Latin Jazz This Week will bring you a weekly look into news from the Latin Jazz world. You’ll find new releases, recommended performances, web finds, and more. You can check out some current sounds in the Listening Center tab at the top of the page. Performance dates will be kept in the Live Latin Jazz tab at the top of the page.
NEWS
The New York restaurant La Fonda Boricua paid tribute to late timbalero Manny Oquendo on their blog this past week. During Oquendo’s later days, he wasn’t performing that often, and one of his later gigs with Libre was at La Fonda Boricua. The blog post has links to some fan videos of that night as well as some brief info on Oquendo. Check it out HERE.
You can find another tribute to Oquendo over at Descarga.com. The tribute to Oquendo links to an interview with bassist Andy Gonzalez that was originally posted in 2004 to celebrate Libre’s 30th Anniversary. There’s all sorts of fascinating information about Libre’s origins, their musical concept, and Oquendo’s influence. It’s an incredible read, you’ve got to check it out. Read the interview HERE.
If you’re in EUROPE this week . . . HENDRIK MEURKENS
Duo with Wolfgang Lackerschmid WHEN: Saturday 4/4/09 WHERE:Jazzforum
Bayreuth
Germany TIME: 8:30 p.m.
If you’re in CANADA this week . . . JANE BUNNETT WHEN: Saturday 4/4/09 WHERE:Banff Centre
107 Tunnel Mountain Drive
Banff, Alberta
Canada TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $27
If you’re in HAWAII this week . . . PAUL CARLON WHEN: Thursday 4/2/09 WHERE:Diamond Head Grill
2885 Kalakuna Avenue
Honolulu, HI TIME: 6:30 p.m. TICKETS: $5
If you’re in SOUTH AMERICA this week . . . MANANTE WHEN: Saturday 4/4/09 WHERE:Cocodrilo Verde
Francisco de Paula Camino 226 Miraflores
Lima, Peru TIME: 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: 30 soles
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . BOBBY SANABRIA
w/Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra Open Rehearsal/Clinic WHEN: Monday 3/30/09 WHERE:Manhattan School of Music, Room 607
132 Claremont Ave
New York, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m.
w/Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra WHEN: Thursday 4/2/09 WHERE:Lehman College – Lovinger Theatre
250 Bedford Park Boulevard West
Bronx, NY TIME: 4:30 p.m.
CHEMBO CORNIEL WHEN: Thursday 4/2/09 WHERE:Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe
236 East 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 4/5/09 WHERE:Birdland
315 W. 44th Street
Manhattan, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $25
CHRIS WASHBURNE & S.Y.O.T.O.S. WHEN: Sunday 4/5/09 WHERE:Smoke
2751 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20 minimum
CHUCHITO VALDES
Pensacola Jazz Festival WHEN: Saturday 4/4/09 WHERE:Seville Square – Gazebo
206 W. Llyod St
Pensacola, FL TIME: 4:35 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
Pensacola Jazz Festival WHEN: Sunday 4/5/09 WHERE:Seville Square – Gazebo
206 W. Llyod St
Pensacola, FL TIME: 5:35 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
EDDIE PALMIERI
Piano Showdown – Palmieri solo! WHEN: Wednesday 4/1/09 WHERE:Charles H. Morris Center
10 East Broad Street
Savannah, GA TIME: 6:30 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $50 per show
with La Perfecta II WHEN: Thursday 4/2/09 WHERE:Charles H. Morris Center
10 East Broad Street
Savannah, GA TIME: 8:30 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: $40 per show
ELIO VILLAFRANCA
We Remember Israel “Cachao” Lopez WHEN: Sunday 4/5/09 WHERE:The Bassline
130 East First Street
Mount Vernon, NY TIME: 3:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20 & one drink minimum
LUCIA PULIDO WHEN: Tuesday 3/31/09 WHERE:Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $15
If you’re in the MID-EAST this week . . . LOS GATOS WHEN: Regular Thursday Gig: 4/2/09 WHERE:The Firefly Club
637 S. Main
Ann Arbor, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $8
TUMBAO BRAVO WHEN: Saturday 4/4/09 WHERE:Detroit Riverfront
Detroit Riverfront/Atwater Street
Detroit, MI TIME: 3:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
WHEN: Regular Sunday Gig: 4/5/09 WHERE:Sangria – Royal Oak
401 S. Lafayette
Royal Oak, MI TIME: 9:00 p.m.
If you’re in the MID-WEST this week . . . JEFF JONES
Mosaic Trio WHEN: Saturday 4/4/09 WHERE:Cafe Boa
398 S. Mill Avenue
Tempe, AZ TIME: 10:00 p.m.
If you’re on the WEST COAST this week . . . ANDREA BRACHFELD WHEN: Saturday 4/4/09 WHERE:Mill Valley Masonic Center
19 Corte Madera Ave.
Mill Valley, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20 – $25
WHEN: Sunday 4/5/09
Clinic – Origins of the Cuban Flute WHERE:Jazzschool
2087 Addison St.
Berkeley, CA TIME: 2:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30
ARTURO SANDOVAL WHEN: Wednesday 4/4/09 WHERE:UCLA – Luckman Fine Arts Complex
5151 State University Drive
Los Angeles, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $45 – $50
BOBBY MATOS Unity CD Release Party WHEN: Thursday 4/2/09 WHERE:Catalina’s Bar & Grille
6725 Sunset Boulevard
Hollywood, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
ESTRADA BROTHERS WHEN: Friday 4/3/09 WHERE: Charlenes Urban Tapas & Wine Bar
546 E Main St
Ventura, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m.
FRANCISCO AGUABELLA WHEN: Saturday 4/4/09 WHERE:Steamer’s
138 W. Commonwealth
Fullerton, CA TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $8
OMAR SOSA WHEN: Thursday 4/2/09 – Sunday 4/5/09 WHERE:The Jazz Bakery
3233 Helms Avenue
Culver City, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $25 on Thursday; $30 Friday – Sunday
WAYNE WALLACE WHEN: Friday 4/3/09 WHERE:De Young Museum
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive
San Francisco, CA TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: Museum Admission
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Some musicians look past the artistic divisions, commercial labels, and historical paths that accompany the modern musical world; instead they see a bigger picture that simply allows them to follow their passions without inhibition. Their work lives and breaths with creativity, integrity, thought, and substance, and most of all, it resonates with a personal voice so strong that they become highly visible among their peers. These musicians are the leaders and role models of their generation, and their influence lives into the future through a multitude of followers. These musicians are valuable assets to the artistic world, true treasures that can’t be replaced once they are gone. Unfortunately, the Latin Jazz world lost another one of these artistic giants when legendary timbalero Manny Oquendo died on Wednesday March 25, 2009.
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José Manuel Oquendo was born in Brooklyn on January 1, 1931, a child of Puerto Rican parents who lived deeply immersed in their culture and music. Local theaters, cultural gathering places, community record stores, and family gatherings provided initial musical exposure. Oquendo listened continuously to local radio stations such as WBNX and WWRL. By the time that he reached his teenage years, Oquendo knew that he wanted a music career as a drummer. He took lessons with local percussion instructor Sam Ulano and soon dived into New York’s Latin music scene. A lively scene and healthy artistic community existed in the mid-1940s, and the young Oquendo watched numerous mentors – from Arsenio Rodriguez and Tito Puente to Noro Morales and Tito Rodriguez, Oquendo learned from the best. He found work in a variety of local bands, bouncing between Sexteto Sanabria, the Carlos Medina Orchestra, the Charlie Valero Band, Luis del Campo, and the Marcelino Guerra Orchestra. These groups served as a training ground, and Oquendo soon rose through the ranks of New York’s bands, finding work with José Curbelo, Pupi Campo, and in the early 1950s, Tito Puente’s group. He continued to freelance throughout the 1950s, becoming a highly desired timbalero for New York’s cream of the crop – throughout the decade he worked with Noro Morales, Miguelito Valdes, Johnny Pacheco, Larry Harlow, Tito Rodriguez, and more.
In 1962, Oquendo found a home as a regular member of pianist Eddie Palmieri’s newly formed conjunto, La Perfecta. At the time, the group struggled to find work as Latin big bands dominated the scene with rhythmic mambos and exciting dance music. Palmieri integrated his jazz influences while maintaining his dance roots; the result was danceable salsa with a pronounced freedom based around improvisation. Oquendo combined his knowledge of traditional styles with Palmieri’s jazz aesthetic and trombonist Barry Rogers’ arranging skills to develop a repertoire that began to attract audiences in a big way. Oquendo found inspiration in the current Cuban rhythm mozambique and convinced Palmieri to integrate it into the band repertoire, which consequently became a huge part of the group’s sound. The group recorded La Perfecta in 1962 and by the time they released Azucar Pa’ Ti (Sugar for You) in 1965, they had garnered an impressively large and loyal following. As the group moved into the later half of the 1960s, they reached an unstoppable momentum, releasing Mozambique in 1965, collaborating with Cal Tjader on El Sonido Nuevo in 1966, and producing Molasses in 1967. Palmieri moved away from La Perfecta in the late 1960s, but Oquendo traveled into the 1970s with the pianist. Oquendo recorded Justicia with Palmieri in 1970, as well as Harlem River Drive and Superimposition in 1971. The group included a number of important young musicians on the scene, including bassist Andy Gonzalez, maintaining a fire and intensity in Palmieri’s work. Unfortunately, Palmieri began to neglect his duties as bandleader and the group fell apart during a 1974 tour in Puerto Rico.
After returning from Puerto Rico in 1974, Oquendo and Gonzalez decided to form their own group and began gathering personnel, choosing music, and refining their artistic vision. Oquendo filled the role as bandleader and Gonzalez worked as musical director; other early band members included conguero Jerry Gonzalez, trombonist Barry Rogers, saxophonist Mario Rivera, percussionist Milton Cardona, pianist Oscar Hernández, and vocalist Willie Díaz. The group rehearsed in the basement of Gonzalez’s parent’s house and on October 22, 1974, the group performed their first gig under the name Manny Oquendo Y Libre. The band continued to perform, gaining a following, and their rehearsals in the Gonzalez household expanded. Many more musicians became involved, the musicians experimented freely, and many sessions turned into major descargas. A side project evolved from these sessions, Grupo Folklorico Y Experimental Nuevayorquiño. The band strived to authentically perform Caribbean and South American folklore while indulging their experimental side. They released two highly influential albums, Concepts in Unity and Lo Dice Todo, before the group disbanded. Libre continued though, and this band released their first album in 1976, Con Salsa, Con Ritmo. They performed consistently and released Con Salsa, Con Ritmo, Vol. II in 1978, Lideres de la Salsa in 1979 and Incredible in 1981. A classic album emerged in 1983 that forever cemented the band into legendary status – Ritmo, Sonido, Y Estilo – a gem that included prime Libre repertoire such as “Que Humanidad,” “Estoy Como Nunca,” and an awe-inspiring version of Freddie Hubbard’s “Little Sunflower.” Despite a full performance schedule, the group didn’t record again until the 1993 album Ahora, followed by 1994′s Mejor Que Nunca (Better Than Ever). A string of albums followed this date, including the 1996 recording On the Move! (¡Muevete!) and the 2000 date Los New Yorkinos. Oquendo kept the band playing until recently, slowing but never stopping.
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If a blurry line between Latin Jazz and salsa exists, Manny Oquendo certainly walked that tightrope with grace and ease. His effortless creativity always kept the music exciting and spontaneous while his knowledge of tradition maintained a firm basis in roots. His playing defined a generation of timbale performance, influencing countless musicians in both the salsa and Latin Jazz realms. We’ll dig deeper into Oquendo’s Latin Jazz legacy next week, but for now, let’s remember this fantastic musician with an incredible performance by Libre.
Before the new millennium of music arrived, making recording reasonably affordable and online distribution powerfully potent, the record label maintained a make or break position in the life of an artist, a group, or a style. The creation of a professional quality recording that clearly expressed an artist’s ideas required a specialized studio environment and highly skilled sound engineers. These people and places were few and far between, allowing them to charge a steep fee for their services; in most cases, this fee largely outweighed the resources that most musicians held. The record labels would front the money to create the recording, tying them to the artist for years to come. Once the recording was made, artists also relied upon labels to promote their work, spreading the word about their music to a national, and in many cases, international audience. Before e-mail, MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook, the best that an independent artist could muster would be a snail mail list – a time consuming and expensive proposition. Labels had the money and connections to promote new albums on radio, television, magazines, newspaper, and more, finding all the right places for the world to discover a young artist. In many ways, record labels held the life of the music industry in its hands, and successful artists or genres required the whole hearted support of a record label to survive.
Ralph Mercado created RMM Records in 1987, a time when crass commercialism was taking over the popular music world; fortunately Mercado saw beyond this one-way road and served as an ideal spokesman for New York Latin music. Mercado was more than simply the head of a record company sitting in an office; he was an active participant on the Latin music scene. He had promoted concerts, venues, and artists for many years, and he had established relationships with most of the major names in the New York Latin music scene. He knew these people both personally and musically; he knew their potential and their limits. He had a rich understanding of Latin music from a listener’s perspective; he loved the music and he knew what worked. When considering a combination of musicians for a recording, he knew how individuals complemented or clashed with each other. Mercado had listened to these artists perform for many years, and he understood their jazz side on several levels. He related to the jazz market and saw potential for these artists to expand his company. He had watched the music evolve historically, and he saw the blurry line between salsa and Latin Jazz. Mercado was the head of RMM Records, but he was always much more than that; he was a Latin music insider who saw the bigger picture of the New York scene and he held a vested interest in the continuation of the art form
RMM Records created a huge number of salsa albums during the 1980s and ’90s, from romantica to salsa dura, but again, Mercado saw beyond the commercial viability of that music and also supported Latin Jazz on numerous recordings. He drew upon all the assets that made him a great salsa promoter in working with these musicians – it really was a natural transition considering that many of these musicians doubled between salsa and Latin Jazz repertoire. He had established relationship with these artists, he knew what worked musically for them, and he was willing to work with them to build interesting projects. It was an ideal match, and as a result, RMM Records left us with a number of important Latin Jazz albums. The label was sold in 2001 after Mercado declared bankruptcy (the result of a financially draining legal settlement), and Universal Music Group acquired the label’s catalog of recordings. Universal has re-released many popular RMM recordings, but several others continue to sit on the shelf awaiting release. As a result, some of the albums listed below can be difficult to find, but take the time; it’s worth the search!
———- 1. Arete – Eddie Palmieri Pianist Eddie Palmieri had a well-established career when he joined the RMM label, but his association with Mercado’s label allowed him to continue the new direction that he began in 1994 on his Elektra release Palmas. Palmieri maintained the core members of his band on his first RMM recording, Arete, delivering more of the intensive New York Latin Jazz that made Palmas so intriguing. Trumpet player Brian Lynch, trombone player Conrad Herwig, and saxophone player Donald Harrison acted as the primary soloists with a massive rhythm section anchored by Palmieri, bassist John Benitez, timbalero Jose Clausell, and conguero Richie Flores. Several up-tempo aggressive Latin Jazz tunes such as “Don’t Stop The Train” and “Caribbean Mood” resonate with a classic Palmieri flavor and the cha cha cha “Definitely In” transfers that intensity to a moderate tempo. Palmieri also adds some variety with a swing waltz in “Waltz For My Grandchildren” and gets emotionally expressive with the gorgeous ballad “Sisters.” The album as a whole cleanly represents another chapter in the life of his Latin Jazz unit, and firmly established Palmieri as a heavy player outside the salsa world. He followed this release with another RMM recording in 1996, Vortex, a heavy Latin Jazz set with touches of classical music and electronic sounds. El Rumbero del Piano sent Palmieri back to his salsa roots in 1998, and Eddie Palmieri & Friends Live displayed his energetic spontaneity on CD in 1999. Palmieri’s RMM releases captured a significant period in his career where he focused on a top-notch ensemble and his most jazz specific releases.
2. Thru My Eyes – Michel Camilo One of the cornerstones of pianist Michel Camilo’s career has been the unique voice that he presents in both his playing and composing; his one recording with RMM Records allowed him to step outside that role and revisit some classic Latin Jazz. Thru My Eyes gathered some of the most standard tunes in the Latin Jazz repertoire and completely reshaped them based upon Camilo’s musical vision. As always, Camilo kept impressive musical company on this album, employing the talents of drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez, electric bassist Anthony Jackson, and double bassist John Patitucci. “Mambo Inn” becomes a dramatic songo romp with the classic melody, a chromatic vamp, Camilo’s blistering technical proficiency, and an attention grabbing solo from Hernandez. “Afro Blue” simmers with an understated intensity as Camilo and Patitucci emphasize the melody with offset kicks before sliding into a smoldering slow swing for a bluesy solo from Camilo. Jackson and Camilo tear through a unison melody on “Armando’s Rhumba” before Camilo lights his improvisation on fire and Jackson trades fours with Hernandez. “A Night In Tunisia” becomes a no holds barred race to the finish with mind-boggling breaks and ferocious improvisations from both Camilo and Patitucci. Camilo shows his connection to history with some fairly straight-ahead interpretations as well – “Watermelon Man” rides over a bubbling cha cha cha, “Song For My Father” captures the subtle bossa nova groove of Horace Silver’s original, and “St. Thomas” swings with a buoyant calypso feel. It’s a unique recording that balances Camilo’s generally overwhelming presence with Latin Jazz history; another must have recording on the RMM label.
3. Dancemania ’99: Live At Birdland – Tito Puente Tito Puente spent much of the 1980s and ’90s recording with his small Latin Jazz ensemble on Concord Records, and his transition to RMM Records signaled a return to the big band sound of his Palladium days. While Puente’s Latin Jazz Ensemble created some wonderful music, Puente’s musical soul lived in the big band mambo. At first glance, Dancemania ’99: Live At Birdland might seems like a rehash of Puente’s classic 1958 album, but it delivers so much more than that. There’s definitely some classic Puente in this recording – “Complicación,” “El Cayuco,” and “Barbarabatiri” all bring the Puente legacy into the modern age with the enthusiasm and vitality of a young ensemble. Puente stays closely connected to his jazz repertoire as well, bringing classic tunes such as “Lullaby of Birdland,” “Mambo Inn,” and “Mambo en Blues” onto the recording. The album combines Puente’s two musical personalities – salsa dance star and jazz musician – into that big band Palladium sound that only Puente can deliver. He recorded several more albums for RMM in his last few years, including Mambo King: His 100th Album and Mambo Birdland, indulging in a combination of the past and present with his full force big band. Puente’s return to this format served as a fitting end to his career, reintroducing the world to a totally unique and important sound that often gets lost in today’s Latin music world. Thanks to RMM Records, Puente kept the big band Palladium sound alive in the modern age.
4. TropiJazz All-Stars, Vol. 1
5. TropiJazz All-Stars, Vol. 2 Mercado realized that RMM Records housed the cream of the New York Latin Jazz scene, and that the only thing that could make his roster better would be an all-star gathering. The resultant group, the Tropijazz All-Stars, brought together the best Latin Jazz talent on the label, presenting the likes of Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Hilton Ruiz, and more. The band kept a core of musicians such as pianist Hilton Ruiz, conguero Richie Flores, bassist John Benitez, and drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez performing on each song while the larger names like Puente on Palmieri only performed on individual tracks. Trombonist Juan Pablo Torres directed the group, bringing his years of experience, songwriting, and arranging skills into the label’s forefront. The horn section was as close to a Latin Jazz dream team as possible, featuring the work of Torres on trombone, saxophonist David Sanchez, trumpet players Charlie Sepulveda and Humberto Ramirez, as well as flautist Dave Valentin. The group brought the best of the New York Latin Jazz scene together for two unforgettable albums and select live performances, and these musicians took full advantage of the opportunity.
TropiJazz All-Stars, Volume 1 and Volume 2 deliver everything that would be expected from a group of this caliber and more. Ruiz contributes some full force Latin Jazz intensity on his composition “Straight Street,” giving Sanchez an opportunity to dig into the changes with a frenzied bebop flair. Benitez provides a funky bass line underneath an energetic percussion descarga on “Five Beat Mambo,” opening the stage to El Rey, Flores, and Hernandez, who fill the space with style and passion. Valentin dives into “Oh My Goodness Baby” with a possessed fervor, singing through his flute and turning it into a complete percussion instrument. There’s more straight-ahead Latin Jazz flavor on “Right Call,” as several of the all-stars take a turn at improvising. Torres contributes “Rumba De Cajon,” a spacious rumba that explodes into another feature for a driven young Sanchez, improvising at the top of his game. Palmieri joins the group on the fiery 6/8 piece “Suite 925-2828,” adding his characteristically intensive personality into the already inspired setting. Although many of these musicians would collaborate with one or another over the next few years, they never came together again in this formation, making these two RMM releases mandatory listening for any Latin Jazz fan.
6. Trombone Man – J.P. Torres By the time that Juan Pablo Torres joined the RMM Records family in the mid-1990s, he already had a long resume of influential works from his life in both Cuba and the United States. From his classic recordings with Estrellas de Arieto to his participation in the Fania era Tipica ’73 en Cuba, Intercambio Cultural, Torres had established himself as one of the best on the scene. His first RMM album, Trombone Man, screamed that message loud and clear with a creative Latin Jazz vibe. Backed by a rhythm section that featured pianists Hilton Ruiz and Edward Simon, bassists Andy Gonzalez and Oscar Stagnaro, and percussionist Pernell Saturnino, Torres simply couldn’t go wrong. Torres and saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera take energetic solos over Ruiz’s cha cha cha “Sweet Cherry Pie,” while Ruiz creates a ferocious statement. D’Rivera contributes several compositions, including a fine feature for Torres, the elegant danzon “Memories.” Torres delivers a burning rumba on “From John To Johny” until the band jumps into a jazz influenced son montuno for solos from D’Rivera on clarinet and Torres himself. Stagnaro creatively applies his virtuosity to a chordal introduction on D’Rivera’s “Samba For Carmen” leading into a driving Brazilian groove for multiple solos. Torres blends two classics together on “Four & Como Fué,” bringing together jazz and Cuban music in a very real way. This album presents several highlights, a trend that Torres continued on future releases. He followed Trombone Man with another RMM release, Pepper Trombone, in 1997. After Mercado sold RMM, Torres continued with the label’s new owners, Universal Music Group, delivering several strong albums until his untimely death in 2005.
Masterpiece/Obra Maestra – Tito Puente & Eddie Palmieri Masterpiece/Obra Maestra presents a balance of Latin Jazz and dance music, and honestly, its a little heavy on the dance side . . . but the historic nature of this recording can’t be denied. The Puente classic “Picadillo Jam” gets a stirring big band treatment with plenty of room for improvisation, including a dissonant and tension filled exchange between the two masters. A rhythmically askew groove introduces “Muddy’s Club Blues In Weinhelm” with a purely Palmieri flair that opens into some jazz fueled scatting from vocalist Jerry Medina and a classy vibraphone solo from Puente. There’s plenty of Palladium style mambo energy pushing “Paris Mambo” into an addictive groove, with some lively pregon work from Oscar D’Leon. Tango interludes add an interesting twist to “La Ultima Copa” which pulsates with a ’70s Fania vibe beneath Herman Olivera’s powerful vocals. Puente reworks his classic descarga “Ti-Mon-Bo” with added vocals from Frankie Morales, attention grabbing mambos, and new percussion improvisations on “El Puente Mundial.” “Marchando Bien” moves forward with a moderate yet forceful groove, providing the perfect showcase for classic Fania vocalist Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez. Percussionist Milton Cardona adds bata and folkloric chants to “Itutu Ache’,” which transitions into a full band number featuring both Palmieri and Puente who show their connections to folkloric music. Although Puente and Palmieri shared a common history in New York’s lively Latin music scene, they had never collaborated on a full album. Masterpiece/Obra Maestra gives them that opportunity, and we can only wish that they had worked together more extensively in the past – unfortunately they didn’t have the opportunity later. Puente died soon after the group finished the recording, leaving Masterpiece/Obra Maestra as a milestone meeting between two Latin music masters and a fitting swan song to El Rey.
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These six albums represent a good sampling of the outstanding Latin Jazz produced on the RMM label during its existence – but its not the final story! RMM Records was around for quite a few years, and as a result, there are numerous Latin Jazz albums. For more inspiring RMM Latin Jazz material, check out these albums:
Our current Spotlight Artist, Hamlet & His Latin Jazz Experience, reminds us that Latin Jazz reaches far beyond the borders of the United States . . . in fact the music thrives in South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and more. Their collective experiences in Colombia, Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, and the United States bring a diverse group of musical backgrounds into the group, opening the possibilities for musical experimentation. The group maintains a firm foundation in Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms, but they obviously don’t fell pressured by the weight of tradition. The inclusion of odd time signatures, complex arrangements, drastic dynamics, and intricate yet catchy themes bring a distinctly different sound to the group, setting them apart from their stateside counterparts. It’s hard to classify the music as closely tied to European music traditions and it can’t be classified as authentically Cuban, Brazilian, or Puerto Rican. It would be hard to even call it traditional Latin Jazz from a U.S. perspective. Instead the music on Descarumbiando resonates as something unique – a lively collection of music that remains connected to many sources without being defined by them. It’s a great reminder that sometimes we simply need to look outside the standard sources to find inspiring Latin Jazz.
Take the time to check out Hamlet & His Latin Jazz Experience, there are plenty of opportunities to find them around the internet. You can find background information, news, videos, pictures, and tour dates on the group’s website. You can befriend the group, check out some tracks from Descarumbiando, see some pictures, and comment at the group’s MySpace page. Sit back and watch some videos on the group’s YouTube page – there’s some great rehearsal footage that you’ve got to check out! There’s plenty of opportunities to get to know the group, so go ahead and do it – you’ll be glad you did!
In the hopes of inspiring you to check the group out more extensively, I’ve included some background information about the different group members. Check out the varied backgrounds that these guys bring into the band, there’s a lot of great musicality there! The information comes from their webpage, where you can get even more musical goodies. I’ve included a video of the band performing the title track from Descarumbiando at the bottom of the post so that you can hear the group in action. Enjoy!
———- Hamlet Fiorilli Hamlet was born in Bogotà, Colombia in 1967. The family moved to Italy, and he soon began his musical studies on clarinet and drums, and later at age 13 on piano, studying with a private teacher for one year. He then continued instinctively learning by playing, as he still does today, considering himself more a musician than a pianist. Concurrently to the above studies, he took his diploma in french horn at the P. Mascagni conservatory of Livorno, also studying composition, choir conducting and classical percussion, and finished his arranging studies with a private teacher in the Berkley school method. Piano became his main instrument; he started professionally with his father’s Latin band “Macondo” at age 15, also replacing his piano teacher on the local jazz big band. There followed many concerts with different bands, playing many genres, helping him develop a big, open view of music. At age 17 he played a few seasons on cruise ships around Europe, North Africa and Russia and later moved to Monte Carlo, Divonne Les Bains, and Vienna, playing in prestigious clubs and hotels. In Italy he formed a pop-rock band called “Animali Rari,” performing hundreds of concerts around the country, winning prizes and participating in national radio and TV shows. He was the youngest orchestral conductor/arranger on the important Sanremo Festival, and collaborated with artists on the Italian pop scene, including Marina Fiordaliso, Fiorella Pierobon, Giorgia, Vinicio Capossela, Maurizio Solieri and Daniele Tedeschi (guitarist and drummer of Vasco Rossi.) On the salsa side he played a few years with Jairo’s Tribu Tayrona (Colombia) and again traveled Europe playing in Cannes, Luxemburg, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and in Trinidad made several performances with the salsa band “Sonora Trinitaria.”
Victor Fiorilli Victor was born into a musical family in 1973 in Spain. His father Roberto Fiorilli was a famous drummer and leader of artistic projects in Columbia in the late 60’s, and the two brothers Hamlet and Victor evolved in this Latin Jazz atmosphere. He started studying piano at age 9 in the P. Mascagni conservatory in Livorno and changed to acoustic bass after two years, completing his studies at the same conservatory. After his studies he switched to electric bass and began his career in rock cover bands, in his father’s band Macondo, and from 1994 until 1996 toured Italy with the show of the famous comedian Gene Gnocchi In 1995 he played with the top Italian pop singer Giorgia in the prestigious TV show Festival Bar and collaborated with Maurizio Solieri (Vasco Rossi’s lead guitarist) live on well-known TV shows, such as Help and Roxy Bar. He played bass 10 years in the Cani Sciolti show band and helped out in many fusion, Latin and rock bands, performing in Italy’s most important clubs, festivals and discos.
Stefan Mörtl Stefan Mörtl was born in 1982 in Villach and began playing drums at age 8. He studied classic at the Kärntner Landeskonservatorium with Günther Hofbauer and Gerhard Kattnig, and later began jazz studies with Erich Bachträgl. In 2007 he had the great opportunity to play with Joe Zawinul and the Konse-Workshopband in 3 concerts in Klagenfurt, Maribor and Zagreb. He’s also played with Tamara Obrovac, Karen Asatrian, Gail Anderson, in “Hollywood Classics” with the Carinthian Synphonic Orchestra, and the musical “The Little Shop of Horror.” In 2006 he was at the Rhythm Seminar in Marktoberdorf, and has had lessons and seminars with Steve Smith, Russ Miller, Benny Greb, Wolgang Haffner, Rene Creemers, Rhani Krija and Joris Dudli. Stefan is a gifted drummer with a great feeling for Latin music, which inspired Hamlet to select him for the Latin Jazz Experience project. Stefan is also currently playing with the Gail Anderson Band, freelancing and teaching.
Giani Battilana Giani Battilana was born in 1957 in Bologna and started studying Latin percussion in the early 80’s with great teachers, such as Lefty Medina, Candelo Cabezas, Roberto Evangelisti and Paulo La Rosa. He started his career as a conguero with Italian salsa pioneers like Jairo Bolano’s Tribu Tayrona, Carlos Ugueto’s Yemaya, and many other minor projects in Milano, Bologna and Rome in the 80’s. After that he got deeply into Afro Cuban music and played with top players like Jesus Miro (Munequitos de Matanzas) and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez (Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michel Camilo, Chick Corea, etc…). Gianni collaborated later on with the Cuban Percussion School in Florence “El Cabildo” with Valerio Perla, and worked as a teacher in schools in the Bologna, Modena and Ferrara area. He was a founder and member in such bands as Ahinama, Asi and Son Con Clave, played with the Cuban singers Wilma Bryson, Virgen Delgado and Ruth Abreu, and participated in experimental rumba projects with Venus and Stevie Insua (Cuban Folklore) and Roberto Faenzi, where he developed his passion for Latin Jazz. In his career he has played with many Cuban salsa bands, such as America y Su Tumbancha, Carlos Merlet y Puro Sabor, Mario Crespo, and with the Columbian Jairo Bolanos “Tribu Tayrona”. As a freelance player he has collaborated with such bands as Bongo Bata, Mambo Kids, Mezcla Latina, Croma Latina, Jimmy Bosh & Luisito Rosario, and taken part in big Latin festivals in Rome, Milano, Urbino, Bologna, and Verona. Right now he’s playing in several projects: Poco Loco Trio with Maurizio De Gasperi (piano) and Davide Lanzarani (baby bass), Cuban Connection with the Poco Loco trio plus Ruben Chaviano (violin) and Emanuele Smimmo (drums), and Hamlet’s Latin Jazz Experience.
Max Müller Max Müller (real name Massimiliano Fiorilli) was born in Piombino (Italy) in 1974, the youngest brother of the musical Fiorilli family. He began playing drums very early, following his father steps, and at age 13 studied a few years at the P. Mascagni conservatory in Livorno. At age 16 he moved to the U.S.A, studying two years of drums with Jeff Gros in Miami. Back in Italy he studied drums with Alfredo Golino, who introduced him to Graziano Romani, enabling Max, age 19, to start a career with his band under a recording/performance contract with the WEA Company. In 1995 became a fix member of the band Custodie Cautelari, recording 6 albums and performing in live concerts (160 per year) in Italy and Switzerland. In 1998 he began collaborating with Maurizio Solieri in recordings and live performances. Concurrently he started his project “Notte Delle Chitarre,” performing with famous rock guitarists such as Maurizio Solieri (Vasco Rossi), Alberto Radius (Lucio Battisti), Ricky Portera (Lucio Dalla, Stadio), Mario Schilirò (Zucchero), Max Cottafavi (Ligabue) and many others. That project recorded an album in 2001, produced by Sony Music, with guest stars like Franco Battiato, Francesco Renga, Elio, Gianluca Grignani, Franz di Cioccio, Eugenio Finardi. In 2007 Max recorded the Custodie Cautelari album “L’incoscienza,” with big artists such as Irane Grandi, Eugenio Finardi, Elio, Neffa, Enrico Ruggeri, Max Gazzè, Alberto Fortis and Maurizio Solieri, all big stars on the Italian pop-rock scene. On the latin side he played drums and percussion often during the years with his brothers Hamlet & Victor in trio, in clubs and pubs, developing more and more passion and love for that music. Now he’s playing with Hamlet’s Latin Jazz Experience (Percussion), Custodie Cautelari & guest stars (Drums), Fiorilli Brothers Trio (Drums & Percussions) and with the Dookie trio, a Green Day Tribute.
Hans Lassnig Hans Lassnig was born in 1974 in Austria. He studied jazz and classical trumpet at the conservatory in Klagenfurt, New School University in New York and University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz. In 2001 he participated in the “Euromeet Jazz Workshop” in Bassano (Italy), where he was the only trumpet player selected for a scholarship to the famous New School University (New York). In 2004 he participated in the “generations04_ jazz workshop in Frauenfeld (Switzerland), where he was invited to join the “Fellowship Award Band” which was touring in Germany and Switzerland in 2005. Among ten professional jazz trumpet players from Europe he is a finalist in the European YAMAHA Trumpet Contest 2009. While attending the “Jazz and Contemporary Music Program” at the New School University, he studied with some of the finest jazz players in New York City, including Jimmy Owens, Charles Tolliver, Cecil Bridgewater, Bobby Sanabria, Armen Donelian, Jane Ira Bloom, Rory Stuart. His most influental teachers were the great trumpeters Lee Harper, Matthieu Michel, John McNeil, Claudio Roditi, Clark Terry and Laurie Frink, but also Jerry Bergonzi and Kenny Werner. Hans is living as a freelance trumpet player and teacher in Austria.
Latin Jazz This Week will bring you a weekly look into news from the Latin Jazz world. You’ll find new releases, recommended performances, web finds, and more. You can check out some current sounds in the Listening Center tab at the top of the page. Performance dates will be kept in the Live Latin Jazz tab at the top of the page.
NEWS
The fantastic web resource Jazz Studies Online is offering a glimpse at a fantastic performance by one of the legends of Latin jazz, Eddie Palmieri. This video, filmed at El Museo del Barrio, features Palmieri at his best, along with trombonist Chris Washburne, saxophonist Craig Handy, trumpet player Brian Lynch, and more. In addition to this exiting video, you can check out set lists, an interview with Palmieri conducted by Washburne, and a performance by the Boys Harbor Latin Youth Ensemble. It’s a terrific video and a great resource that can’t be missed – check it out HERE.
Jazz.com recently published an interview with pianist and bandleader Michel Camilo, conducted by Tomas Peña. The interview digs deep into Camilo’s latest album, Spirit of the Moment, and discusses the unbelievable chemistry between Camilo and the members of his trio, bassist Charles Flores and drummer Dafnis Prieto. Camilo freely talks about his musical concepts, his artistic perspective, and his life as a bandleader – it’s a fantastic read, as we can expect from an interview conducted by Peña. Check it out HERE.
If you missed the last week’s free stream of David Sanchez’s Village Vanguard performance, don’t worry – Sanchez is offering a free MP3 download of a full set on NPR! It’s a great opportunity to check out Sanchez’s latest touring group and experience the excitement of this fantastic performer live. Download the concert HERE.
If you’re in CANADA this week . . . OMAR SOSA WHEN: Thursday 3/26/09 WHERE:Jazz En Rafale
Montreal, Quebec, Canada TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $31
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . ARTURO O’FARRILL
w/the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra & Ballet Hispanico WHEN: Saturday 3/25/09 WHERE:Williams Center – Lafayette
Lafayette College
Easton, PA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $25
BOBBY SANABRIA
w/Manhattan School of Music Afro-Cuban Jazz Orchestra WHEN: Monday 3/23/09 WHERE:Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola
33 West 60th St., Fl. 11
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20 – $35
BRONX HORNS WHEN: Friday 3/27/09 WHERE:SOB’s
204 Varick Sreet
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 3/29/09 WHERE:Birdland
315 W. 44th Street
Manhattan, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $25
EDDIE PALMIERI WHEN: Saturday 3/28/09 WHERE:Bailey Hall – Cornell University
101 Lincoln Hall
Ithaca, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $25 – $36
ENCLAVE WHEN: Thursday 3/26/09 WHERE:The Fireplace
1634 Beacon St
Brookline, MA TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
OMAR SOSA WHEN: Wednesday 3/25/09 WHERE:Enrique V. Iglesias Auditorium
1300 New York Avenue, NW
Washington DC TIME: 6:30 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
WHEN: Friday 3/27/09 WHERE:FlynnSpace
153 Main Street
Burlington, VT TIME: 7:00 p.m. & 9:15 p.m. TICKETS: $25
WHEN: Saturday 3/28/09 WHERE:BlackRock Center for the Arts
12901 Town Commons Drive
Germantown, MD TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $22 – $27
VENISSA SANTI WHEN: Tuesday 3/24/09 WHERE:Chris’ Jazz Cafe
1421 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA TIME: 5:00 p.m.
WHEN: Saturday 3/28/09 WHERE:Camaradas del Barrio
2241 First Avenue
New York, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
WHEN: Sunday 3/28/09 WHERE:Bistro St. Tropez
2400 Market St # 427
Philadelphia, PA TIME: 11:30 a.m. TICKETS: FREE
WILLIE MARTINEZ WHEN: Thursday 3/26/09 WHERE:Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe
236 East 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $7
If you’re in the MID-EAST this week . . . LOS GATOS WHEN: Thursday 3/26/09 WHERE:The Firefly Club
637 S. Main
Ann Arbor, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $8
RAY VEGA WHEN: Friday 3/27/09 – Saturday 3/28/09 WHERE:Jazz Cafe
350 Madison Street
Detroit, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20 in advance; $25 at door
TUMBAO BRAVO WHEN: Sunday 3/29/09 WHERE:Sangria – Royal Oak
401 S. Lafayette
Royal Oak, MI TIME: 9:00 p.m.
If you’re on the WEST COAST this week . . . ALEXA WEBER MORALES WHEN: Thursday 3/26/09 WHERE:Senzala
250 E Java Drive
Sunnyvale, CA TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $12
ANNA ESTRADA WHEN: Friday 3/27/09 WHERE:The Cliff House
1090 Point Lobos
San Francisco, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m.
ARTURO SANDOVAL WHEN: Wednesday 3/25/09 WHERE:Soboba Casino
23333 Soboba Rd.
San Jacinto, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $25
BANDA BROTHERS WHEN: Friday 3/27/09 WHERE:SMC New Performing Arts Center
1310 11th Street
Santa Monica, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m. & 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
ESTRADA BROTHERS WHEN: Saturday 3/28/09 WHERE:Steamers Cafe
138 W. Commonwealth
Fullerton, CA TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $8
OMAR SOSA WHEN: Sunday 3/29/09 WHERE:Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society
311 Mirada Road
Half Moon Bay, CA TIME: 4:30 p.m. TICKETS: $35
Descarumbiando Hamlet & His Latin Jazz Experience Freiaudio Records
Latin Jazz has exploded into an international music in recent years, expanding its initial scope and direction. The music grew from an international exchange that built upon the combined aesthetics of North American jazz and rhythms from Cuba and Brazil. The style’s international flavor expanded over the years, bringing in similar ideas from these initial sources – musicians included new jazz angles such as fusion and free improvisation and introduced additional South American rhythms from Peru, Argentina, Columbia, and more. Latin Jazz stretched the boundaries of its original definition, broadened its audience, and continued to thrive through its creative growth. As the style’s aesthetics stretched into new territories, it began to reach outside its original home bases in North and South America. Latin Jazz musicians moved into Europe, recordings became widely available through mail order and online downloads, and instructional books and DVDs made learning the style much easier. Musicians around the world began to integrate Latin Jazz into their common vocabulary, and in some cases, they made conscious attempts to build upon the style. Artistic decisions based upon the musical experiences of the European musician pushed Latin Jazz into increasingly new directions. As the international scope of Latin Jazz has widened, the European perspective has integrated distinctly different musical ideas that demand attention. Pianist Hamlet Fiorilli demonstrates the unique vitality of this perspective with his group Hamlet & His Latin Jazz Experience on the album Descarumbiando, a collection of original Latin Jazz compositions that balance tradition and new ideas.
Drawing Upon Defined Latin Jazz Traditions
Many compositions draw strongly upon defined Latin Jazz traditions, providing a springboard for the group’s creative improvisations. An assertive series of accents lead into an uplifting melody on “Descarumbiando” before transitioning into a piano improvisation from Fiorilli. He pursues an energetic approach, making use of the piano’s full range and eventually returning to the main melody. The band falls into an open break, building back into an inspired exchange of ideas from Fiorilli, trumpet player Hans Lassnig, and tenor saxophonist Michael Erian. Band hits over static chords jump into an upbeat blues melody on “Bluesambongo” finding a steady groove over a combination of samba and songo rhythms. Fiorilli leans on blues phrasing throughout his solo until the group explodes into a collection of flamencoesqe clapping, sending him into a rhythmic frenzy. Lassnig and saxophonist Robert Friedl both follow Fiorilli with smart jazz-tinged solos until a timba-influenced montuno inspires a series of percussion statements from drummer Stefan Mörtel and conguero Gianni Battilana. A screaming unison phrase explodes into a driving cha cha cha rhythm on “Ron y Gin,” which sets the tone for an aggressive rhythmic melody. Battilana takes advantage of the band’s ferocious momentum, building an explosive solo until Fiorilli uses a bluesy lick to push the band into swing for a unique restatement of the melody. A return to the cha cha cha provides an engaging foundation for solos from Lassnig and Fiorilli until the band slides back into swing for a jazz fueled statement from Friedl. These pieces connect the group to their Latin Jazz roots and demonstrate a solid foundation for their further explorations.
Thoughtful Arrangements With Fine-Tuned Arrangements
The group displays a sensitive side to their repertoire with several down tempo pieces that come to life through fine-tuned arrangements. The wind players thoughtfully utilize dynamics and well-planned phrasing over a bolero rhythm on “Gospa (bolero mayor),” building an introspective melody into a bold statement. Fiorilli immerses himself in this setting, playing long, lush, and connected melodies over the steady backdrop. Friedl enters with a brief and smooth improvisation, shaped around expressive articulations and subtle blues tinges. Fiorilli flows rich textures over Mörtel’s consistent snare drum, creating a lively valse feel underneath clarinetist Simon Pibal’s melody on “Tocando Mi Oropel.” Pibal assertively grabs an album highlight performance with a rhythmic improvisation that cleverly spins jazz fueled lines around the essential accents of the style. Fiorilli contrasts Pibal with textural chordal ideas and long streams of quick runs, pushing the song in a different and interesting direction. The wind players interpret a pop influenced melody over a consistent bolero on “Tranquilo,” building it into a full statement with dramatic dynamic shaping. Fiorilli takes a brief and unobtrusive solo before the band returns to the main theme once again. Friedl, Battilana, and Fiorilli each take turns developing ideas over the song’s comfortable backdrop, staying within the song’s understated mood and commercial tinge. These compositions showcase a different part of the band, displaying the range to move from explosively rhythmic pieces into thoughtfully introspective statements.
Experimenting With Shifting Time Signatures
The group indulges a more experimental side on several tracks, fundamentally altering rhythmic structure to include shifting time signatures. An ominous bass pedal creates tension moving into a busy and rhythmically displaced melody on “Siete Camisa” which wraps smoothly around a seven beat structure. The band shifts into a standard son montuno, allowing Fiorilli to drive a colorful improvisation into a percussion exchange between Mörtel and Battilana. After a return to the odd time signature behind the main melody, the group opens the son montuno section again for enthusiastic solos from Lassnig and Friedl. A lush chordal structure provides a balance to the rhythmically askew melody on “Suite Latina” which twists and turns around a slightly swung Afro-Cuban 6/8 rhythm. The band slows to a standstill as Fiorilli weaves unaccompanied aggressive themes back into the main melody. The rhythm section transitions from the 6/8 rhythm into a heavy funk backbeat, giving Fiorilli another opportunity to improvise over the song’s dense chordal structure. Battilana opens “El Fuego Del Padre” with an unaccompanied conga solo before the band jumps into a head spinning display of syncopation against a ten beat structure. Fiorilli bravely spins creative lines through the odd time signature, building quick flowing lines into an exciting climax. Fiorilli drives interesting montunos behind solos from Battilana and Mörtel while the wind players provide rhythmic counterpoint, bringing the song to a powerful close. These pieces do stretch the aesthetics of the original rhythmic styles, but Fiorilli carefully composes time changes and creates a fluid feel to each piece that maintains a consistent flow.
A Distinctly Original Voice
Fiorilli brings a distinctly original voice to the forefront of Descarumbiando, drawing upon several musical ideas to expand and explore the outer reaches of Latin Jazz. Fiorilli smartly integrates odd time signatures into Latin music, carefully arranging the original rhythmic structure into completely new settings. The use of odd time signatures isn’t really a new idea in Latin Jazz, but Fiorilli tackles this approach with a distinct fluidity rarely heard with this approach. His arrangements offer an almost classical complexity, drawing upon clearly defined dynamic shadings, carefully written rhythmic breaks, and intertwining melodic lines. The arrangements display a unique voice as well, weaving themes between solos and utilizing extensive melodic development throughout each piece. The band handles all these ideas with enthusiastic mastery, establishing addictive grooves through each time change and compositional twist. The rhythm section provides a consistently authentic connection to Cuban styles while the wind players boldly assert themselves as strong improvisers. Although Fiorilli doesn’t always follow the defined conventions of Latin music on Descarumbiando, he solidifies his ideas with integrity and thoughtful artistry, showing us clearly that Latin Jazz is alive and thriving outside the Western hemisphere.
Latin Jazz This Week will bring you a weekly look into news from the Latin Jazz world. You’ll find new releases, recommended performances, web finds, and more. You can check out some current sounds in the Listening Center tab at the top of the page. Performance dates will be kept in the Live Latin Jazz tab at the top of the page.
NEWS
Looking down at the Live Performance listings below, you’ll find that Dafnis Prieto’s group, the Si o Si Quartet will be performing at The Jazz Standard this Friday through Sunday – it’s not just any performance though, its a liver recording for Prieto’s new album. That ups the expectations for this one; if you’re in the New York area, don’t miss it! In addition, the group will be doing a live radio performance on Monday 3/16/09 at 2:00 p.m. on the radio show “Soundcheck,” broadcast on New York radio WNYC – 93.9 FM. You can also stream the show live HERE.
Pianist Elio Villafranca was recently awarded the 2009 Heineken Green Ribbon Master Artist Music Grant from The National Association of Latino Arts and Culture. The funds from this grant will be used to compose a 45-minute, three-movement concerto for Mariachi and symphonic orchestra. There’s a lot of exciting possibilities inherent in this combination, and if one composer can make this work, it would be Villafranca. He mentioned this work during the 2008 interview that I conducted with him for All About Jazz – this is one piece that I’ll be looking forward to!
NPR is offering a free download of two tracks from a recent concert at the Village Vanguard by pianist Edward Simon. The two tracks, “Colega” and “Pere,” feature fantastic performances from Simon’s quartet, featuring Ben Street on bass, Adam Cruz on drums, and tenor saxophonist Mark Turner. In addition to these two fantastic tracks, you can also stream the whole concert! Check this out, it’s quite a performance – find the audio stream and free tracks HERE.
WHEN: Thursday 3/19/09 – Friday 3/20/09 WHERE:La Bilbaina Jazz Club
Bilbao
Spain TIME: 10:30 p.m.
HENDRIK MEURKENS
Tribute To Jobim w/Stefanie Schlesinger & Wolfgang Lackerschmid WHEN: Tuesday 3/17/09 – Wednesday 3/18/09 WHERE:Parktheater
Göggingen/Augsburg
Germany TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: 28.10 euros
Tribute To Jobim w/Stefanie Schlesinger & Wolfgang Lackerschmid WHEN: Thursday 3/19/09 WHERE: Schlob Granheim
Ehingen
Germany TIME: 7:30 p.m.
Tribute To Jobim w/Stefanie Schlesinger & Wolfgang Lackerschmid WHEN: Friday 3/20/09 WHERE:Weberhaus
Viersen
Germany TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: 13 euros
Tribute To Jobim w/Stefanie Schlesinger & Wolfgang Lackerschmid WHEN: Saturday 3/21/09 WHERE:Zikkurat
Mechernich
Germany TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: 19 euros
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . ALCATRAZ WHEN: Sunday 3/22/09 WHERE:Hudson River Museum
511 Warburton Avenue
Yonkers, NY TIME: 1:30 p.m. & 2:45 p.m. TICKETS: Free with museum admission
ANDREA BRACHFELD
w/All Women’s Latin Jazz Quintet WHEN: Saturday 3/21/09 WHERE:Jazz Spot Cafe
179 Marcus Garvey Blvd
Brooklyn, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
ARTURO O’FARRILL WHEN: Wednesday 3/18/09 WHERE:Puppet’s Jazz Bar
481 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
WHEN: Saturday 3/21/09 WHERE:Northwestern High School
2503 W. Main St.
Rock Hill, SC TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 3/22/09 WHERE:Birdland
315 W. 44th Street
Manhattan, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $25
CHRIS WASHBURNE & S.Y.O.T.O.S. WHEN: Sunday 3/22/09 WHERE:Smoke
2751 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20 minimum
DAFNIS PRIETO
Live Recording! WHEN: Friday 3/20/09 – Sunday 3/22/09 WHERE:Jazz Standard
111 East 27th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $30; $25 on Sunday
DAVID SANCHEZ WHEN: Tuesday 3/17/09 – Sunday 3/22/09 WHERE:The Village Vanguard
178 Seventh Ave. South
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30; $35 on Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
GARY MORGAN & PANAMERICANA WHEN: Tuesday 3/17/09 WHERE:Baha’i Center
53 East 11th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $15
NEGRONI’S TRIO WHEN: Saturday 3/21/09 WHERE:Jazziz Bistro
5751 Seminole Way
Fort Lauderdale, FL TIME: 8:00 p.m.
SALLY’S TOMATO – A TRIBUTE TO CAL TJADER WHEN: Friday 3/20/09 WHERE:Newport Beach Resort
16701 Collins Ave
Miami, FL TIME: 9:00 p.m.
SOFIA REI KOUTSOVITIS WHEN: Friday 3/20/09 WHERE:Forsyth Chapel
95 Forest Hills Ave
Jamaica Plain, MA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: Free to members of Forest Hills Trust
X-TANGO WHEN: Wednesday 3/18/09 WHERE:Joe’s Pub
425 Lafayette Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $12
YOSVANY TERRY WHEN: Wednesday 3/18/09 – Thursday 3/19/09 WHERE:Jazz Standard
111 East 27th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20
If you’re in the MID-EAST this week . . . LOS GATOS WHEN: Thursday 3/19/09 WHERE:The Firefly Club
637 S. Main
Ann Arbor, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $8
TUMBAO BRAVO WHEN: Sunday 3/22/09 WHERE:Sangria – Royal Oak
401 S. Lafayette
Royal Oak, MI TIME: 9:00 p.m.
If you’re on the WEST COAST this week . . . ANNA ESTRADA WHEN: Tuesday 3/17/09 WHERE:Caffe Trieste
1667 Market St.
San Francisco, CA TIME: 6:00 p.m.
GRUPO FALSO BAIANO WHEN: Saturday 3/21/09 WHERE: Avonova Concerts
417 Avon Street
Oakland CA TIME: 2:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
KAT PARRA WHEN: Friday 3/20/09 WHERE:Hedley Club
233 West Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA TIME: 8:30 p.m.
PABLO ZIEGLER WHEN: Saturday 3/21/09 WHERE:Herbst Theater
401 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20 – $50
SCOTT MARTIN WHEN: Sunday 3/22/09 WHERE:Fisherman’s Village
13755 Fiji Way
Marina Del Rey, CA TIME: 9:00 p.m.
SONANDO WHEN: Thursday 3/19/09 WHERE:Tula’s
2214 Second Ave
Seattle, WA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
WAYNE WALLACE WHEN: Monday 3/16/09 WHERE:Yoshi’s – Oakland
510 Embarcadero West
Oakland, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: $16 – 8:00 p.m.; $10 – 10:00 p.m.
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Áurea Geoffrey Keezer ArtistShare
Continued creative exploration is an essential piece of any artist’s career, and each new direction requires a deep dedication to study and interpretation of a distinct style. Most musicians will find inspiration in their surroundings, and in many cases, they can quickly make a connection with another artist experienced in their new direction. They inevitably will discover new recordings, decode some playing techniques, and start to build a rudimentary understanding of the style. At this point, artists need to decide just how deeply they will dive into the depth of this new style – will this simply be a surface study that will add a different color to their sound or a concerted effort to perform the music authentically? An experienced musician can generally perform a surface study independently, but the artist looking for a wider knowledge needs to expand his or her horizons. They need to connect with musicians that carry a long history in the music – musicians that can serve as mentors, collaborators, and role models. Performing with these types of musicians will push the artist towards a greater understanding and eventually send them on the path towards authentic performance. Once they travel down this road, the artist needs to find a balance between authenticity and interpretation, a bridge between their previous musical experiences and their new knowledge. This may be the hardest part of the study while the musician attempts to be creative without draining the soul from either tradition – a precarious task for any artist. The results can be interesting, inspiring, and often insightful for all parties. Pianist Geoffrey Keezer branches into new territory with Áurea, an outstanding project that combines Keezer’s rich jazz background with Peruvian and Argentinean music.
Exploring Peruvian Jazz With Keezer’s Original Compositions
Several tracks emphasize the instrumentalists in Keezer’s group as they explore a combination of Afro-Peruvian music and jazz through a series of Keezer’s original compositions. Saxophonist Steve Wilson and Keezer wind a dramatic melody around band hits on “Cayendo Para Arriba” until bassist Essiet Okon Essiet leaps into an angular groove that supports the composition’s urgent tone. Keezer immediately rides off this sensation with a frantic improvisation that inspires enthusiastic response from drummer Hugo Alcázar. After a brief interlude, Wilson slides into his statement slowly, building into an assertive momentum with a biting tone and strong rhythmic ideas. Alcázar and percussionist Jon Wikan establish a thick cajon groove that serves as the foundation for Wilson’s bluesy and distinctly modern melody on “Araña Amarilla.” Keezer relishes in the spacious groove, stretching long lines full of connected themes over the driving cajons. The percussionists disappear momentarily behind Wilson’s improvisation as he carefully explores the new texture, finding his way into rapid and long connected lines that push the band a rhythmic drive. Keezer and Alcázar create a furious momentum through an involved call and response on “Leucadia” until guitarist Peter Sprague joins Keezer on a dramatic melody. Sprague’s acoustic tone gives an understated quality to his improvisation, but he soon pushes the rhythm section into a rumbling frenzy with extended passages full of quick runs. Keezer assertively begins his statement with a bold melody, quickly moving into rhythmically tense figures and fast notes for an exciting solo. Alcázar and Wikan provide a simmering lando groove beneath a staccato unison melody between Keezer and Okon Essiet on “Miraflores.” The solo section contrasts the sharp melody with an open and flowing feel as the group allows the time to be flexible. Keezer takes full advantage of this context, utilizing space and texture to build a thoughtful statement that climaxes into a passionate idea. These tracks display the group’s dual personality with class and style, relying upon Keezer’s deep jazz background and his band’s foundation in Afro-Peruvian styles.
Making A Connection To Folklore Through Strong Vocals
Many pieces employ vocals, bringing the music closer to folklore while never loosing its deep connection to jazz. Alcázar and Keezer form a powerful duo, establishing an elegant classic feel on Mario Amedo Gallo and Antonio Rodriguez Villar’s “La Flor Azul.” Vocalist Sofia Koutsovitis enters with confidence and continues the traditional feel already established, infusing her own personality through thoughtful articulations. A ferocious drum fill leads into an aggressive solo from Keezer, who runs full force until Koutsovitis returns with an impassioned version of the melody. Keezer and guitarist Mike Moreno create a beautifully thin texture on Eduardo Falú and Jaime Dávalos’ “La Nostalgiosa,” providing a foundation for Koutsovitis to engage in a deeply personal reading of the lyrics. The rhythm section joins in layers, building into a galloping rhythmic drive behind Ron Blake’s gentle flute improvisation. Koutsovitis returns over the new feel, and exposes a rich meaning to the lyrics with passion and insight, delivering an album highlight performance. Phil O’Connor’s funky bass clarinet line adds a unique twist to Alcázar and Wikan’s moderate festejo groove on “Una Bruja Buena,” setting the stage for a lush and searching melody from Blake and Koutsovitis. Keezer relies upon strong melodic development to build momentum over the churning groove, taking several opportunities to push his ideas forward with syncopation. Koutsovitis’ dynamic scat work anchors an effective interlude, leading into an engaging solo from Blake, who brings together quick fluid lines and sharp rhythmic attacks. Keezer establishes an introspective mood with a thoughtful unaccompanied solo on Juan Falú’s “Vidala De Lucho,” applying a rich and personal approach to melody and harmony. Koutsovitis builds upon the song’s dramatic setting with a passionate melodic performance that makes full use of her strong and distinct phrasing while Keezer supports her with assertively creative comping. Alcázar and bassist Susan Wulff enter with a jazz ballad foundation, pushing Koutsovitis to another level and providing a setting for Keezer’s deep improvisation. Keezer successfully walks the line between jazz and South American traditions with the inclusion of Koutsovitis, which provides the opportunity to explore authentically Peruvian and Argentinean compositions.
A Deeply Satisfying Creative Exploration
Keezer displays the results of his creative exploration through Peruvian and Argentinean music on Áurea, delivering inspiring Latin Jazz with an even balance of tradition and modern personality. As a pianist, Keezer established himself as a knowledgeable jazz player with a strong command over harmony and style long ago; he brought a defined musical voice into this project. His study of Peruvian and Argentinean styles has deeply enriched his approach without drowning his voice. Keezer attacks the music from an informed and authentic perspective, yet he shines as a smart jazz pianist, providing interesting reharmonizations and thought provoking improvisations. Alcázar serves as the group’s heartbeat, playing with a strength that bridges the two worlds and mirrors Keezer’s defined artistry. His “hybrid drum kit,” a combination of traditional trap drums, cajon, and various percussion sounds, allows him to include sounds from both styles simultaneously – an amazing and virtuosic feat. Koutsovitis appears as a major contributor as well; her vocal interpretations of traditional songs connects the album strongly to both Peru and Argentina. She takes each piece to a new level of artistry with passionate performance that include improvised twists and a clever interplay with Keezer’s rich harmonic settings. There’s an overall sense of unity on the album on many levels – a bond between styles, musicians, and ideals that delivers a deeply satisfying and artistically intriguing experience. Keezer’s creative explorations lead him to a new level of musical expression on Áurea, a new direction for the jazz pianist that hopefully he will continue to follow in the future.
Latin music promoter Ralph Mercado died on Tuesday March 10, 2009, leaving behind a legacy of memorable events, recordings, videos, and management that helped shape the sound of New York salsa and Latin Jazz. Mercado followed his passion for music at an early age, but he didn’t pursue a performance career; instead, Mercado saw the power of the support that he could provide by organizing events. As a Brooklyn teenager, he utilized local social clubs as locations for dances and “waistline parties” – a dance where men entered for free, but paid a penny for every inch on their date’s waist. He moved the parties to a second floor location on Atlantic Avenue and transformed the events into his own nightclub, bringing in New York Latin dance bands. Mercado’s business boomed and he soon started Showstoppers promotion which booked R n’ B acts, including James Brown and Aretha Franklin. In 1972 Mercado established RMM Management, bringing two major clients into his fold from the beginning – Eddie Palmieri and Ray Barretto. By this time, Mercado had been promoting acts in New York, working with groups such as the Fania All-Stars and Tito Puente. Mercado’s success led him to form RMM Records in 1987, bringing a massive number of Latin music heavy weights onto the label’s roster. The label defined salsa during the 1990s, walking the line between New York salsa dura and the lighter but popular salsa romantica approach. Mercado expanded the company to include RMM Filmworks, offering another opportunity to promote his artists. RMM Records fell victim to a copyright infringement lawsuit in the late 1990s, bringing a heavy fine that sent the company into bankruptcy. As a result, Mercado sold the company to the Universal Music Group in 2001. He continued to produce concerts and events throughout the New York area through 2009, keeping the scene alive. Mercado’s contributions allowed for the growth and distribution of New York Latin music throughout the modern era, ensuring the livelihood of that tradition.
Mercado’s work made the largest impact upon the salsa dance music world, but he readily saw the connection to Latin Jazz, which he promoted with the same strength and enthusiasm. He produced a subsidiary of RMM Records, entitled Tropijazz, which provided the opportunity to spotlight the jazz focus of several musicians on the RMM Records roster. Over the years, Tropijazz artists included timbalero Tito Puente, trombonist Juan Pablo Torres, pianist Hilton Ruiz, flautist Dave Valentin, pianist Eddie Palmieri, trumpet player Charlie Sepulveda, conguero Giovanni Hidalgo, and more. Each of these artists produced recordings as leaders for RMM Records, and in many cases, they appeared as sidemen on each other’s albums. None of these artists stayed with RMM Records for long, but rather bounced between different labels, contributing to RMM when possible. In many cases though, their RMM Tropijazz releases remain memorable. When most people think of RMM Records, the names of salsa artists such as Marc Anthony, La India, and José “El Canario” Alberto come to mind, but Mercado worked as a major Latin Jazz supporter throughout his career.
LJC will be revisiting some of Mercado’s Latin Jazz contributions next week, but we’re going to start today with a look at one of Mercado’s important Latin Jazz contributions – the Tropijazz All-Stars. Mercado worked with the Fania All-Stars at several points during his career, and he saw the musical and promotional benefits of bringing together a label’s bandleaders into a single group. The Tropijazz All-Stars presented an incredible line-up that included Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Giovanni Hidalgo, Charlie Sepulveda, Dave Valentin, Humberto Ramirez, David Sanchez, Hilton Ruiz, and more. Trombone player Juan Pablo Torres served as musical director, guiding the band through a wide variety of contributions from each artist. The group recorded two albums, TropiJazz All-Stars, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, delivering a stunning collection of virtuosic Latin Jazz. The group never built the momentum that the Fania All-Stars experienced, and their tenure as an ensemble was short lived. Fortunately, we’ve got some recollection of the group’s presence, a landmark in modern New York Latin Jazz.
I’ve collected a few videos of the Tropijazz All-Stars performing live, featuring a wide variety of the important musicians that served as group members. For those of you familiar with Mercado’s legacy, you’ll be pleased with the exceptional performances that you’ve come to expect from RMM artists. For those of you new to Ralph Mercado, prepare to be thrilled by the Tropijazz All-Stars’ exciting performances. So take a few minutes to check out the videos and remember Mercado’s major contributions to Latin music. Enjoy!
It’s been a long weekend to say the least, and unfortunately none of it has to do with Latin Jazz. After a long week of work and a series of concerts from my high school music groups, I returned home to find that Google had tagged LJC as an attack site, spreading badware to its visitors. I had never encountered anything like this before, and at first, I had no idea how to handle it. After a good deal of research, I figured out that LJC had been hacked, and a spam-spreading virus had been attached to its files. I attacked the virus from many angles, and there were several points were I thought that I had defeated it – but it just kept coming back. I eventually had to rebuild LJC completely, destroying the troubling virus for good. After doing all of this, Google reviewed the site, determined that it was free of badware, and removed their warning. It was an inconvenient and interesting learning experience that ate away at the majority of my weekend.
On the positive side of things, LJC is free of any badware and you can freely browse the site without any worries. My apologies for any inconvenience over the weekend, I hope that this didn’t cause problems for any readers. I did literally have to rebuild the site from scratch, so if you encounter any technical problems – broken links, missing images, etc . . . – please do let me know. My hope is that everything should be back to normal, so please, enjoy some Latin Jazz!
On the flip side, resolving this problem literally did take most of the weekend for me – time that I would have used to prepare for the upcoming week’s articles. So expect this week to be a little thin, and I’ll catch up to speed next week. Once again, my apologies to LJC readers; this one caught me by surprise and completely threw off my schedule.
In the meantime, enjoy the archives, I’ve provided a couple of good links below. In the next couple of days, I’ll be back with some new thoughts on Latin Jazz!
Some musicians look past the artistic divisions, commercial labels, and historical paths that accompany the modern musical world; instead they see a bigger picture that simply allows them to follow their passions without inhibition. Their work lives and breaths with creativity, integrity, thought, and substance, and most of all, it resonates with a personal voice so strong that they become highly visible among their peers. These musicians are the leaders and role models of their generation, and their influence lives into the future through a multitude of followers. These musicians are valuable assets to the artistic world, true treasures that can’t be replaced once they are gone. Unfortunately, the Latin Jazz world lost another one of these artistic giants when legendary timbalero Manny Oquendo died on Wednesday March 25, 2009.
In 1962, Oquendo found a home as a regular member of pianist Eddie Palmieri’s newly formed conjunto, La Perfecta. At the time, the group struggled to find work as Latin big bands dominated the scene with rhythmic mambos and exciting dance music. Palmieri integrated his jazz influences while maintaining his dance roots; the result was danceable salsa with a pronounced freedom based around improvisation. Oquendo combined his knowledge of traditional styles with Palmieri’s jazz aesthetic and trombonist Barry Rogers’ arranging skills to develop a repertoire that began to attract audiences in a big way. Oquendo found inspiration in the current Cuban rhythm mozambique and convinced Palmieri to integrate it into the band repertoire, which consequently became a huge part of the group’s sound. The group recorded 
in 1962 and by the time they released 
in 1965, collaborating with Cal Tjader on 
in 1966, and producing 
in 1967. Palmieri moved away from La Perfecta in the late 1960s, but Oquendo traveled into the 1970s with the pianist. Oquendo recorded 
with Palmieri in 1970, as well as 
and 
in 1971. The group included a number of important young musicians on the scene, including bassist Andy Gonzalez, maintaining a fire and intensity in Palmieri’s work. Unfortunately, Palmieri began to neglect his duties as bandleader and the group fell apart during a 1974 tour in Puerto Rico.
After returning from Puerto Rico in 1974, Oquendo and Gonzalez decided to form their own group and began gathering personnel, choosing music, and refining their artistic vision. Oquendo filled the role as bandleader and Gonzalez worked as musical director; other early band members included conguero Jerry Gonzalez, trombonist Barry Rogers, saxophonist Mario Rivera, percussionist Milton Cardona, pianist Oscar Hernández, and vocalist Willie Díaz. The group rehearsed in the basement of Gonzalez’s parent’s house and on October 22, 1974, the group performed their first gig under the name Manny Oquendo Y Libre. The band continued to perform, gaining a following, and their rehearsals in the Gonzalez household expanded. Many more musicians became involved, the musicians experimented freely, and many sessions turned into major descargas. A side project evolved from these sessions, Grupo Folklorico Y Experimental Nuevayorquiño. The band strived to authentically perform Caribbean and South American folklore while indulging their experimental side. They released two highly influential albums, 
, before the group disbanded. Libre continued though, and this band released their first album in 1976, 
. They performed consistently and released Con Salsa, Con Ritmo, Vol. II in 1978, Lideres de la Salsa in 1979 and 
in 1981. A classic album emerged in 1983 that forever cemented the band into legendary status – 
, followed by 1994′s 
. A string of albums followed this date, including the 1996 recording 
and the 2000 date 
. Oquendo kept the band playing until recently, slowing but never stopping.
Before the new millennium of music arrived, making recording reasonably affordable and online distribution powerfully potent, the record label maintained a make or break position in the life of an artist, a group, or a style. The creation of a professional quality recording that clearly expressed an artist’s ideas required a specialized studio environment and highly skilled sound engineers. These people and places were few and far between, allowing them to charge a steep fee for their services; in most cases, this fee largely outweighed the resources that most musicians held. The record labels would front the money to create the recording, tying them to the artist for years to come. Once the recording was made, artists also relied upon labels to promote their work, spreading the word about their music to a national, and in many cases, international audience. Before e-mail, MySpace, Twitter, and Facebook, the best that an independent artist could muster would be a snail mail list – a time consuming and expensive proposition. Labels had the money and connections to promote new albums on radio, television, magazines, newspaper, and more, finding all the right places for the world to discover a young artist. In many ways, record labels held the life of the music industry in its hands, and successful artists or genres required the whole hearted support of a record label to survive.
– Eddie Palmieri
. Palmieri maintained the core members of his band on his first RMM recording, 
, a heavy Latin Jazz set with touches of classical music and electronic sounds. 
sent Palmieri back to his salsa roots in 1998, and 
displayed his energetic spontaneity on CD in 1999. Palmieri’s RMM releases captured a significant period in his career where he focused on a top-notch ensemble and his most jazz specific releases. 
– Michel Camilo
– Tito Puente
and 
, indulging in a combination of the past and present with his full force big band. Puente’s return to this format served as a fitting end to his career, reintroducing the world to a totally unique and important sound that often gets lost in today’s Latin music world. Thanks to RMM Records, Puente kept the big band Palladium sound alive in the modern age.
– J.P. Torres
, Torres had established himself as one of the best on the scene. His first RMM album, 
, in 1997. After Mercado sold RMM, Torres continued with the label’s new owners, Universal Music Group, delivering several strong albums until his untimely death in 2005.
– Tito Puente & Eddie Palmieri
– Charlie Sepulveda
– Hilton Ruiz
– Giovanni Hidalgo
– Dave Valentin
Hamlet was born in Bogotà, Colombia in 1967. The family moved to Italy, and he soon began his musical studies on clarinet and drums, and later at age 13 on piano, studying with a private teacher for one year. He then continued instinctively learning by playing, as he still does today, considering himself more a musician than a pianist. Concurrently to the above studies, he took his diploma in french horn at the P. Mascagni conservatory of Livorno, also studying composition, choir conducting and classical percussion, and finished his arranging studies with a private teacher in the Berkley school method. Piano became his main instrument; he started professionally with his father’s Latin band “Macondo” at age 15, also replacing his piano teacher on the local jazz big band. There followed many concerts with different bands, playing many genres, helping him develop a big, open view of music. At age 17 he played a few seasons on cruise ships around Europe, North Africa and Russia and later moved to Monte Carlo, Divonne Les Bains, and Vienna, playing in prestigious clubs and hotels. In Italy he formed a pop-rock band called “Animali Rari,” performing hundreds of concerts around the country, winning prizes and participating in national radio and TV shows. He was the youngest orchestral conductor/arranger on the important Sanremo Festival, and collaborated with artists on the Italian pop scene, including Marina Fiordaliso, Fiorella Pierobon, Giorgia, Vinicio Capossela, Maurizio Solieri and Daniele Tedeschi (guitarist and drummer of Vasco Rossi.) On the salsa side he played a few years with Jairo’s Tribu Tayrona (Colombia) and again traveled Europe playing in Cannes, Luxemburg, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and in Trinidad made several performances with the salsa band “Sonora Trinitaria.”
Victor was born into a musical family in 1973 in Spain. His father Roberto Fiorilli was a famous drummer and leader of artistic projects in Columbia in the late 60’s, and the two brothers Hamlet and Victor evolved in this Latin Jazz atmosphere. He started studying piano at age 9 in the P. Mascagni conservatory in Livorno and changed to acoustic bass after two years, completing his studies at the same conservatory. After his studies he switched to electric bass and began his career in rock cover bands, in his father’s band Macondo, and from 1994 until 1996 toured Italy with the show of the famous comedian Gene Gnocchi In 1995 he played with the top Italian pop singer Giorgia in the prestigious TV show Festival Bar and collaborated with Maurizio Solieri (Vasco Rossi’s lead guitarist) live on well-known TV shows, such as Help and Roxy Bar. He played bass 10 years in the Cani Sciolti show band and helped out in many fusion, Latin and rock bands, performing in Italy’s most important clubs, festivals and discos.
Stefan Mörtl was born in 1982 in Villach and began playing drums at age 8. He studied classic at the Kärntner Landeskonservatorium with Günther Hofbauer and Gerhard Kattnig, and later began jazz studies with Erich Bachträgl. In 2007 he had the great opportunity to play with Joe Zawinul and the Konse-Workshopband in 3 concerts in Klagenfurt, Maribor and Zagreb. He’s also played with Tamara Obrovac, Karen Asatrian, Gail Anderson, in “Hollywood Classics” with the Carinthian Synphonic Orchestra, and the musical “The Little Shop of Horror.” In 2006 he was at the Rhythm Seminar in Marktoberdorf, and has had lessons and seminars with Steve Smith, Russ Miller, Benny Greb, Wolgang Haffner, Rene Creemers, Rhani Krija and Joris Dudli. Stefan is a gifted drummer with a great feeling for Latin music, which inspired Hamlet to select him for the Latin Jazz Experience project. Stefan is also currently playing with the Gail Anderson Band, freelancing and teaching.
Giani Battilana was born in 1957 in Bologna and started studying Latin percussion in the early 80’s with great teachers, such as Lefty Medina, Candelo Cabezas, Roberto Evangelisti and Paulo La Rosa. He started his career as a conguero with Italian salsa pioneers like Jairo Bolano’s Tribu Tayrona, Carlos Ugueto’s Yemaya, and many other minor projects in Milano, Bologna and Rome in the 80’s. After that he got deeply into Afro Cuban music and played with top players like Jesus Miro (Munequitos de Matanzas) and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez (Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michel Camilo, Chick Corea, etc…). Gianni collaborated later on with the Cuban Percussion School in Florence “El Cabildo” with Valerio Perla, and worked as a teacher in schools in the Bologna, Modena and Ferrara area. He was a founder and member in such bands as Ahinama, Asi and Son Con Clave, played with the Cuban singers Wilma Bryson, Virgen Delgado and Ruth Abreu, and participated in experimental rumba projects with Venus and Stevie Insua (Cuban Folklore) and Roberto Faenzi, where he developed his passion for Latin Jazz. In his career he has played with many Cuban salsa bands, such as America y Su Tumbancha, Carlos Merlet y Puro Sabor, Mario Crespo, and with the Columbian Jairo Bolanos “Tribu Tayrona”. As a freelance player he has collaborated with such bands as Bongo Bata, Mambo Kids, Mezcla Latina, Croma Latina, Jimmy Bosh & Luisito Rosario, and taken part in big Latin festivals in Rome, Milano, Urbino, Bologna, and Verona. Right now he’s playing in several projects: Poco Loco Trio with Maurizio De Gasperi (piano) and Davide Lanzarani (baby bass), Cuban Connection with the Poco Loco trio plus Ruben Chaviano (violin) and Emanuele Smimmo (drums), and Hamlet’s Latin Jazz Experience.
Max Müller (real name Massimiliano Fiorilli) was born in Piombino (Italy) in 1974, the youngest brother of the musical Fiorilli family. He began playing drums very early, following his father steps, and at age 13 studied a few years at the P. Mascagni conservatory in Livorno. At age 16 he moved to the U.S.A, studying two years of drums with Jeff Gros in Miami. Back in Italy he studied drums with Alfredo Golino, who introduced him to Graziano Romani, enabling Max, age 19, to start a career with his band under a recording/performance contract with the WEA Company. In 1995 became a fix member of the band Custodie Cautelari, recording 6 albums and performing in live concerts (160 per year) in Italy and Switzerland. In 1998 he began collaborating with Maurizio Solieri in recordings and live performances. Concurrently he started his project “Notte Delle Chitarre,” performing with famous rock guitarists such as Maurizio Solieri (Vasco Rossi), Alberto Radius (Lucio Battisti), Ricky Portera (Lucio Dalla, Stadio), Mario Schilirò (Zucchero), Max Cottafavi (Ligabue) and many others. That project recorded an album in 2001, produced by Sony Music, with guest stars like Franco Battiato, Francesco Renga, Elio, Gianluca Grignani, Franz di Cioccio, Eugenio Finardi. In 2007 Max recorded the Custodie Cautelari album “L’incoscienza,” with big artists such as Irane Grandi, Eugenio Finardi, Elio, Neffa, Enrico Ruggeri, Max Gazzè, Alberto Fortis and Maurizio Solieri, all big stars on the Italian pop-rock scene. On the latin side he played drums and percussion often during the years with his brothers Hamlet & Victor in trio, in clubs and pubs, developing more and more passion and love for that music. Now he’s playing with Hamlet’s Latin Jazz Experience (Percussion), Custodie Cautelari & guest stars (Drums), Fiorilli Brothers Trio (Drums & Percussions) and with the Dookie trio, a Green Day Tribute. 
Hans Lassnig was born in 1974 in Austria. He studied jazz and classical trumpet at the conservatory in Klagenfurt, New School University in New York and University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Graz. In 2001 he participated in the “Euromeet Jazz Workshop” in Bassano (Italy), where he was the only trumpet player selected for a scholarship to the famous New School University (New York). In 2004 he participated in the “generations04_ jazz workshop in Frauenfeld (Switzerland), where he was invited to join the “Fellowship Award Band” which was touring in Germany and Switzerland in 2005. Among ten professional jazz trumpet players from Europe he is a finalist in the European YAMAHA Trumpet Contest 2009. While attending the “Jazz and Contemporary Music Program” at the New School University, he studied with some of the finest jazz players in New York City, including Jimmy Owens, Charles Tolliver, Cecil Bridgewater, Bobby Sanabria, Armen Donelian, Jane Ira Bloom, Rory Stuart. His most influental teachers were the great trumpeters Lee Harper, Matthieu Michel, John McNeil, Claudio Roditi, Clark Terry and Laurie Frink, but also Jerry Bergonzi and Kenny Werner. Hans is living as a freelance trumpet player and teacher in Austria. 
Latin music promoter Ralph Mercado died on Tuesday March 10, 2009, leaving behind a legacy of memorable events, recordings, videos, and management that helped shape the sound of New York salsa and Latin Jazz. Mercado followed his passion for music at an early age, but he didn’t pursue a performance career; instead, Mercado saw the power of the support that he could provide by organizing events. As a Brooklyn teenager, he utilized local social clubs as locations for dances and “waistline parties” – a dance where men entered for free, but paid a penny for every inch on their date’s waist. He moved the parties to a second floor location on Atlantic Avenue and transformed the events into his own nightclub, bringing in New York Latin dance bands. Mercado’s business boomed and he soon started Showstoppers promotion which booked R n’ B acts, including James Brown and Aretha Franklin. In 1972 Mercado established RMM Management, bringing two major clients into his fold from the beginning – Eddie Palmieri and Ray Barretto. By this time, Mercado had been promoting acts in New York, working with groups such as the Fania All-Stars and Tito Puente. Mercado’s success led him to form RMM Records in 1987, bringing a massive number of Latin music heavy weights onto the label’s roster. The label defined salsa during the 1990s, walking the line between New York salsa dura and the lighter but popular salsa romantica approach. Mercado expanded the company to include RMM Filmworks, offering another opportunity to promote his artists. RMM Records fell victim to a copyright infringement lawsuit in the late 1990s, bringing a heavy fine that sent the company into bankruptcy. As a result, Mercado sold the company to the Universal Music Group in 2001. He continued to produce concerts and events throughout the New York area through 2009, keeping the scene alive. Mercado’s contributions allowed for the growth and distribution of New York Latin music throughout the modern era, ensuring the livelihood of that tradition.
It’s been a long weekend to say the least, and unfortunately none of it has to do with Latin Jazz. After a long week of work and a series of concerts from my high school music groups, I returned home to find that Google had tagged LJC as an attack site, spreading badware to its visitors. I had never encountered anything like this before, and at first, I had no idea how to handle it. After a good deal of research, I figured out that LJC had been hacked, and a spam-spreading virus had been attached to its files. I attacked the virus from many angles, and there were several points were I thought that I had defeated it – but it just kept coming back. I eventually had to rebuild LJC completely, destroying the troubling virus for good. After doing all of this, Google reviewed the site, determined that it was free of badware, and removed their warning. It was an inconvenient and interesting learning experience that ate away at the majority of my weekend.
