Historians have taken a shortsighted look at the important locations in Latin Jazz development. They favor the accomplishments of East Coast artists, often relegating West Coast Latin Jazz musicians to a side note. Within these West Coast mentions, only artists in major music scenes such as Los Angeles and San Francisco draw attention. The important work done in smaller, localized scenes gets lost and a number of deserving artists fade from view. Based in Sacramento, California, Nagual brings attention to Northern California Latin Jazz with a musically solid yet technically uneven release.

The tracks on Nagual contain clean, solid arrangements and impressive musicianship. The album standout, “Elia’s Gift” benefits from an exciting arrangement full of tight breaks and a blues injected melody. Percussionist Harold Muñiz shines here, playing a logically developed and driving timbale solo. Guitarist Victor Contreras displays a Wes Montgomery influence on the guitar feature “Johnny Segundas.” The chordal melody and sparse texture create an introspective mood that brings Contreras’ tasteful musicianship to the forefront. On “Dersu Uzala,” a call and response between an ominous melody line and solo statements by Muñiz on congas soon morphs into a lively cha-cha-cha with an inspired flute solo by Reggy Marks. The album’s original compositions, all penned by Contreras, present a band with a solid knowledge of Latin music and a creative approach to jazz.

Unfortunately some rough spots fog the album’s musical integrity. The overall recording quality lacks the necessary polish warranted by the band’s musical strength. While the musical content comes across, the volume imbalance and the flat mix loose “live” energy. A couple of songs seem misplaced conceptually and disturb the album’s flow. “Plan De Ayala” broods forwards with a heavy drumbeat and distorted guitar, leans towards progressive rock. The upfront organ, overdriven guitar and funk drums on “Fear and Loathing” recalls bluesy fusion. These stumbling blocks cloud an otherwise strong musical expression.

Nagual deserves credit for documenting their creative contributions to their local Latin Jazz scene. Creative seeds often blossom during live performances in small local venues. All too often, musicians take those seeds and plant them in “meccas,” bringing notoriety only to cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. As a result, the strength of local music exists only in the memories of live performance and historical significance becomes attributed solely to “meccas.” With the definitive history of West Coast Latin Jazz still being written, Nagual is working towards the day when Sacramento will have its own chapter.

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