguay, where the romance grew until it reached dizzying heights at the hands of Carlos Gardel and Astor Piazzolla. The love affair has continued until today with musicians such as the great bassist, Pablo Aslan, who have continued to expand its role in the literature of music.

The Cuban-born, US-based musician, Paquito D’Rivera has been known to be in an interminable dalliance with tango and this album, Tango Jazz: Live at the Lincoln Center is a culmination of sorts and a tribute to his role in the affair. D’Rivera brings his pliant ingenuity to this project displaying every bit of his mastery on the alto saxophone as well as on the dreamy, woody tones of his clarinet, which seems born for the romance of the tango. His phrasing is immaculate and undulates with the rhythm of his heart. Lines and phrases slide into one another with mighty glissando. They begin sometimes with a shrill cry of delight, then swirl and pirouette as they soar and float on their way to the inevitable denouement. On this album, he plays off the wonderful brassiness of Gustavo Bergalli’s burnished horn and the bandoneón of Michael Zisman and Raul Jaurena.

The tantalizing brilliance of “Viejo Smocking” is memorable as is the sweeping indolence of “Milonguinha” and “Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind.” The dark romance of “Bandoneón” is one of the high points of the program just as the hypnotic swirl of “Verano Porteño” another. In like manner, the creativity of “Tanguajira” is one where D’Rivera marries the Cuban with the Argentinean and the Uruguayan as well. And just as “Beto” does, so also “Goodbye” mixes various idioms with the all-pervasive tango. It is almost impossible to stop the feet from sliding and tapping to the music as they prepare to glide and guide the body into the queen of all Latin American dances.

Make no mistake; however, as this is almost as much Pablo Aslan’s journey as it is Paquito D’Rivera’s. The bassist is a towering figure in the world of modern tango and music as well. His complete mastery of his instrument and virtually all forms of music and dance is legion. Here his spirit is all over the music even guiding the mighty work of Michael Zisman and drummer Daniel Piazzolla throughout this memorable album.

Tracks: Viejo Smocking; Beto; Bandoneón; Milonguinha; Close Encounter of the Fourth Kind; Verano Porteño; Tanguajira; Goodbye.

Personnel: Paquito D’Rivera: alto saxophone and clarinet; Gustavo Bergalli: trumpet; Pablo Agri: violin (6); Nicholas Danielson: violin (7); Michael Zisman: bandoneón; Raul Jaurena: bandoneón (7); Abel Rogantini: piano; Pablo Aslan: bass; Daniel Piazzolla: drums.

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Paquito D’Rivera on the web: www.paquitodrivera.com

Review written by: Raul da Gama

Roger Davidson & Raul Jaurena – Pasion Por La Vida (Soundbrush 09)

Pasion Por La Vida is an unusual and memorable record, even by Roger Davidson’s standards. It is the third “Latin” record made by Davidson, a pianist influenced by Bill Evans as much as by Chopin. But Pasion Por La Vida takes Davidson’s love for the music of South America a shade further than – Mango Tango, Amor Por El Tango and Rogers in Rio – his earlier expressions of that love. This record is a kind of maturation for Davidson has composed all the eighteen titles on it. Spectacularly, all are tangos – eleven of them have been written in the classical Argentinean form. Several others are more European and there is a Brazilian chorinho, a bolero and a rumba but these may not be played in the familiar 2/4 time signature that exemplifies “the tango”, what unites them with the other tracks on the record is that they all reflect passion.

Davidson is able, here, to switch from his customary jazz-inflected voice to the staccato and sometime legato world of the tango. The dynamic he applies to his pianistic touch is therefore quite different. It is more percussive, following the internal rhythm of Latin melodies and the harmonic changes swirling thick, are heavier and more deliberately, almost unusually accented. Then there is that aspect of the “Tango” that is visual as the music can only partially tell the story with sound; the rest is the image that accompanies the song. Traditionally it helps always that the “tango” music accompanies a couple dancing statuesquely following the rigid dancing tradition. With Pasion Por La Vida, the dimension is singularly aural. The visual component must be imagined. This precludes the music having to work all the more harder – so that that dimension may be created like a virtual dimension, like a hologram. And here lies the success of this record.

Then there is also the almost symbiotic musical relationship between Davidson and Raul Jaurena. The pianist and the bandoneonist engage in interplay that comes from an almost telepathic understanding of the central idea of each piece. This is why ideas are exchanged as if they were imagined simultaneously but expressed separately. Harmonically as well, the musicians are intertwined and so the passionate flow of musical thought is seamless and heart-warming. And this is what separates this record form Roger Davidson’s first, Mango Tango: These songs cover a range of emotions – “Su Pasion” – the passionate romance of a man and woman, “Volvere” – that longing for home – “Puente a la Esperanza,” “Tarde Soleada,” “Alma Apasionada,” “Orquesta de Pueblo”… Throughout the record is a growing and deeper symbiosis between Davidson and Jaurena and it makes the music magnificent and moving.

This is going to be a difficult record to top in terms of following through on an idea whose raison d’etre is emotional. It would be interesting to see where Roger Davidson will go from here, but then again, if he is led by his emotions there is no horizon and more passionate music can never be very far away.

Track Listing: Fuerza Milonguera; Su Pasion; O, Te Quiero; Camino Al Sol; Tarde Soleada; Puente A La Esperanza; Vals Para Mañana; Optimista; Todo El Tiempo; Volvere; Cancion De La Montaña; Milonga Del Norte; Alma Apasionada; Orquesta De Pueblo; Tango Ruso; Si Loin De Toi; Que Pasara; Aventura.

Personnel: Roger Davidson: piano; Raul Jaurena: bandoneon.

Roger Davidson on the web: http://www.soundbrush.com/roger-davidson-biography/

Raul Jaurena on the web: http://www.rauljaurena.com

Review written by: Raul da Gama