Bringing rock and funk elements into Latin Jazz forces artists into a precarious stylistic balancing act. Musicians must strictly adhere to clave when integrating backbeats, electric guitars, and synthesizers. The more that an artist straightens the music’s syncopations; the more it starts to sound like rock with a Latin tinge. Artists need to maintain jazz harmonies to avoid a pop aesthetic in the compositions. Artistic decisions about the music’s stylistic priorities are a defining factor in the presentation. Flipping priorities between genres leads to a washed out style, lacking a distinct musical lineage. Panchito balances jazz, Latin, rock and funk influences on Resurrección, delivering a strong performance despite stylistic indecisiveness.

Prioritizing Funk and Rock
Several tracks prioritize rock and funk over Latin styles, carrying the band’s performance closer to fusion. Drummer Joost Kroon’s heavy groove drives “First Flight” into a Tower of Power influenced melody. Trombonist Louk Boudesteijn navigates between melodic shapes and rhythmic ideas, leading into pianist Rein Godefroy’s busily syncopated solo. “Lies” places the band in a 80s fusion setting with an angular melody that moves between a funky four and a distinctly flowing six. The rhythm section alternates between funk and son montuno behind trumpet player Rik Mol’s solo, allowing him to build from lyrical long notes into a powerful climax. Guitarist André van Berlo sets the tone for “Minha Magia” with his distorted guitar sound and rock phrasing on the melody. The wind players help van Berlo establish a heavy progressive rock groove that segues into an open atmosphere for Mol’s flugelhorn solo. As Mol introduces a barrage of notes, the band builds into a funk fusion groove, which soon closes with an intensive rock feel. These songs loose their Latin influence almost completely, moving towards instrumental funk.

A Connection With Traditional Latin Jazz
The band explores Latin genres more completely on some tracks, bringing a studied foundation to the forefront. A traditional Latin Jazz influence permeates “Templo Isis” with a melody shared between the horns and guitarist André van Berlo. The rhythm section’s aggressive forward motion creates an opportunity for Mol to reveal flurries of quick notes on his flugelhorn while saxophonist Kwint van Dijck enthusiastically powers through a brief statement. Godefroy and bassist Jeroen Vierdag establish solid line over a subdued rumba on “Hasta Siempre,” laying the foundation for a diverse and well-arranged melody. Boudesteijn builds his statement from long tones into an aggressive approach, while van Dijck immediately establishes an improvisational intensity with syncopated rhythmic ideas. A funky repeated melodic line and rhythmic kicks bring a traditional feel to the Cha Cha Cha “Resurrección.” Mol presents a virtuosic flair on his solo, while van Dijck balances bluesy jazz phrasing and percussive rhythms to build an intriguing statement. The quirky melody and open feel behind the bolero “Name of a Rose” establishes an introspective mood before erratically jumping into a tango interlude followed by an intensive up-tempo groove. The bolero foundation returns for a delicately phrased solo from van Berlo before the band explodes back into a strong momentum for energetic statements from van Dijck and Kroon. The band confirms their Latin music study on these tracks, displaying a definite connection with traditional Latin Jazz.

Slipping Between Priorities
Some songs slip between priorities, creating a trip through several distinctly different musical settings. van Berlo elegantly presents an insightful melody on the bolero “Sahita,” leading into an assertive extended statement from Godefroy. The song turns towards a Santana influenced rock feel as van Berlo introduces a reverb drenched distorted guitar solo with popular music note choices and phrasing. Godefroy revives a Latin mood with an up-tempo montuno that serves as the basis for exciting solo from conguero Stefan Brodte and timbalero Matthias Haffner. The combination of wah wah inflected guitar comping, synthesizer patches, and distorted guitar over a Brazilian tinged groove brings a seventies fusion sound to “Morena.” van Berlo walks the line between jazz virtuosity and rock shredding on his improvisation while the dated synthesizer patch and extensive use of pitch bend reveal a Return to Forever influence behind Godefroy’s solo. A unique rhythm straddles the line between Brazilian samba and fusion creativity on “Struggle For Life,” providing a mysterious mood. An over indulgent delay effect distracts from van Berlo’s solo, bringing a Satriani influence into the forefront. Despite a valiant attempt to bring together rock, funk, and Latin music, the uneven application of stylistic elements obscures their artistic intentions.

A Solid Fusion Album
Panchito brings a professional and exciting performance to Resurrección, which leans more towards an emphasis upon funk and rock with Latin undertones. The compositions are well written and the album contains a wealth of professional arrangements. The group displays a strong knowledge of Latin styles, yet that specialization gets buried beneath rock. The album’s overall mix places the drum kit’s funky backbeats prominently in front of the timbales and congas, diluting an authentic Latin sound. The individual musicians perform admirably; still, their improvisations lack a strong connection to clave. Although Resurrección looses it’s stylistic balance and prioritizes funk over Latin music, it stands as a solid fusion album with strong musicianship.

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