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| Jazz Express Presents Latin Jazz - Hot Grooves for Party Moods |
VÁLOGATÁS
Armando Peraza, Arturo O'Farrill, Bobby Hutcherson, Cal Tjader, Gary McFarland, Grant Green Jr., Grupo Cabana, Houston Person, Luis Bonilla, Mongo Santamaria, Pat Martino, Teddy Edwards, The Bronx Horns |
első megjelenés éve: 2008
68 perc |
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| (2008)
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CD |
Kérjen
árajánlatot! |
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Hey, you found us again! Welcome to the Jazz Express Latin Jazz jamboree, and exclusive selection of music featuring cool claves, handsome habeneras and magnificient montunos. All you have to do is mix that cocktail, relax and let these heady, hip-swaying sounds transport you to that tropical party in your mind, or maybe even your garden.
Hey, you found us again! Welcome to the Jazz Express Latin Jazz jamboree, an exclusive selection of music featuring cool claves, handsome habeneras and magnificent montunos. All you have to do is mix that cocktail, relax and let these heady, hip-swaying sounds transport you to that tropical party in your mind, or maybe even your garden.
The musicians who comprise The Bronx Horns (tenor saxophone player Mitch Frohman, trumpeter Ray Vega and altoist Bobby Porcelli) cut their teeth with the Latin jazz legends Mongo Santamaria and Tito Puente before stepping out in their own right in the mid 1990s. This infectious, bluesy cha-cha "Catch The Feeling", written by Frohman is the title track of their debut album and with the composer and pianist Oscar Hernandez contributing vivacious solos, the music is exuberant and easy in equal measure.
Bobby Hutcherson is known as one of the foremost exponents of jazz vibraphone and on this track he plays the similar but notably more exotic marimba. "Nascimento" is an attractive jazz samba written by jazz pianist Barry Harris, though the player joining Hutcherson here is the master of pianistic taste, Tommy Flanagan.
Although the Latin influence on jazz was heard as far back as Jelly Roll Morton, the tune "Caravan" is one of the earliest genuine Latin jazz hits. Composed by Puerto Rican trombonist Juan Tizol and recorded in 1937 by Duke Ellington, it remains a favourite workout for Latin jazz groups to this day. The trombone-led eight piece Luis Bonilla's Latin Jazz All Stars do a sparkling job with it on this 1992 version.
The man largely responsible for a later generation of jazz interest in Latin music was the magnificent Brazilian songwriter and virtual inventor of the bossa nova, Antonio Carlos Jobim. Recorded by countless jazzers attracted by the haunting downward spiral of the harmonies, here it is nimble guitarist Pat Martino's turn to play on one of Jobim's saddest songs "Insensitez", known in English as "How Insensitive".
From the Latin side of the Latin jazz hybrid, we have one of the giants of the music, Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaria. Santamaria and the bands he has led since the late 1950s have often been at the centre of many significant music fusions including Afro-Cuban and Latin-Soul. This upbeat stylistic melange is the key to Santamaria's ongoing appeal. "Brazilian Sunset", a Mongo original, is a typically effervescent live performance from the mid 1990s.
Vibraphonist Gary McFarland, by comparison, is a cult figure. He had a flash of jazz credibility in the early 1960s as a composer and arranger (for the likes of Stan Getz) before disappearing into the easy listening world. His 1968 version of "Flamingo" however, with Jerome Richardson on saxophone, shows a great sensitivity to the lilting nuances of the bossa nova, as does the Grupo Cabana's version of Jobim's "Desafinado". Though clearly based on the famous 1962 Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd interpretation, in this reading there is more of the original melody to enjoy.
Luiz Bonfa's "Black Orpheus" is usually delivered as a serene bossa nova, though pianist Arturo O'Farrill and his marvellous trio have other ideas. From the edgy montuno at the opening to the dark re-harmonisation throughout, this is indeed a blacker Orpheus than is usually encountered and an excellent re-imagining of a familiar peace.
From the 1968 album Latin + Jazz = Cal Tjader, music from the master vibraphonist that does just what it says on the tin. One of the most famous Latin jazz bandleaders of them all, Cal Tjader was in fact American though surrounded himself with Latino musicians like Cuban conga player Armando Peraza, composer of "Armando's Bossa" here and later to make his name with Santana in the 70s and ‘80s. Peraza is also responsible for the delicate bossa "Al Bejar El Sol", featuring the flute of Johnny Pacheco.
The beauty of one of Jobim's most famous of songs "The Girl From Ipamema" has been somewhat blunted by its hijacking by a thousand elevators. But Teddy Edwards and Houston Person ' two titans of the tenor saxophone ' go some way to restoring the tune's glory via a muscular reading that has little to do with Stan Getz's famous version. In this 1994 cut, West Coast veteran Edwards solos first, then pianist Richard Wylands, then East Coast bruiser Person.
Guitarist Grant Green is usually known for his deep jazz-blues feeling and effervescent funk playing, so it's a treat to hear him playing so brilliantly on "Samba De Orpheu", the second Luiz Bonfa tune of this set written for the 1959 film that introduced the bossa nova sound to wider world, Black Orpheus. Big John Patton is the organist, Ben Dixon is the drummer and the whole of this 1967 performance shimmers with the very joy of being alive.
Which is, frankly, exactly how we like it here at Jazz Express. Get the mood and the music right in your life and you won't be wanting for much more. And there's plenty more sounds where they came from. Be sure swing by next time you're in the neighbourhood. We're always open and you're always welcome.
---Chris Ingham
Chris Ingham is a jazz musician, songwriter, contributor to Mojo magazine and author of The Rough Guide To The Beatles and the forthcoming Rough Guide To Sinatra. |
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