Obsesión
Anna Estrada
Feral Flight Productions
When an artist creates a strong debut release, a long list of expectations arises behind their next recording. Their audience looks for more of the same great musical ideas that thrilled them throughout the first album. There’s a certain amount of tolerance for change and growth, but in reality, they want to revisit the same feelings that they enjoyed the first time. Critics and historians scrutinize the work with a careful eye for artistic growth, musical development, and a continued level of professionalism. They expect a musician to search for self-improvement, viewing a repeat performance of the same ideas as a lazy attempt to sell product. The artist’s fellow musicians need additional challenges and a motivating factor to inspire enthusiastic creation. After a long stretch of focus upon one repertoire, the greater group of musicians will be ready for a new challenge. The musician finds themselves caught in a swirl of ideas, trying to balance the pressure of developing a new repertoire with the growth of their artistic identity. While they want to please their fans, critics, and fellow musicians, a musician needs to address the realism of their own expressions and the changing state of their artistic interests. A successful sophomore release moves beyond all these external pressures and stands on its own as a reflection of the musician’s current identity. Bay Area vocalist Anna Estrada handles these factors with style and ease on her second release Obsesión, showcasing her strong performance skills in a diverse Latin Jazz set.

A Distinct Strength In Brazilian Settings
Estrada shows a distinct strength through a jazz vocal presence in Brazilian settings. An up-tempo samba groove kicks the band into high gear on Alvaro Carillo Alarcon’s “La Mentira,” as Estrada launches into an inspired and confident reading of the melody. Saxophonist Charlie McCarthy captures Estrada’s inertia with an energetic solo that flies through the changes with a bopish ease. Guitarist Ray Scott’s acoustic integrates a different texture into the piece, contributing a lyrical solo that takes the band into a cuica feature and Estrada’s return to the main theme. Damien Masterson’s soothing harmonica glides over a laid-back bossa nova groove on Toquinho & Vinicius De Moraes’ “Carta Ao Tom 74,” leading into Estrada’s slyly understated lyric. Masterson wraps pleasing melodies around the lush harmony, expressively shaping his line with scoops, slides, and pitch bends. Pianist Jonathan Alford plays around the song’s swaying groove, infusing his rhythmic drive with a bluesy edge. Drummer Phil Thompson dives head first into a funky Brazilian groove on Edu Lobo’s “Upa Neguinho,” providing momentum while the bass and keyboards create rich layers of sound. Estrada pushes the band with an engaging vocal that darts around clever rhythmic accents and leaps between ranges. Percussionist Michaelle Goerlitz’s brief repinique feature leads directly into a skillfully developed improvisation from Scott that bounces around the groove with a quirky character. Estrada displays a confident comfort in Brazilian realms, lending a carefully crafted presence to a strong collection of jazz settings.

Diversifying the Repertoire With Cuban Styles
Estrada takes the opportunity to diversify her repertoire with a group of pieces based upon several Cuban styles. A winding horn line assertively drives a path through a powerful songo groove on Pedro Flores’ “Obsesión,” before the band settles into a guaguanco rhythm behind Estrada’s commanding vocal. Trombonist Wayne Wallace displays a strong character as he builds an attention grabbing improvisation full of tension and smart melodic development. After a quick interlude, McCarthy rides the momentum of Alford’s addictive montuno, aggressively throwing syncopated rhythms into the mix with a raspy tone. Alford delicately creates a thoughtful improvisation over a sparse danzon on Ruben Fuentes’ “Flor Sin Retoño.” Estrada provides a captivating vocal in this exposed setting, precisely placing phrases over the rhythm with dynamic contrast and a confident attitude. Alford reflects the graceful elegance of the danzon tradition with a distinctly characteristic improvisation until Estrada grabs the song with the strength of her melodic presence. The rhythm section leaps into a catchy and accessible cha cha cha groove on Burt Bacharach’s “Always Something There To Remind Me,” as Estrada interprets the well-known melody with a jazz sensibility. Scott reflects the song’s pop background with a quick and ear pleasing improvisation that easily sails over the groove. Vibraphonist Tommy Kesecher conjures memories of Cal Tjader with a winding lyrical solo full of clever melodic twists. These pieces find Estrada developing her identity as a vocalist in a different side of Latin Jazz and succeeding with style.

A Skillful Diversity
Estrada explores a variety of additional musical approaches on other tracks, showing a skillful diversity to her musicianship. Bassist Alex Baum enters with a percussive bass line on Eden Abbez’s “Nature Boy” that takes on a Middle Eastern character as percussionist Raul Ramirez supplies the foundation with a funky dumbek. Estrada interprets the classic melody with a purposeful understatement, creating an interesting contrast against the dynamic background. Scott contributes a coy improvisation on electric guitar that tastefully plays around blues ideas until Alford creates a mysterious vibe with thick spacious synthesizer lines. Scott’s solo acoustic guitar shapes a calm motion on the original “Soledad (Norah),” working as the perfect backdrop to Estrada’s vocal. The two musicians form a complimentary duo with Scott winding melodic commentary between the beautifully simple shape of Estrada’s performance. A brief guitar interlude displays Scott’s ingenuity with chordal accents, smartly placed harmonics, and moving arpeggios, leading back to Estrada. Masterson demands attention with the bold sound of his bass harmonica drenched in reverb on “Llorna,” before it evaporates into a standard harmonica statement over a soft landó. Estrada thrives in this setting with an effective vocal that skillfully tells a story with her command over dynamics and tone. As Estrada brings the song into a climax, Masterson places the deep rich sound of his harmonica against the song, creating an engaging texture. Estrada shows a rich depth to her musical identity on these tracks, demonstrating the ability to express herself in a variety of settings.

A Defined Artistic Presence
Estrada steps forward with a more defined artistic presence on Obsesión, garnering musical results that boldly stand on their own. Her daring steps through a variety of Latin Jazz approaches reflect a growing artistic confidence and an evolving connection to different styles. She plays upon her strength in Brazilian Jazz, navigating through several different rhythmic feels with ease. As Estrada stretches into Cuban rhythms, Peruvian genres, original composition, and Middle Eastern textures, she intelligently adjusts her performance approach to match the context. At the same time, Estrada displays the strength to retain an artistic identity with each shift, appearing unmistakably with a core sound at every turn. Her vocal performance resonates with a steady confidence in both Portuguese and Spanish, a canny ability to navigate through jazz harmonies with a direct melodic sensibility, and a clever approach to phrasing. Scott’s arrangements support Estrada’s strengths at every turn, featuring the vocal while leaving plenty of space for improvisation. The core group of Alford, Baum, and Thompson interpret the arrangements skillfully, balancing the necessary foundation with a healthy character. The long list of guest soloists including Wallace, McCarthy, Masterson, and Kesecher add spirit to the recordings, reflecting Estrada’s positive commitment to the music. All these pieces join into a cohesive and satisfying musical statement on Obsesión, keeping Estrada on the track for a long career full of great music.

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Check Out These Related Posts:
Spotlight: Sonando Vuelos, Anna Estrada
12 More Female Artists That Rock the Latin Jazz World
Focusing The Spotlight: A Little Bit More About Anna Estrada
Spotlight: Viajando Choro e Jazz, Grupo Falso Baiano

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