Obsessive Listening & Afromantra

After years of immersing myself in Latin Jazz, I’ve found that listening to new albums has become a completely different experience. When I first became aware of the style, I couldn’t wait to unwrap the CDs and get it into the player. I hung on every note, trying to make sense of the rhythms and harmonies. Every album received significant rotations, and I familiarized myself with every track. Today, I still compulsively seek new listening material, yet far less recordings get my avid attention. I always give a new disc a complete listen, but unless I am writing a review, only the most intriguing music goes into regular rotation. Even among the best, few albums really spark obsessive listening anymore - that “I have to hear it everyday” feeling.

I recently became hooked upon Alex Garcia’s Afromantra, and found myself once again addicted to listening. Espiritu Optimista contains completely exposed and emotional playing from all the musicians, and the compositions challenge the listener while remaining deeply musical. The song structures are unique, but logical, with an inherent sense of exploration. The musical concepts seem an extension of the best contemporary Cuban groups - Emiliano Salvador and Irakere in particular. Every time I listen to the recording, I find new elements that I previously missed . . . leading me to take yet another listen. After about a week, I needed more music to feed my addiction, so I discovered an earlier album from the group, Alignment. Even though several different players change the overall sound slightly, I still encountered the same excitement upon listening to the album. I’m currently in a feeding frenzy looking for earlier album, while repeating these two consistently.

In the meantime, I’ve discovered some inspiring video performances that I thought I’d share - enjoy!

Live in Santander, Spain performing “The Uplifting Spirit of Our Soul”