Bach In Havana
Tiempo Libre
Sony Classical
Jazz musicians have found many ways to incorporate diverse music into their repertoire over the years, from funk to Brazilian rhythms, but combinations of jazz and classical music have always been approached tentatively. There are certainly commonalities between the two musical worlds, but they are difficult to see – classical music and jazz work on a set of very different artistic aesthetics. Jazz utilizes a wealth of harmonic alterations and blues notes that create an inherent dissonance, while traditional classical harmony leans towards a more pure interpretation of harmony. While great masters of classical music such as Mozart and Bach improvised during their time, the genre has become focused on the performance of written works, not the spontaneous creation of melodies. Jazz generally involves the repetition of short, basic forms as the basis of improvisation while classical composers write complex and extended song forms that demand much more careful attention. Technique drives a great deal of classical music, demanding a high level of skill, while jazz artists can find their voice with varying degrees of technical proficiency. Most musicians focus their training upon one of these two worlds – although they may develop exceptionally high skills in either jazz or classical music, crossing between the two worlds simply lies beyond most musicians. There have been attempts; some successful – contemporary third stream artists spend most of their artistic energy in this realm. Still, it’s a difficult concept to execute authentically, and when you integrate Latin rhythms into the mix, the demands upon a musician become much higher and the artistic results become much more risky. Timba band Tiempo Libre steps outside their comfort zone and accomplishes this task admirably by bringing the music of Bach, jazz, and Afro-Cuban rhythms together into an amazing and surprisingly authentic musical mixture on Bach In Havana.

Smart Execution And Creative Arrangements
The band combines elements of classical music, jazz, and Afro-Cuban rhythms with smartly executed arrangements full of personality and style. Pianist Jorge Gómez and bassist Tebelio Fonte lay down a strong and funky groove over a cha cha cha rhythm, leading into a twisting melody from the horn players on “Fuga,” a piece based upon Bach’s Sonata in D Minor. The melody flows directly into Gómez’s improvisation, which dives headfirst into jazz inflected note choices and a stellar demonstration of the syncopated possibilities inherent in Cuban piano styles. Trumpet player Cristobal Ferrer García starts with a slippery statement that winds around the groove until García picks up the dynamic and leads the band into a driving mambo. A trio of batá drummers creates a racing pulse behind airy piano chords and rhythmic horn hits on “Olas De Yemayá,” a song inspired by the Prelude in C Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier. The drummers disappear as Gómez plays the Bach piece with a rich emotional underpinning, which continues as the drummers return, placing the song in a different context. Short accents from the wind players build tension as the group moves into a traditional song for the Santeria deity Yemayá amidst a menacing backdrop. Rumba clave rings clear over a synthesizer as the percussionists work their way into a smoldering guaguanco and García plays a muted melody on “Clave In C Minor,” drawn from the Prelude In C Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier. Gómez demonstrates some impressive technical ability as he tears through segments of the original piece at a breakneck tempo, never letting the high level of his musicality falter. After a short interlude from the wind players, Gómez breaks into an original solo, improvising lines around melodic snippets from the rest of the band that resonate with Bach and jazz. A huge chorus backed by a thick string sound adds a sense of dignity and reverence to “Kyrie,” taken from the Mass in B Minor. Batá drums start a persistent rhythm, introducing a thoughtfully understated melodic interpretation from Gómez that leads into a call and response with the wind players. Fonte takes a short stab at the melody before García and saxophonist Luis Beltran Castillo carefully handle the gentle theme and hand it back to Gómez. The group looks at the Bach material through a variety of perspectives, and successfully merges the styles based on their smart and innovative arrangements.

Working With A Sympathetic Guest Artist
The group finds a sympathetic voice in guest artist Paquito D’Rivera, who has lived a life between classical music, jazz, and Afro-Cuban styles. A strutting montuno establishes the groove over a bubbling son as García plays an elegant melody with a bluesy tinge on “Gavotte,” a piece inspired by the French Suite No. 5 in G Major. García and Castillo provide intertwining parts that spike melodic interest and push the song into another dynamic with an energetic solo from conguero Leandro González. After an assertive band break, D’Rivera screams into the mix on clarinet, aggressively spinning virtuosic flurries of notes, blues drenched embellishments, and rhythmic accents into an attention grabbing statement. Gómez and Fonte tenderly work through a gentle melody before handing the lead over to D’Rivera’s alto sax on “Air On A G String,” a song based upon the Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D Major. D’Rivera infuses the rich melody with an emotionally charged reading, filling each note with a careful blend of his cutting sound, quick vibrato, and expressive use of articulations. Gómez enters into the bolero with an understated grace, trading ideas with D’Rivera who pushes the proceedings into a jazz direction and lifts the song into an inspired momentum. A short unaccompanied solo from Gómez evolves into an elegant danzon, complimented by a melodic duet from the pianist and D’Rivera’s clarinet on “Baqueteo Con Bajo,” taken from the Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major. Fonte delivers an album highlight performance, digging into the cello suite in the upper register of his bass with a rich tone and nimble execution. A quick rim shot pushes the group into a driving montuno, where D’Rivera bursts into a roaring and uplifting clarinet solo before turning the spotlight back to Fonte, who again beautifully runs through the cello suite. D’Rivera’s presence adds an authentic air to each track, drawing upon a musician with an established jazz voice, a deep knowledge of Cuban rhythms, and an intimate familiarity with classical music.

Staying True To Timba Roots
The group touches upon their roots as a hardcore timba band with several tracks that include vocals and often lean towards dance rhythms without compromising the integrity of their core concept. García and Castillo engage in some classic intertwining harmony before a cowbell kicks the band into a pulsating conga rhythm, grounded by intensive rhythm section work on “Tu Conga Bach,” based upon the Fugue in C Minor from The Well-Tempered Clavier. As lush synthesizer chords fill the background, vocalist Joaquín “El Kid” Díaz boldly delivers the main melody with an assertive set of lyrics that introduce that band and their mission to combine the different musical styles. An energetic breakdown gives García an opportunity to soar into his instrument’s upper register until Gómez explodes into a wild montuno that sends the band into full timba mode. Fonte and Gómez maintain a stuttering groove while the drummers hit scattered breaks before an up-tempo guaguanco boosts the energy level behind the main melody on “Minuet In G.” After a wind interlude, the band disappears, leaving Díaz alone above the percussionists, allowing him to pull an impressive feat by phrasing authentically around the rumba while keeping the main Bach theme consistent. Fonte follows with a lyrical solo that draws upon pieces of the melody, while García starts breaking away with a more personal idea, and guest artist saxophonist Yosvany Terry drives his improvisation completely into jazz territory. The wind players twist classically based melodies around a standard salsa introduction, making way for Díaz to dive into the song’s cuerpo on “Timbach,” a song inspired by the Prelude in D Major from The Well-Tempered Clavier. After a strong vocal performance from Díaz, the band bursts into an addictively funky moña, setting the stage for Díaz’s refined improvisation skills in the coro-pregon section. The group returns to the moña, transitioning into an explosive timbale solo from Hilario Bell and an unstoppable drive to the song’s end with an aggressive coro. These tracks show the depth of the band’s vision, as they look beyond the basics of fusing classical music, jazz, and Cuban rhythms; here, they integrate modern dance music, keeping it’s necessarily edge while staying knee deep in their main idea.

Blending Musical Worlds With Style And Ease
Tiempo Libre tackles a tough combination of music on Bach In Havana, but their creativity, broad musical knowledge, and strong performance skills blend these worlds with style and ease. The band members obviously know their Bach; they all spent time in Havana’s Escuela Nacional de Arte, studying classical music in a rigorous academic environment. At the same time, each member of the group spent their time outside school working in Cuban timba bands and playing jazz, a tradition that they continued once they relocated to the states. These broad experiences explain the group’s ability to authentically capture all three musical worlds; they’ve spent significant time studying, performing, and creating in each context. The album contains so much more than the true execution of each style though, Tiempo Libre creates unique arrangements that capture the aesthetics of each music. There’s not a lot of artistic sacrifice either; they simply fit the pieces together in a logical and coherent way. Gómez sits at the core of much of the creative process and the musical delivery – his arrangements provide the heart of the album and his performance reveals a strong connection to classical piano repertoire. The Tiempo Libre rhythm section pushes the band at every turn, creating an unstoppable momentum with rock solid grooves and complex breaks that provide the Afro-Cuban foundation. D’Rivera makes a perfect guest on the album; his experience as a classical musician and jazz improviser allows him to grasp the band’s core concept without a second thought. The tracks where he collaborates with the band stand out as highlights and true examples of the potential found in the combination of different musical worlds. There’s a lot of potential in a combination between jazz, classical music, and Afro-Cuban rhythms that Tiempo Libre captures stunningly on Bach In Havana, showing us that despite differences, the similarities between the three musics can garner amazing results.

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