Latin Jazz Live: Paul Austerlitz Quintet At Taller Latino Americano

Latin Jazz Live reflects upon the most vital piece of the music’s existence – live performance. Recordings stand as historical milestones, but in a spontaneous and evolving art form like Latin Jazz, live performance in the standard by which musicians are measured. In this recurring series, LJC writers will provide their impressions about Latin Jazz concerts and share the evening’s proceedings with the Latin Jazz community. Comments are welcomed and discussion encouraged as we dig into the live music experience.

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Latin Jazz Live
The Paul Austerlitz Quintet
El Taller Latino Americano
Saturday, March 6, 2010
By Tomas Peña

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The Paul Austerlitz Quintet made a rare New York appearance at El Taller Latino Americano, a performance space and showcase for artistic talent on Manhattan’s upper west side. The occasion marked the introduction of music based on Dominican rhythms and was sponsored by the Mellon Foundation and the Sundeman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College, where Austerlitz teaches ethnomusicology and Africana Studies. The concert also featured new pieces written for a grant from the American Composers Forum, which were premiered in Philadelphia earlier this week.

For the event the bass clarinetist assembled a consortium of forward thinking musicians including pianist Richard Johnson (who performs regularly with Wynton Marsalis), bassist and young lion Eric Wheeler, master drummer, percussionist and bandleader Babatunde Lea and visionary drummer, song-writer, singer and dancer Jose Duluc, all of who took part in a joyful and transcendental conversation with the audience.

The evening’s festivities commenced with “East Broadway Merengue,” a tune inspired by the Sonny Rollins recording “East Broadway Rundown” and which fuses jazz with Dominican Pambiche. It was followed by “Underground Palo,” which represents the most widely diffused Afro Dominican ritual music throughout the Dominican Republic (not to be confused with Cuban Palo). The tune takes its inspiration from John Coltrane’s “Song of the Underground Railroad” which in turn was inspired by the African American spiritual, “Follow the Drinking Gourd” (code for the Big Dipper, a constellation that points north and consequently to freedom). “Thunderflow” is a traditional Yoruba Cuban song dedicated to the Orisa (Orisha) Sango (Chango) and is combined with the rarely heard Pri Pri rhythm. The tune features Jose Duluc on the Balsie (Talking) drum, whose tones are manipulated by the movement of the player‘s foot. Changing the pace, the quintet offered prayers for the victims of the Haitian earthquake. After this, the band played a traditional song invoking Haitian-Dominican spirits known as Lwa. The theme revolved around the indivisible bond between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. During one section Jose Duluc donned a Rara dress, which is worn in processional ceremonies during Lent. Finally, the band brought the audience to its feet with a joyous merengue, “Juanita Morel” and came full circle with a closing invocation to the Orisas.

Paul Austerlitz has had a long-standing relationship with Dominican music. Born in Finland and raised in New York City, he was exposed to Latino culture at a young age; however he had no contact with Dominican music until he returned to New York in the 1980s after graduating from Wesleyan University. As an aspiring saxophonist with a deep love for Afro-Caribbean music, he joined a Latin Jazz band but work was scarce. At the time a popular form of Dominican music known as merengue was taking New York City’s Latin club by storm and there was as shortage of merengue saxophonists in the city. Shortly thereafter, Austerlitz started playing with merengue bands. As he became more committed to the music he moved to Washington Heights, where he learned to speak Spanish and participated in occasional gigs with first-rate musicians, including Jose Mateo, the “king of merengue.” His work as an ethnomusicologist includes the books Jazz Consciousness: Music, Race, and Humanity (2005, Wesleyan University Press) and Merengue : Dominican Music and Dominican Identity (1997, Temple University Press).

I am no stranger to Afro Caribbean music; however I must confess that I was rendered speechless by the power, beauty and communal nature of Paul‘s music. During a recent telephone conversation I asked Paul to describe his music and he modestly told me that it is “Jazz with Afro Dominican and Haitian influences.” Left wanting more, I referred to the liner-notes for Journey (Innova Records) and happened upon the following passages written by Paul. “I believe that music is rooted in conversation and African based rhythms. The drum speaks and we respond by dancing outwardly (as in merengue) or inwardly (to more meditative sounds). I offer the creative fruit of my ethno musicological journey as a universal communion.”

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FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION VISIT: Paul Austerlitz’s Web Site

RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Journey, Innova CD 2008
The Fret Cycle, with poet Michael Harper, W. Kaufman Forthcoming
Our Book on Trane: The Yaddo Sessions, with poet Michael Harper, Yaddo CD 2004
Double Take: Jazz Poetry Conversations, with poet Michael Harper, innova CD 2004
Dominican Dreams, American Dreams, Engine CD 2003
A Bass Clarinet in Santo Domingo and Detroit, XDot-25 CD 1998