We’ll be looking at the Best Latin Jazz of 2008 Award winners over the next few days, so sit back and check out the first few results!

———-
Best Latin Jazz Vocalist of 2008: Kat Parra
Parra’s performance as a vocalist in the Latin Jazz world this past year was a standout appearance. Her album Azucar De Amor exuded class and style, swung like crazy, and featured a variety of Latin Jazz approaches that showcased Parra’s world-class vocal skills. From inspired pregons in a jazzed-up salsa setting like the song “Azucar De Amor” to classic jazz phrasing on tracks like the bolero version of “Misty,” Parra represented the total package in Latin Jazz vocals this year. Fantastic arrangements from Wayne Wallace and the support of some of the Bay Area’s best Latin Jazz musicians just pushed the album into the outstanding category. Parra blessed the Bay Area with regular performances, but also traveled to Chicago and Seattle this year. In addition, Parra was awarded a Zellerbach Foundation Grant for her Sephardic Jazz Project, allowing her to continue digging deeper into the Sephardic tradition. Parra’s presence has been an outstanding piece of the Bay Area Latin Jazz Scene and a major contributor to the Latin Jazz world in 2008.

Best Latin Jazz Flautist of 2008: Marco Granados
Venezuelan flautist Marco Granados brought all his musicality to the heart of the Latin Jazz world this year with his album, Music of Venezuela. His extensive training has helped Granados develop a high level of technical ability and a gorgeous tone, while his experience in the classical music world has refined his precise artistic sensibility. His dedication to Venezuelan music has fueled his current career, and his passion for the tradition emanates powerfully from Music of Venezuela. He interprets the melodies of many modern Venezuelan composers with a compassionate insight, and a rich connection that sings through his flute. Granados leaves most of the improvising to his band mates, letting the depth of the compositions speak for themselves. Yet the grace and style that he brings to the melodies lift the music to new heights. Music of Venezuela walks the borderlines between folk music, a South American classicism, and jazz, and Granados’ rich vision pull it all together into a must-hear package.

Best Latin Jazz Guitarist of 2008: Jorge Glem
While I originally labeled this category as Best Latin Jazz Guitarist/Tres Player of the Year, I really should have named it best Guitar-Like Instrument as the year, as neither a guitar player or a tres player won here – cuatro player Jorge Glem clearly won this category. As a member of Marco Granados’ Un Mundo Ensemble, Glem adds a great deal of virtuosity, improvisational wit, and Venezuelan flavor to Granados’ album Music of Venezuela. As an accompanist, Glem shines with flair and musicality. He obviously understands the ins and outs of traditional Venezuelan music; he traverses through each song with style and ease. At the same time, Glem clearly understands the potential of his instrument to create powerful rhythmic momentum as well as gentle foundations. Glem serves as one of the album’s prime improvisers, and he obviously knows how to build a storm from a series of simple chord progressions. He utilizes virtuosic passages, chord melodies, and smart variations to build solos with quite inspiring results. There’s a great deal of potential in Glem’s playing, and fortunately, Music of Venezuela has introduced LJC readers to this incredible musician!

Best Latin Jazz Record Label of 2008: Cacao Musica
In an age of iPods and digital downloads, Cacao Musica jumped into the Latin Jazz world and showed us that the CD still has value. Their first round of releases appeared at the beginning of 2008 and delivered fantastic music from Alfredo Naranjo, Jose “Changuito” Quintana, and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez. The high quality of the music on their releases offered ample reason to purchase the music, but Cacao went one step further and created a total CD experience. Each release contained beautiful CD insert books filled with photos, extensive information about the music, biographical essays on the bandleaders, and generous insights into the sidemen. The second round of Cacao releases built upon their solid debut with stunning releases from Negroni’s Trio, Aquiles Baez, and Cuarteto de Clarinetes de Caracas; each of these recordings also included the extensive packaging and liner notes. In every way, Cacao Musica releases are a Latin Jazz lover’s dream – the wide range of well-known and new artists, the cutting-edge music, the beautiful packaging, and wealth of information add up to an essential experience. Hopefully we’ll be seeing many more fine releases from Cacao Musica in 2009!

———-
Check back tomorrow for the Best Sax Player, Trumpet Player, and Trombone Player of the Year!

———-
Click here to have these posts delivered via email. Or, click here to subscribe to the full text RSS feed and never miss another post!

Stumble it!