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Jazz | By dan ouellette
New Twists On
Latin Classics
Miguel Zenón
Bons Amigos (Resonance 2010; 63:50
HHH) The pleasantry of Claudio Roditi’s softtoned
Brazilian trumpet playing carries the day,
with an easy-listening bossa bounce and gentle
romantic gestures. Impressive is the range
of composers Roditi covers, including Toninho
Horta (the fine title track) and two by Eliane
Elias, with special note to her sweet storytelling
“Amandamada (Amanda Loved).” Roditi also
weighs in with a couple of his own, including
the vivacious “Piccolo Samba,” which features
his swinging stretch on the high-pitched piccolo
trumpet. Best band member is guitarist
Romero Lubambo, whose acoustic and electric
lines texture throughout. Roditi may please
his fans by singing in concert, but on disc, his
sometimes loungy vocals are a mistake.
Ordering info: resonancerecords.org
Afropean Affair (Chandra 8094; 61:19
HHH½) Pianist Oscar Perez and his stellar
band Nuevo Comienzo stretch out from
the Latin jazz touchstone with an album of
entertaining tunes that go to the depth of the
Latin and jazz traditions—and, as the CD title
implies, encompass a wide array of compositional
reference points. The arrangements are
fresh, and the tempo shifts are sumptuous. The
spirited opener, “The Illusive Number,” melds
Latin esprit with ruminative passages while the
beauty of the bunch, “Paths And Streams,”
has a catchy melody and a wondrous interaction
of piano and band, where dialogue trumps
showy solos. The three-part composition, “The
Afropean Suite,” is especially appealing thanks
to Charenee Wade’s wordless vocals.
Ordering info: chandrarecords.com
Watch Out ¡Ten Cuidao! (Zoho 201110;
45:10/43:44 HHH) Mambo Legends Orchestra
delivers a straight-up Latin jazz dance
party, with tight ensemble work, buoyant and
call-and-response vocals, and good-times
percussive rhythms. Formerly known as the All
Stars of the Tito Puente Orchestra, the group
keeps the spirit of the timbales ace alive with
two CDs worth of “Watch Out!” mambos. A
special nod to Puente takes place in the exhilarating
“Para Toda El Mundo Rumba,” where
Jose Madera shines in the timbales spotlight
shared by bongo player John “Dandy” Rodriguez.
Most of the tunes have solo breaks, but
they’re incidental to the sizzle at work when
the whole band swings. A great ending: a hip,
Latin-charged rendition of “Birdland.” Two
short interludes feature slightly out playing and
a scratchy-sonics introduction to the band.
More breaks like these out of the dance zone
would have been welcomed.
Ordering info: zohomusic.com
Mongorama (Saungu 003; 70:26
HHH½) Despite a few smooth-ish missteps,
this full-tilt Latin jazz collection excites
by tapping into the spirit of iconic conguero
Mongo Santamaria thanks to the all-star cast
assembled by bandleader and Latin jazz DJ
José Rizo. The music is raucous and lovingly
inspired, with several star guests sitting in with
the ensembles, some of them former Mongo
sidemen, including Hubert Laws, who opens
the proceedings with a flute solo that floats
above the descarga rhythm on “Bacoso.”
Conga ace Poncho Sanchez also joins the
dancing fray with lively solos on “Asi Es La
Vida” and “Guajira At The Blackhawk.”
Ordering info: jazzonthelatinsideallstars.com
Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook
(Marsalis Music 0016; 71:09 HHHH)
Beyond the MacArthur Foundation recognition
saxophonist Miguel Zenón received in 2008,
he’s one of the busiest and most plugged in
musicians of the day, with a keen instinct for
digging deep into his cultural heritage. After
journeys into exploring Puerto Rican traditional
music (jibaro and plena), Zenón brings
to straightahead jazz life a collection of standard
songs from the island. This is top-notch
jazz improvisation territory. With the talented
arranger/pianist Guillermo Klein conducting
the large ensemble numbers, the saxophonist
delivers rousing tunes like Bobby Capó’s
“Juguete” and slow lyrical gems such as Sylvia
Rexach’s “Alma Adentro.”
Ordering info: marsalismusic.com
Jerry Gonzalez Y El Comando De La
Clave (Sunnyside 1228; 67:59 HHHH) Trumpeter
Jerry Gonzalez has not lost his knack for
wonderfully and playfully breaking rules. Case
in point: The Fort Apache renegade opens his
new CD with a take on a classic, renamed
“Some Day My Prints Will Come (Back From
The F.B.I.)” which he opens quietly and slowly
on his horn, then morphs it into an exciting
cooker with rhythmic rushes, vocals chants
and bass runs. There’s a rowdy take on “Love
For Sale,” a hushed-with-brushes rendering of
“Tenderly” and the exuberant close, “Avisale A
Mi Contrario,” featuring the great Romani flamenco
singer Diego “El Cigala.” DB
Ordering info: sunnysiderecords.com
DECEMBER 2011 DOWNBEAT 83