Lá e Cá (Here and There) Antonio Adolfo & Carol Saboya
Music passes naturally between generations through a variety of paths, but perhaps the strongest transmission of musical information occurs within families. Children progress artistically at an alarming rate when their parents work as musicians. This could be seen as the work of genetic connections, with musical ability specially written into the fabric of a family’s DNA, but this seems a bit far fetched. Young people that spend their childhood in a musical family simply gain regular exposure to the art of making music – it becomes part of their daily lives. They also have a built-in support system for group practice, musical advice, and listening recommendations. If these children grow into performing musicians, they often develop their own identities apart from their parents, confident enough with their musical abilities to find their own voices. Once they reunite with their family for musical performances though, differences fade away, leaving only artistic understanding. The result is simply moving music. Brazilian pianist Antonio Adolfo features his daughter Carol Saboya on Lá e Cá (Here and There) delivering a stirring performance that resonates with their shared understanding of phrasing, Brazilian repertoire, and jazz improvisation.
Jazz Standards Interpreted With A Unified Sense Of Identity
Adolfo features Saboya on a number of jazz standards, interpreting the well known songs with a uniquely unified sense of identity. A gentle interplay between Adolfo and guitarist Leo Amuedo segues into Saboya’s lyrics on “Time After Time,” giving the singer the opportunity to shape dynamics with a coy subtlety. Adolfo moves into a delicate lyricism on his improvisation, floating over the rhythm section’s quiet groove with a clever development. As Saboya returns to the melody, she stretches phrases and slides around the lyrics with just enough assertion to inspire colorful embellishments from the rhythm section. A blazing unison lick sends the rhythm section into a charging samba on “A Night In Tunisia,” setting the stage for Saboya’s commanding combination of English lyrics and scat syllables. As the group hits a sharp break, trombonist Sergio Trombone leaps into an energetic improvisation that lights a fire under the band with a rhythmic intensity. Both Adolfo and bassist Jorge Helder craft short but potent statements around pieces of the melody, leading into a quick and powerful feature for drummer Rafael Barata. Adolfo thoughtfully constructs a rubato introduction on Cole Porter’s “So In Love,” giving way to Saboya’s classy reading of the lyrics. The vocalist applies a beautifully understated approach to the melody, drawing attention to her gorgeous tone and impeccable sense of phrasing. As Adolfo moves into his improvisation, he insightfully plays off Saboya’s mood, transitioning into her captivating return. A darkly minor introduction takes an uplifting turn with Saboya’s entrance on Antonio Carlos Jobim’s “Sabiá,” which the group interprets with a floating sense of time. As Saboya moves through the Portuguese lyrics, her voice resonates with a classic balance of Brazilian articulation and jazz purism. Adolfo blends plenty of space between ideas, letting his statement become a collectively intuitive venture among the rhythm section. There’s an entrancing and free floating give and take between Saboya and the rhythm section throughout these tracks, providing a distinctly original take on classic tunes.
Exploring Several Original Instrumental Compositions
Adolfo leads his group through several original instrumental compositions, bringing his musical personality into the forefront. An aggressive unison lick sets up “Cascavel” with an angular rhythmic pulse, leading into an uplifting and serious melody. Adolfo jumps joyfully into his improvisation, bouncing off the keys with a lively propulsion that inspires involved interaction from Barata. The group quiets behind a smartly constructed statement from Helder, who plays with a melodic freedom and technical virtuosity that makes his ideas come alive. Adolfo establishes a steady pulse with chordal vamps on “Minor Chord,” introducing a melodic duet with Amuedo that sets the tone for the piece. The pianist cleverly weaves bits of the melody around long lines and bluesy embellishments, creating an engaging statement. Amuedo leaps into his improvisation with an enthusiastic zeal, mixing jazz fueled lines with rapid streams of notes and solid thematic development. Adolfo brings together one of his own compositions with a well known Cole Porter tune, delivering a fascinating musical blend of “Toada Jazz (O Retirante)” and “Night And Day.” The group plays with an airy etherial nature as Adolfo spins open sounding melodies over his own composition, gently pushing the band forward with quick bursts of energy. As Amuedo and Helder both glide through interesting improvisational statements, the song quietly transforms into Porter’s classic tune, which Adolfo ingeniously brings into the mix. These tunes find Adolfo featuring his own musical concept, giving a firm picture of his musical identity with several strong compositions.
Mash-Ups Between Jazz Standards And Brazilian Classics
Adolfo creates a number of unique mash-ups between classic jazz standards and Brazilian pieces that feature both his band and Saboya. George Shearing’s “Lullaby Of Birdland” evolves into a lengthy and open melodic statement as Adolfo smoothly blends it with Jobim’s “Garoto.” The group creates a rhythmic vamp around Jobim’s piece, laying the foundation with an ominous and rhythmic statement from Trombone. As Adolfo and Amuedo leap into their improvisations, the group leans back towards Shearing’s piece, allowing for bluesy lines and a joyfully implied swing. Adolfo lays down a tense vamp before his group opens into Saboya’s free flowing vocal on “All The Things You Are.” The pianist reflectively spins delightfully clever variations on the melody through his solo, infusing the familiar setting with colorful harmonic changes. Saboya returns for a beautifully executing trip through the melody, as the song drifts into a vamp from Dori Caymmi and Paulo Cesar Pinheiro’s “Amazon River” for another improvisatory flight from Adolfo. The pianist seamlessly blends Porter’s “Every Time We Say Goodbye” and Jobim’s “Nuvens Douradas” into a melodic journey that takes on a life of its own. Amuedo moves into his improvisation with a respectful pause, exploring the new setting with a sensitive musicality. As the group moves back into the melody, Adolfo and Amuedo trade melodic phrases intuitively, until Adolfo solidly moves into Jobim’s piece with a strong presence. These pieces serve as a clever perspective into Adolfo and Saboya’s musical world, which involves a shared experience between jazz and Brazilian music.
An Artistic That Freely Flows Between Brazilian Ideals And Jazz Improvisation
Adolfo and Saboya present an artistic understanding on Lá e Cá (Here and There) that freely flows between Brazilian musical ideals and jazz improvisation. The repertoire largely explores classic jazz standards, drawing extensively upon stalwarts like Porter, Gillespie, and Shearing. The choice of these tunes doesn’t represent a drastically different musical ideal, but the group’s performance approach certainly stamps the tunes with their own identity. Both Adolfo and Saboya phrase with such an innate grace and defined style, the pieces become undeniably personal. The rhythm section performs with a flowing relationship between Brazilian rhythms and jazz openness, but the music never looses its distinctly Brazilian flavor, due in large part to the defined phrasing. Their performances don’t overwhelm with virtuosity or bold dissonance; instead they demand close listening through beautiful execution and thoughtful musical choices. Adolfo’s band accompanies the pieces with a liberal approach to the music, interacting consistently, but never grabbing the spotlight. Their fresh and evolving presence helps bring the music alive, adding variety and color to the repertoire. Adolfo’s insightful artistic personality shines brightly throughout the album. His clever mash-ups between jazz standards and Brazilian music make interesting statements about the blend between two worlds. His compositions provide great settings for the band to explore their instrumental side, and create nice contrast to the jazz repertoire. Lá e Cá (Here and There) delivers a wonderfully satisfying taste of Brazilian Jazz that sparkles with identity, due in large part to the unified musical approach between Adolfo and Saboya.
Once a musician develops a unique concept, they become responsible for the growth and survival of their artistic vision. An audience always exists for new musical ideas, but a musician needs to find those listeners. They need to take their musical ideas to as many people as possible through live performance, recordings, and online distribution. Once they connect with an audience, they need to keep them listening – a task that sounds a lot easier than it actually is. An artist needs to find a personal attachment to their audience that will last longer than one night. They need to remind the audience about their musical passion and show them why they should share that passion. With a large group of strong believers, their audience will only multiply; word of mouth becomes the most powerful support system available. As the musician finds their fan base growing rapidly, they need to create new experiences to interest these listeners. New recordings help focus an audience’s attention, but thinking outside the box leads to more interesting and memorable ideas. It’s an ongoing process that demands a musician to be a vigilant advocate for their artistic ideas, but it’s the only way to guarantee the growth of any musical approach.
As trumpet player Gabriel Alegria delved deeper into the mixture between jazz and Afro-Peruvian rhythms, he found a deep desire to push the music even further. The core of his group came together early in the new millennium, giving the trumpet player an outlet for his artistic explorations. Through regular touring and the recording of a CD, the group solidified the concept and developed a common understanding of their musical approach. In 2007, Alegria and his Afro-Peruvian Sextet released Nuevo Mundo, an outstanding representation of their work that turned heads across the jazz world. As the band toured across the States, they found enthusiastic audiences enthralled by Afro-Peruvian rhythms and captivated by the jazz foundation. Alegria strived to keep a connection between the audience, the band, and the group’s Peruvian roots, creating the Tour Peru project. This unique concept took fans along with the Sextet on a tour across Peru, giving them a real taste of the culture. This novel experience inspired two participants so much that they sought to bring a piece of Peru back to the States. As a result, Tutuma Social Club opened in New York, providing a steady stage for Afro-Peruvian Jazz. Alegria’s Sextet became Tutuma’s house band and interest around Afro-Peruvian Jazz grew substantially. With momentum behind them, Alegria and the Sextet recorded their second album, Pucusana, and looked towards the fans for support. Their Kickstarter campaign shows the potential for a grassroots spread of Afro-Peruvian Jazz around the world – a major step forward for Alegria and this branch of the Latin Jazz world.
With the avid support of his growing fan base and the respect of the music world, Alegria stands poised to take Afro-Peruvian Jazz onto a world stage. This musical inertia comes from years of hard work – a fact that you can see in all three parts of our interview with Alegria. In the first piece of our conversation, we looked at Alegria’s musical development, his first jazz experiences, and the essence of Afro-Peruvian Jazz. In the second part of our discussion, we dug deeper into the nuts and bolts of Afro-Peruvian Jazz, examined its place in the Latin Jazz world, and talked about jazz in Peru. In the last segment of this feature, we go over the recording of Nuevo Mundo, the creation of Tutuma, and the future of Alegria’s music.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: The thing that I found really interesting when I first heard Nuevo Mundo was that it was such a defined concept. At that point, what were you trying to accomplish and did you have a specific vision?
GABRIEL ALEGRIA: We’d been touring for a couple of years with that music, so Nuevo Mundo had that advantage. We’d been writing that music way ahead of that actual recording. We did the recording in one day, it was crazy. We had no money, so it was like, “O.K., we’ve got one day.” Bobby Shew was kind enough to produce the album; he also arranged for discounts at the studio and was there the whole time. He was really excited about the concept that he had heard – he had been my mentor, so it was great. He sort of set-up the session. But it was just one day, literally. We just played all the tunes and that was it. That was possible because we’d been touring the material and just working on it. Then it starts to get a kind of a shape. I wouldn’t say that you set out with an artistic vision or something. Usually somebody else tells you that you have one, and then you’re like, “Oh yea, I meant it all along!”
I think our goal as a band has always been to make people feel some stuff – make them experience something and bring them in. We put the energy out to the audience and we try to make sure that they’re involved. That’s always been our thing, because Afro-Peruvian music is like that. That’s its energy – it’s involving everybody. It’s a community. I think the thing that we work hard on is to make sure that when we’re playing these jazz tunes – and some are complicated in terms of harmony and all this other stuff – we try to project the good energy of Afro-Peruvian music and make sure that people are brought into what we’re doing. So whatever – five year-olds, ten year-olds, one hundred year-olds – whatever, we try to make sure that they’re brought in. We’ve always made that a big priority for the band. So I think now that we have this vision of what Afro-Peruvian music is, I think it’s still that thing, but I think that it’s clearer to us how to put these elements together.
With this new album, we were album to do the same kind of things in terms of getting the style, but we got it much more quickly and fluently. Now we know what works, what doesn’t work, and where to make things go in different directions. So the discourse is much easier. Within the band, it’s very, very easy now to get a new piece of music on the roster. Now they all know what I want when I hand them a sheet. There’s no discussion now, it’s more like, “Oh, O.K., this is what he wants, because he wanted that last time, and so he probably wants this other thing.” Then new ideas come up and different ways to play with the rhythm and new melodies of course. On this album, Laurandrea’s music is featured, and that’s going to be a huge thing. Her music is going over really, really well with our audiences, so we’re going to definitely keep using her stuff. I think that’s going to be a big deal in the future, to have more of her material on there.
LJC: One of the things that really different about your band in the modern jazz scene is that you guys play together all the time, due to your regular gig at Tutuma. How did Tutuma come into being and what has that done for Afro-Peruvian Jazz in New York City?
GA: Tutuma is one of the main reasons that we decided to launch Kickstarter. The club was opened by two fans of the band. They came to Peru on that first Tour Peru project that we did. The whole idea that we can do Kickstarter is inspired by Tutuma because when we did the first Tour Peru project in 2008 and we invited all the fans to come with us, we didn’t know who would come. There was a group of forty people – it was a little crazy, but it was really fun. One night at a restaurant we were eating with all the fans and this couple said to us, “You know, we should totally have something like this in New York.” They meant the peña – the type of Afro-Peruvian club that we were sitting in. This is where Afro-Peruvian music is preserved and practiced in Peru. These places are called peñas – they’re very humble, and they’re almost like people’s homes. They’re not fancy, they’re not decorated in any particular way, and they’re just very basic little places. But the music is incredible. There’s always nice food, people come and go, and it’s just a total hang. They said to us, “There’s nothing like this in New York City. New York has everything, but it doesn’t have this.” Her family was a restaurateur family; she’d been in this business, and she said, “Wouldn’t it be great to have this club?” And of course we said, “Yes! It would be great! Count us in!” People always give you a zillion ideas, so we were like, “Of course, yea, count on us!”
Next thing I know, she calls me up, and she’s like, “Hey, I’ve got a space that I want you to look at.” I was like, “What?!?” At that point, I said, “Wow, you’re really serious.” And she said, “Oh yea, we can use this space.” It’s a tiny little space – it seats like forty people, it’s tiny. And she was like, “Yea, this is one of the spaces that we have that we’ve been trying to rent out, but my Dad’s going to rent it to me instead. So we can do it here.” She asked me to advise on the artistic thing and try to develop a plan for the music and all that. But her deal was that the Sextet had to play, because that’s what is going to bring people in. Meanwhile, they followed us around to a gig in New Orleans and Pittsburgh, and all these different places – they would just appear there! Fortunately, all those shows were great! They were sell-outs, people were screaming and yelling, so they were like, “All right, we’re going to do this, and the Sextet has to play!” I was a little shy about it, because it’s like, booking your own band so much and all this. But she was very adamant about it. She was like, “We at least have to have you guys play three or four nights a week.” It’s sort of been working itself out and now we’re there three nights a week and sure enough, people do come around. It’s always packed with people. It’s a small space, so it’s not that difficult to fill it up. Filling it up every week in New York though, I think is an achievement. So we’re very proud of that.
Just seeing how involved our fans have gotten with the band inspired us – I mean, these people opened up a club so we could play in it! So when we heard about the Kickstarter thing, we were like, “You know what, we should just forego all this record label stuff.” We were having all these discussions with record labels, but it’s very convoluted. They want to do this, they want to do that, and they’ll fund this and not that . . . the way of the record label at the moment is just dark. Their future is not very certain, so they’re not really able to convince you that they’re going to really be able to do something for you. We heard about Kickstarter, I talked to a couple of friends that actually did it, and I thought, “Well, you know, we should just launch something and see.” So I talked to publicists and a couple of radio people to see how much it would all cost if we acted like we had a label, but didn’t actually have one . . . and that’s what we’re going to do. It’s thanks in a large part to Tutuma and the owners there.
LJC: Tutuma always has a steady flow of musicians doing Afro-Peruvian music. Is that scene large in New York or is just small enough to fuel the club?
GA: It’s not huge, and the bands that you see at Tutuma are pretty much the bands that there are. What’s really interesting is that the concept is something that other people start to like. So, for example, singers come through that say, “You know, I’ve always wanted to sing Afro-Peruvian music, can I do something like that?” We’ve actually had people learn the style and start to get into it for the first time at Tutuma. So I think it’s going to be a place that ultimately is going to strictly have Afro-Peruvian Jazz music seven nights a week with some traditional Afro-Peruvian music thrown in to keep that kind of balance and vibe. But I do think that’s the way it’s going to go. Here at NYU where I teach, there are two Afro-Peruvian ensembles. These students have traveled to Peru, they’ve performed there, and they’re learning about the stuff. They’re taking small steps. Some of them become really curious about it; they’re not ready to say this is what I want to do yet, because it’s a whole new concept. But it’s interesting that they get into it and they perform. We’ve had them at the club as well. So I do think that the scene is going to develop that way and that there will be just a flow of nothing but Afro-Peruvian Jazz. Right now we have other things as well that we program, other Latin American styles. But I think with the strength of the concept in place, that it is going to evolve that way.
LJC: So tell me a little bit more about the new album, Pucusana.
GA: You’re going to see a similar combination of tunes, where we have some music that’s based on traditional folk music from Peru that we’ve arranged. Then of course we’re going to have some original music. That includes the title track of the album, a couple of Laurandrea’s pieces that are on there, and a piece about a nineteenth floor overlook that was very dangerous . . . you know, different stuff always inspired on these locations, spaces, and things like that. And then there will of course be the cover tune – we’ve chosen “My Favorite Things.” We do that in a festejo rhythm; kind of a tribute to Coltrane, but Peru style. So that’s more or less the overview of the album. I just think it’s different, it’s the same, and it’s a great next step for us. So we’re hoping that with the Kickstarter thing to get it out there in a way that we weren’t able to do with Nuevo Mundo.
LJC: You had a lot of guest artists on Nuevo Mundo. Do you have anyone playing with you on this one, or is this just the Sextet?
GA: It’s the Sextet, but we’ve invited Russell Ferrante back. He’s on it again. We also have Arturo O’Farrill on it this time. He’s a great friend, and he himself just won the Latin Jazz Grammy. We’ve played with him a bunch of times here in New York on different projects, so he’s on there as well. Those are the two guests. And there are two bass players actually – we were in bass player transition. Ramon (de Bruyn) was leaving the band and John (Benitez) was coming into the band, so they’re both on the album, which is really cool.
LJC: I’m really looking forward to hearing John Benitez. I’ve heard him doing mostly Afro-Cuban oriented things . . .
GA: Right, he’s amazing. He’s just dived in and started learning all the stylistic things. I think that you’re really going to enjoy what he does on the album.
LJC: You’ve mentioned Kickstarter, can you outline what the goal is and how people can do to support the band.
GA: Kickstarter is a platform that allows artists to independently fund their projects. People can go to this website and they can make a pledge. It’s much like a pledge for a public radio station, but you would be pledging to the Afro-Peruvian Sextet. The website outlines exactly where pledge money goes and what the gifts are, because people get gifts depending on the amount of their pledge. So it’s a very interesting way to get all of the fans involved very directly. We think of them as investors in our project – We’re going to reach out to all the people that invest, we’re going to keep in touch with them, and we’ll bring them into the family. Our concept for this is that right now we’re a family of six and we really want to be a family of six thousand. We want to reach out and get everybody involved. Even if it’s just a kid with ten dollars, we want them in the family and we want to check in with them. We want to say, “Hey, here’s something that we’re working on for the next album, what do you think? Do you like this tune better than this tune?” We really want to involve all these people with our creative process. We’re going to send out the links and so forth to our mailing list, and if they so choose, they can participate by making a pledge on the Kickstarter website. It’s a very, very cool way to participate and help get this album out there in a way that we’ve never been able to do before with some publicity, play, and all that.
LJC: How do you see this pushing the album and reputation of the band out further?
GA: I think our goal is to get on the radar screen of Grammy Awards and people who can make difference in terms of the Afro-Peruvian Jazz concept getting out there for people to hear about. The more notoriety that we can get the album, the more press, the more publicity, the better. The more it’s out there for everyone to enjoy, I think it’s more likely for more people to participate. So that’s the goal – getting it out there to more people. It’s really a numbers game in terms of how much publicity you can do and how much muscle you can put in behind promotion. That’s where old record labels used to function. They had a lot of money that they would sink into a project like that; they don’t have that money anymore. So we’re thinking that we’re just going to circumvent that and just go straight to the fan base.
LJC: Afro-Peruvian Jazz is still very young as a style, what do you see as the future of the music?
GA: We’d like the future to hold is many, many people listening to it and enjoying it and many, many people performing it. That’s what we’re shooting for.
———- Support The Release Of Pucusana!
Gabriel Alegria And The Afro-Peruvian Sextet will be releasing their latest recording, Pucusana in August of 2010, but they need your support to send this album out into the world in a big way. The group will be utilizing a fantastic fundraising site, Kickstarter, to build support for the promotion, release, and distribution of the recording. The process works much like a public radio fund drive – the group has 90 days to raise their goal of $9,000 and they need your support. Along the way, there’s some great rewards for donating and a chance to become part of the Afro-Peruvian Sextet’s family. This is a great way to help push Afro-Peruvian Jazz out into the public eye, so head on over to the group’s Kickstarter site, get the full details, and donate today!
Inspiration serves as the first steps of a musician’s journey, emerging as the pre-cursor to a long road towards a greater concept. Technical development and musical experience helps artists grab these little flashes of inspiration and persistence allows them to nurture their ideas. The leap from idea to broad concept requires a few more pieces of the puzzle though, requiring the musician to maintain focus over years. The musician needs to explore the idea in a variety of contexts, utilizing a variety of different ensembles to experiment. With only a vague idea, the artist doesn’t have any idea where to apply these creative thoughts; they need to simply try their ideas in different places. The musician needs to find a number of different collaborators in the process. Each new set of ears will provide a different perspective upon the music and help refine the idea in a unique way. Some of these musicians will continue as long term partners while others will go their own way, but they will all help shape the greater idea. Most of all, the musician needs to keep their eye on the prize, realizing that over the course of time, their initial inspiration will grow into a defined and personal artistic concept.
After setting a solid musical foundation for himself, trumpet player Gabriel Alegria discovered his muse in the mixture of jazz and Afro-Peruvian rhythms, an idea that became the basis for his future work. Alegria spent his childhood in an artistic environment, watching his grandfather, a well-known author, and his father, a prominent playwright, pursue their creative passions. Once Alegria dove into music and the trumpet, he discovered the same type of dedication, carrying him through high school and conservatory training. With his technical and musicianship skills in tact, Alegria found a steady job with The Lima Philharmonic, a gig that carried him through five years. He steadily found himself more interested in jazz, which led to early experimentations with Afro-Peruvian rhythms. Determined to explore his burgeoning passion, Alegria left the Philharmonic and recruited drummer Hugo Alcázar to form a group. The two musicians found Freddy “Huevito” Lobatón and Laurandrea Leguia, giving them the core of their new Afro-Peruvian Jazz group. The musicians performed together extensively and recorded an early album in 2002, Un Rezo, documenting their first attempts at this new fusion of styles. As they refined their concept, Alegria and his group gathered more momentum, eventually leading them towards the 2007 recording Nuevo Mundo. As the group stepped out into a larger scene, they presented a solid concept that stood apart from the standard Latin Jazz repertoire as new and exciting.
Alegria’s persistent dedication to the blend of jazz and Afro-Peruvian rhythms paid off, evolving into an organic art form with authentic connections to these two genres. In the first piece of our conversation with Alegria, we discussed his early musical development, his first steps into jazz, and the essence of Afro-Peruvian Jazz. As we delve into the second piece of our three part interview, we look at some of the intricacies of Afro-Peruvian Jazz, it’s relationship to the greater Latin Jazz world, and the jazz scene in Peru.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: When you deal with other forms of Latin Jazz, like Afro-Cuban styles, there’s the very technical aspect of arranging around the clave. Are there those same type of technical elements that go into an Afro-Peruvian arrangement or composition?
GABRIEL ALEGRIA: As opposed to Cuban music and certainly Brazilian music, we don’t have a clave; that doesn’t exist in Afro-Peruvian music. A better way to understand it is to compare it to the swing rhythm used in the ride cymbal in jazz music. If you had to say there was a clave in jazz music, you would say it’s that pattern on the ride cymbal. That pattern is the clave, but whoever is playing it interprets it and changes it around all the time. That’s more where the Afro-Peruvian rhythms lie. If you have a lando pattern, it’s going to be the inspiration for the whole thing and everything’s going to revolve around that pattern, but it’s not going to be a strict thing where everything’s going to have to line up like in Cuban music. So each of these patterns, whether it’s lando, festejo, or whichever rhythm that we’re playing, it’s being used in the way that you would use a ride pattern in jazz. It would just be the thing that kind of gives the aura. Everybody plays on and off of these rhythms, but never just strictly keeping the time.
That’s what makes Afro-Peruvian music different than Afro-Cuban or Brazilian music . . . radically different. When you hear what they call “Latin Jazz” – hopefully at some point I’m going to be able to make a case for changing that term – what they call “Latin Jazz” is usually Afro-Cuban music or Brazilian music. People say Latin Jazz, but what they don’t really realize is that what they’re actually listening to is Afro-Cuban Jazz and Brazilian Jazz. Those sounds are layering. You have the different instruments that are all playing patterns and then on top is a soloist that’s improvising. That’s where the jazz part comes in; the soloist is kind of riding on top of all these set rhythmic patterns. So it’s very charged and it’s very powerful. Whereas in our music, all of these patterns are being toyed with the whole time by all the musicians and interaction. The soloist is playing, but everybody is sort of changing up these patterns based upon what the soloist plays. In that way, it’s a more direct relation to the jazz tradition. We use the same kind of listening and reacting that you would have in the jazz tradition in Afro-Peruvian Jazz. The people that inspired us weren’t really dealing with this. They were dealing with a stage of playing folk music with these more contemporary instruments and this other thing. In that sense, we’re the first band that’s put together this sound, but definitely not in any kind of a vacuum.
LJC: You said something really interesting about making a case for changing the term “Latin Jazz.” What’s your thought on that?
GA: Well, if you go to a jam session, get upon the bandstand and say, “Let’s play a blues, would you kindly play this in American jazz style.” People would just give you a funny look and say, “Well, what do you mean? American jazz style? Do want a straight-ahead thing? Do you want bebop speed? Do you want slow swing? Do you want fast swing? Do you want a backbeat groove? Do you want an ECM feel? What do you want? What do you mean American jazz feel?” That’s actually kind of the equivalent to when people get up on stage and say, “Yea, let’s just play a Latin thing.” And then you’re thinking, “Well, O.K. . . .” And everybody knows what that is interestingly. So it’s not a problem in and of itself; it’s not an issue because everyone does understand what that means. And what that does mean is we’re going to play either straight eighth notes or we’re going to play in an Afro-Cuban style. Sometimes people say, play an Afro-Cuban thing – that means 12/8. So it’s gotten to be where they say Afro-Cuban or they say Latin. When they say Latin, they just mean play straight eighth notes and the bass will either kind of do a tumbao or something like that. So there’s been this creation of this term that also has created a sound.
When we go around to the different schools and do workshops, they’ll have these charts. On the chart that they’re playing with their big band, it says, “Latin” as a descriptor of how they’re supposed to play. So of course, it makes you wonder, “Well, what would they do if it said, American Jazz? Or just American?” What would you do? So in the same way that American gets divided into easy swing, medium swing, fast swing, slow swing, all of that stuff, Latin American Jazz has the same issue. Latin American Jazz should just be what it is, which is Latin American Jazz and each groove has its name. So people should get up and say, “Alright, I want to do a 12/8 Afro-Cuban groove on this” or “I want to do a 12/8 Afro-Peruvian groove on this.” “I want to do a festejo.” I want to do a lando.” “I want to do a bomba.” “I want to do a bolero.” That’s what we should work towards, rather than just kind calling it Latin and then expecting people to know what to do. That gets really difficult.
I would say that’s its all Latin American Jazz, I would say that it’s not necessary Latin Jazz. Then of course, if you’re sensitive about geography, then maybe Latin American doesn’t work because it’s actually Caribbean. So it’s tricky. It’s been tricky for us to accept that we’re going to be filed under Latin Jazz, which is kind of what happens. That’s fine too, because we are, but we’re part of that whole evolution. I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing, but maybe what’s important is that for people to understand that it’s kind of an umbrella term – it isn’t a groove, it isn’t a style, it’s just an umbrella term. And then we’re O.K. – if we understand that a song might be in one of the various styles of Latin Jazz, then that’s fine. For people to think of it as a style, I think it’s kind of a problem . . . because it isn’t, it really isn’t. It would be the same as saying “Play this in American jazz style.” It would sort of confuse you.
LJC: You mentioned the album that you recorded earlier that I’ve never actually heard – Un Rezo. What was that?
GA: That was something that we did in 2002. It has the first experiments with this kind of stuff. It also has some material that is not in that style, which is kind of why I’ve let it disappear. Although Un Rezo definitely is of some interest, I haven’t reprinted it because I think the story really starts with Nuevo Mundo. Actually, on the Kickstarter site, one of our rewards is a couple of tracks from that album, which have the first lando that we were doing. It’s got one of Laurandrea’s tunes and one of my tunes. So there’s stuff where we experimented for the first time and recorded it. It’s there, but it’s still the beginning stages of it; the language isn’t as clear as it is with Nuevo Mundo. I let it just kind of sit, because I didn’t want to confuse people. Maybe once we have twenty albums, we can say, “This was the first one!” And then everyone will be like, “Oh! Of course!” Right now, I’d be afraid that it would start to go and confuse people in terms of how we’re trying to present the style. It’s a nice record, but I think it just has too many tunes that aren’t in any kind of zone.
LJC: So that had the core of the four people that you mentioned started the band?
GA: Well actually, no. The 2002 release was just the three of us – it was Hugo, Laurandrea, and myself. It had a different cajon player and a different bass player. Jorge Reyes is actually on that album; he’s getting to be really well known now. And there’s a pianist – at the time I was still using a piano, which I don’t use anymore. It had all these other colors and things going on there. We are going to have a couple of those tracks available with the Kickstarter thing. Then the new albums are the ones that kind of represent what we’re trying to do.
LJC: Was that album done in Peru?
GA: Yes, everything was done in Peru on that one.
LJC: What was the jazz scene like at that and how has it grown?
GA: The music scene in general is extremely, extremely eclectic in Peru. Of course, everybody says that about every music scene, but more specifically in Peru, it’s eclectic in each instrumentalist. By virtue of the way the market works down there, any one Peruvian musician needs to really be able to play a variety of styles. There’s not as much specialization as there is here. In New York, musicians really dig into one niche. Whereas in Peru, one gig will be straight-ahead jazz, the next gig will be Afro-Cuban music in some Cuban establishment, the next gig will be guaylas from the mountains of Peru – and it will be the same people playing all these different things. That’s kind of the way that they radio is too. People think in Los Angeles or New York or whatever there’s a lot of variety, but it’s really nothing compare to the extremes that you get when you flip through the dial in Peru. You get these crazy micro-tonal musics from the jungle and then this crazy pentatonic pan flute kind of things, then the Afro-Peruvian things, then rock and pop and salsa, and all the other Caribbean music that gets imported – it’s just crazy. Meanwhile, the musicians are learning all this stuff to be able to have work. So that’s kind of where all the musicians are coming from. It makes them very, very versatile. One of the things Alex Acuña always says it that, you know, he can just sing them a rhythm and they pick it right up. Whereas, when he’s working in Los Angeles in the studios, it sometimes takes forever to explain to somebody what he wants, because they don’t have any flexibility to just kind of adapt. There’s pros and cons to that, but I would just kind of say that the scene is very eclectic. So a jazz club isn’t really a jazz club, a pop club is not really a pop club. They’re always going to have these other things just popping in and out of their programs. It’s an exciting thing. It’s a really rich thing. If you’re ever there, you go out in a week and you’ll just be stretched to these outer limits of your listening, just in the city of Lima. Let alone if you go out into the mountains or the jungle or something. That’s kind of how it is.
LJC: That’s really interesting, because here in the States, there’s a lot of that specialization. Very traditional jazz musicians like Wynton Marsalis are very down on certain elements of jazz, but it sounds like that doesn’t exist there. So what does jazz look like with so much cross-pollinating?
GA: The upside is that there is this open-minded thing where anything goes and it can be very, very creative. The down side is that . . . there’s something to be said for all the great work that Wynton Marsalis does. He really digs in to preserve a certain kind of sound for the benefit of everybody. If somebody doesn’t do that then that sound sort of can dissipate or get lost to lack of hipness. So Wynton has done a really good job in preserving that very strong tradition and that’s important. Whereas in a scene like Lima, jazz becomes this very generic term, almost how I’m complaining about the Latin thing. You talk to a musician in Peru and he may say, “Play this in jazz.” That may be something that a musician that knows what he’s doing may actually say, just because they don’t have a clear understanding of what jazz even means. I did a gig with a really great rock band, and it was like that. They were like, “Can you play this more jazz?” I had no idea exactly what they meant, but they were trying to get at something. They didn’t have the language to say something like, “Can you swing the eighth notes?” or something that somebody here would definitely be able to say.
So that’s kind of the downside – there’s not as much knowledge about the basics, which is also a problem with the people working on Afro-Peruvian Jazz music in Peru. They don’t have quite enough of the jazz background. Sometimes what they do ends up sounding more like a glorified world music type of thing, which is again, great, and it has it’s place. The idea that you’re doing Afro-Peruvian Jazz, I think should involve a knowledge of this tradition of jazz as well as a knowledge of Peruvian music. Musicians use elements that are actually really competents in those areas, so that the result is a very balanced hybrid and not some kind of random hodge-podge of things. It’s like cooking, you know? You have these ingredients and you can’t just throw them in the pot. The best chef really puts the right amount of each thing and it’s a perfect balance. So you’re Ceviche has to have the exact right amount of lemon, and the fish has to be fresh, and the peppers have to be just so, and the cilantro not so much because then it gets the juice too green . . . that’s exactly what this music is like and if people don’t realize that, then sometimes the result is not where it needs to be.
The biggest question we get is “How do you get the sound?” Unfortunately, the answer is, “Well, you have Huevito Lobatón, who’s lived the tradition of Afro-Peruvian music, and you have us, who have done all the possible studying we can, and we keep doing it, to understand how jazz music works, and we all come together.” It’s a commitment – it’s a really, really big commitment. So that’s where it is.
———- Support The Release Of Pucusana!
Gabriel Alegria And The Afro-Peruvian Sextet will be releasing their latest recording, Pucusana in August of 2010, but they need your support to send this album out into the world in a big way. The group will be utilizing a fantastic fundraising site, Kickstarter, to build support for the promotion, release, and distribution of the recording. The process works much like a public radio fund drive – the group has 90 days to raise their goal of $9,000 and they need your support. Along the way, there’s some great rewards for donating and a chance to become part of the Afro-Peruvian Sextet’s family. This is a great way to help push Afro-Peruvian Jazz out into the public eye, so head on over to the group’s Kickstarter site, get the full details, and donate today!
Musicians regularly experience flashes of inspiration in their daily lives, that’s simply the reality of a creative life. Anything can spark a new idea or musical interest – a passing comment from a friend, a song on the radio, a bell, a whistle, or a sound in their community – when any of these sounds passes through a musician’s filter, they may trigger a creative surge. One thing leads to another and before they know it, that musician has an idea that can potentially send them in a new direction. At that point, true artistry can occur; the musician can take the idea and nurture it into a full-blown concept that drives a musical exploration. That process actually takes some skill and experience though; many musicians simply let these inspirational ideas float past them without further development. The ability to grab inspiration and run with it sits in the realm of the truly dedicated musician, and the long-term development of those ideas requires an experienced musical mind. The distance between inspiration and a fully developed concept may equate to months or even years; in some cases the realization of a concept may take a lifetime. Regardless of the path, the trip from inspiration to artistic execution requires a dedicated mind and an insightful musical persistence.
Trumpet player Gabriel Alegria saw flashes of inspiration all around him during his younger years, building the skills that would allow him to turn those sparks into reality. His family valued creativity on a large scale, encouraging Alegria to find his voice as an artist. In fact, major acts of artistic creation were a family tradition; Gabriel’s grandfather Ciro Alegria was one of Peru’s great novelists and his father Alonso Alegria was an important Peruvian playwright. Among all this creative energy, Alegria’s family encouraged him to explore music, which led him to the trumpet. The young musician experienced a greater worldview of the artistic process, traveling between Peru and the United States. School music programs expanded his musical perspective and encouraged him to dedicate himself even more fully to performance. By the time Alegria graduated from high school, he was completely immersed in music, leading him to the Conservatory in Peru for collegiate studies. He graduated a complete musician, finding steady employment in the Lima Philharmonic and side work in the city’s active music scene. Jazz sat at the core of Alegria’s musical interests though, and after five years in the symphony, Alegria left to find his own voice as a jazz musician. Once he started experimenting with mixtures of jazz and Afro-Peruvian music, his inspiration grew into a full-blown concept, guiding him towards his current work.
Building upon those initial sparks of inspiration, Alegria now stands as a leader in Afro-Peruvian Jazz, blazing trails into a new and exciting genre. His Afro-Peruvian Sextet has just finished an engaging new release, Pucusana, and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund the album’s independent release. In the first piece of our three-part interview with Alegria, we discuss his early musical development, his path towards a jazz focus, and the essence of Afro-Peruvian Jazz.
LATIN JAZZ CORNER: You grew up in an artistic family, how did that develop your appreciation for the arts and music?
GABRIEL ALEGRIA: Even though there weren’t any professional musicians in the family, I think the main thing was that there was this understanding that everybody needed to play an instrument – it was kind of an unwritten rule. So as we were growing up, my Dad would always say, “Well, what instrument are you going to play?” It was always an issue when I was really small. He’d take us to shows and we’d see things. Ultimately, I decided to play the trumpet. Once you get involved in music, you realize that you’re doing it in all your spare time so it would be really cool to get paid for it. You’re doing it all the time anyways, so why not try to get paid for it? That’s sort of how it all started. Then, of course, since everybody in the family is kind of artistic, they didn’t have any problem with that. I guess that environment pushes you in a certain way.
LJC: When did you jump into the trumpet and what music were you listening to at the time?
GA: When you’re 11 or 12 years old, at least in my case, you’re not listening like you do when you’re a little bit older. In the house, there was a lot of classical music, because my father is really into classical music. Outside, there was a lot of Eva Ayllon, and all these other musical people that I grew up knowing about and listening to. That’s kind of the combination. Jazz popped in there through teachers at school that made us play that music. At first, I didn’t even know what it was, it was sort of like, “Join the jazz band, it’s the cool thing to do versus the other band!” Now that I’m older and I see little kids playing, I realize the value system that they’re dealing with as they learn music is just completely different than actually being a dedicated musician. You’re just sort of playing songs that somebody is teaching you, and it’s for fun. At first, its just like a game, and then at some point you realize that you have to practice. That changes everything, because then you’re like, “O.K., I’ve got to get some lessons.”
My father was a playwright, and he had a job at a university in the United States. So I was there for a little bit and I had my first lessons. At that point, I actually had private lessons in the States in Ohio. There was some higher level playing, and I really liked the jazz band at that point – it was my favorite thing. Then I started to buy albums. Once you started to buy albums, then you get more of a personal stake in it all. Definitely the Miles electric albums were the first things that I got into, because they were out then (during the eighties). There were some of these Miles electric albums that I really thought were cool. From there, you start to discover that he wasn’t always electric, and then you discover other musicians, and it just kind of evolves from there.
LJC: So you were back and forth between the States and Peru in your younger days?
GA: Yes, that was how I lost my accent! There was some back and forth there. I came to New York when I was a kid for the first time. My Dad took me on a trip where he was meeting with a composer that was writing the music for a musical that he was writing. So I got to see people working in New York and that was really interesting. Then I went back to Peru and studied in the conservatory. People get really serious there. I was doing a lot of classical trumpet and stuff like that. I actually played in the symphony for five years – after college, I got a job in the Lima Philharmonic. It was a really good job. I was doing that, and then I realized that I didn’t want to play in the symphony. That’s about the time that we started to mess around with all these rhythms – the Afro-Peruvian grooves. That’s fifteen years ago now; it’s been a while. That’s when we first started to mess around with these things and get some recordings together. Those were the first steps towards what we’re doing now.
LJC: When you were down in Peru playing in the symphony, what was the music scene like at the time – were you doing other things as well?
GA: Yea, I was always doing the other things. I was always going out at night and playing with jazz bands and rock bands – different things that were not related to the symphonic world. Ultimately, I was much more comfortable in that scene than I was in the classical world. At one point, I decided that I really needed to do my own thing. So I did that first album which is now kind of out of print and disappeared. Then I decided to take a group on the road to create a band around some of the sounds that I was imagining. I called up Hugo (Alcázar), the drummer in the band – we had been playing since we were kids. I said, “Here’s what I want to do, do you have somebody that can handle this kind of percussion?” I kind of described it to him – I needed some dancing and I needed these various things. He recommended that we reach out to Huevito (Freddy Lobatón). Unbeknownst to us, he’s a very, very difficult cat to find. It took like a month to just find where he was. He didn’t have a cell phone, no e-mail, nothing like that. We finally tracked him down. He’s such a personality, such great energy, and everything. He really wanted to do it. He had no idea what we were talking about; he was just strictly an Afro-Peruvian musician with a sensibility for all kinds of things. He’d never done anything outside of the tradition. But he was super open minded, so he was like, “Yea, Yea, let’s do it!” It’s been like a family ever since. Laurandrea, the saxophonist, was in the band from the beginning, as well as Hugo, Huevito, and myself – the four of us have been together for about five years, going on six. We’ve been through a couple of different bass players and a couple of different guitar players. Yuri’s been with us now for about three years, so he’s pretty much part of the family. It’s been kind of a special and unique thing that evolved.
Involving the fans so much has been great. First, there was the Tour Peru project, where we invite all the fans to come to Peru with us. That kind of took off, so we’re now going to go on the forth one. Having the fans and the friends of the band so involved has made us realize that this really is a different time period. We were kind of flirting with taking some record label offers and this and that, but then, it just didn’t feel like it’s the right time to do that. It feels like it’s the right time to do this other thing. Everywhere we go when we play shows, people come around, and they really dig what we’re doing. There’s a lot of enthusiasm for more people to know about Afro-Peruvian Jazz music. It’s a new sound. All the jazzers think it’s incredible because they’ve never heard anything like it. The mainstream people sort of think that this is a really easy way to listen to jazz. They find it very appealing and easy to kind of follow – I think more so in the live show than perhaps on the recording. Because of the way the band plays on stage, it’s very much a fun thing, not intimidating. While they’re completely confused sometimes, it’s a confused pleasure! So we’re kind of riding that confused pleasure into the idea of Kickstarter, seeing if we can take it to a whole other participation level from all the people involved.
LJC: It is really interesting how well received the band is and how it’s really taken off. Before your CD, Afro-Peruvian music was a mystery to me and I think a lot of people. When you were initially coming up with this idea of combining the two styles, were there other people doing this – were you inspired by someone else?
GA: Yea, I think so. What’s really important to always point out is that no one ever does just invent something out of a vacuum. Not even Miles – it’s never just out of the blue. When we were growing up, when we were 17 or 18, there was this project called Hijos Del Sol. Los Hijos Del Sol was Alex Acuña’s attempt to get back to Peru and try to involve Afro-Peruvian music in what he was doing. So he got Eva Allyon, Wayne Shorter, and a bunch of different musicians to play through traditional Peruvian tunes that had kind of been arranged in what to our ears now sounds like a pop-world music style. Back then, they were calling it fusion-jazz; different words like that were being thrown around. Regardless of what the sound actually was, the idea was floating around that this instrumental music and Afro-Peruvian music can co-exist. So we were already interested in that. We would go to these shows and they were spectacularly huge shows with twelve or thirteen people in the band, lights . . . they were just these really great shows. Eva Allyon of course, she’s such an inspiration; she always sang with the band. They did all these classic Afro-Peruvian tunes with this other sound.
Now, I think the main thing that happened with us was that we actually started to use functional jazz language. We use actual chord relationships and harmonic movements that are functional to jazz, so they really sound like jazz. Not so much coloring of chords that makes it sound like world music or just something that’s an embellishment of the folk music. In our music, it really does reach into each tradition kind of deeply, and we try to find the connection between jazz music and Afro-Peruvian music; we really try to find those connections. A lot of times, the connections aren’t necessarily just technical, meaning they’re not just rhythms and chords. It’s more like the spirit of a certain song. Certain songs work well on certain grooves and certain American songs work well with certain Afro-Peruvian grooves. But it’s not just a blank formula where you can take any tune, put it on any Afro-Peruvian groove and it will work. I’m not sure why – we haven’t really sorted it out. It would be great to have a formula.
What we’ve noticed is that there’s certain sounds that may come from the spirit of the music or where the original song was from. When we do these arrangements, like “Summertime” or these things that people really dig, there seems to be a real connection between the lando and that particular song. I don’t know if it’s the minor chords or what it is that makes them connect. But you can’t just simply take a Beatles song, put it on a festejo, and expect it to work. I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of that going on in this whole movement. With other artists, I’ve noticed that some folks have jumped on this idea. They even sometimes send me demos; people from around, they’re like, “Hey, I’m working on this.” I listen to it, and I think, “Why doesn’t this work?” They’re doing the rhythms, and they’re doing the grooves . . but I think there’s a spiritual thing with certain sounds. So when we compose original music, there’s also that concern to keep it balanced so that each of the traditions is respected and you can actually enjoy it. You can laugh, listen to it, and follow the solos; just really tell the story of this mix of music.
———- Support The Release Of Pucusana!
Gabriel Alegria And The Afro-Peruvian Sextet will be releasing their latest recording, Pucusana in August of 2010, but they need your support to send this album out into the world in a big way. The group will be utilizing a fantastic fundraising site, Kickstarter, to build support for the promotion, release, and distribution of the recording. The process works much like a public radio fund drive – the group has 90 days to raise their goal of $9,000 and they need your support. Along the way, there’s some great rewards for donating and a chance to become part of the Afro-Peruvian Sextet’s family. This is a great way to help push Afro-Peruvian Jazz out into the public eye, so head on over to the group’s Kickstarter site, get the full details, and donate today!
———-
Make sure that you check back tomorrow for Part Two of our conversation with Afro-Peruvian Jazz pioneer Gabriel Alegria. We talk to Alegria about the Afro-Peruvian Sextet’s early musical explorations, the jazz scene in Peru, and the group’s 2007 recording Nuevo Mundo. Don’t miss it!
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
All About Jazz published a nice feature on flautist Andrea Brachfeld this past week, taking a look back at this fine musician’s recorded career. The article goes back and does mini reviews of each album that Brachfeld has released as a leader, combined with small tidbits of historical facts. It’s a good article on an artist that deserves a lot more attention, so nice to see. You can check it out HERE.
Pianist Arturo O’Farrill will receive the 2010 Anthony D. Duke Founder’s Medal for his hard work and contributions to the continued livelihood of Latin Jazz. The medal is presented to individuals “who follow in the tradition of Boys & Girls Harbor’s remarkable founder Anthony “Tony” Drexel Duke by advocating and working to advance the American dream of equal access to quality education cultural enrichment and opportunity for all” – sounds like O’Farrill. The pianist and bandleader that works tirelessly to promote this art form will receive this honor at a ceremony in June – get the full scoop HERE.
Trumpet player Gabriel Alegria and his Afro-Peruvian Jazz Sextet will be releasing Pucusana independently and they are currently fronting a fund raising drive to support the promotion and distribution of the album. The group will be utilizing a unique fundraising site, Kickstarter, as the home base for their efforts. You can head over and donate as little as $10 to their cause – or as much as you’d like. Each level of contribution comes with an attached reward, ranging from unreleased recordings to a personal concert from the sextet. It’s a great way to support the growth of Afro-Peruvian Jazz, so head over to Alegria’s Kickstarter site and donate now!
Those of you in the New York area have an opportunity to catch Latin Jazz harpist Edmar Castaneda in concert at Lincoln Center April 29th – May 1st. The innovative musician and his trio will be opening for the Yellowjackets and Mike Stern in what promises to be an unforgettable evening. Latin Jazz Corner readers get a special deal that will get you into the concert at a discounted price. Just head over to the Lincoln Center website to purchase tickets and enter the special discount code “GUITAR” – this will get you $20 tickets! That’s a great price, you can’t miss this one. Buy tickets HERE.
Thanks to Bobby Sanabria for clarifying some information about Candido Camero for me in relation to this past week’s article. The important conguero arrived in the States in 1946, much earlier than the 1952 date that I attributed in the article. He also gave me some great info about Camero’s contributions to the art form that I’ll be sharing later in the week. I’m once again reminded, we are so lucky to have Sanabria as a major supporter of Latin Jazz!
4/28: Bandleader Mario Bauza, 1911
4/28: Vocalist Ithamara Koorax, 1965
4/29: Percussionist Ray Barretto, 1929
4/29: Flautist Dave Valentin, 1952
4/29: Bassist Nicky Orta, 1964
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LIVE LATIN JAZZ
If you’re in SOUTH AMERICA this week . . . MANANTE WHEN: Tuesday 4/27/10 WHERE:Jazz Zone
Av. La Paz 656 Pasaje El Suche Miraflores
Miraflores, Lima, Peru TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: 20 soles
PABLO ZIEGLER WHEN: Thursday 4/29/10 WHERE:Teatro Roberto Arias Pérez de Colsubsidio
Calle 26 # 25-40
Bogotá, Colombia TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: 55 mil pesos – 100 mil pesos
If you’re in EUROPE this week . . . HENDRIK MUERKENS WHEN: Tuesday 4/27/10 WHERE:Jazzkeller Frankfurt
Kleine Bockenheimerstr. 18a
Frankfurt, Germany TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: 15 euros
WHEN: Wednesday 4/28/10 WHERE:Zikkurat
An der Zikkurat 4
Mechernich, Germany
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . ARTURO O’FARRILL
Solo Piano WHEN: Wednesday 4/28/10 WHERE:Puppet’s Jazz Bar
481 5th Avenue Park Slope
Brooklyn, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
BOBBY SANABRIA
Ascensión WHEN: Wednesday 4/21/10 WHERE:Fonda Boricua Lounge
172 East 106th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 5/2/10 WHERE:Birdland
315 W. 44th Street
Manhattan, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30
CHRIS WASHBURNE & S.Y.O.T.O.S. WHEN: Sunday 5/2/10 WHERE:Smoke
2751 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20 minimum
CHRISTELLE DURANDY WHEN: Saturday 4/25/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
CURTIS BROTHERS
Opening For Samuel Torres Group WHEN: Wednesday 4/28/10 WHERE:DROM
85 Avenue A
New York, NY TIME: 6:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
DAVE VALENTIN WHEN: Friday 4/30/10 – Saturday 5/1/10 WHERE:Fonda Boricua Lounge
172 East 106th Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
DUDUKA DA FONSECA & HELIO ALVES SAMBA JAZZ WHEN: Tuesday 4/27/10 – Sunday 5/2/10 WHERE:Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola
33 West 60th Street
New York, NY TIME: Tues.: 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m.; Wed. – Thurs. & Sun.: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m.; Fri. & Sat.: 7:30 p.m., 9:30 p.m., & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $30 – $35
EDDIE PALMIERI WHEN: Saturday 5/1/10 WHERE:Rialto Center for the Arts
80 Forsyth Street
Atlanta, GA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $36 – $62
EDMAR CASTANEDA WHEN: Thursday 4/29/10 – Saturday 5/1/10 WHERE:Rose Theater – Lincoln Center
Broadway at 60th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30 – $120
EMILIO TEUBEL & LA BALTEUBAND WHEN: Friday 4/30/10 WHERE:BAM Cafe
30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
ERIC KURIMSKI WHEN: Thursday 4/29/10 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane St
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
GABRIEL ALEGRIA WHEN: Saturday 5/1/10 WHERE:The Theater At Raritan Valley College
118 Lamington Road
Branchburg, NJ TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $23 – $28
WHEN: Sunday 5/2/10 WHERE:Allentown Symphony Hall
23 North 6th Street
Allentown, PA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20; $35 with reception
LOS AMÉRICAS WHEN: Friday 4/30/10 WHERE:Wayland High School
264 Old Connecticut Way
Wayland, MA TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
MARIA CANGIANO WHEN: Thursday 4/29/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
NEGRONI’S TRIO WHEN: Friday 4/30/10 WHERE:MOCA
770 NE 125th Street
North Miami, FL TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE with museum admission – $5
PAQUITO D’RIVERA WHEN: Thursday 4/29/10 – Sunday 5/2/10 WHERE:Jazz Standard
116 East 27th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $30
SAMUEL TORRES
CD Release Celebration For Yaounde WHEN: Wednesday 4/28/10 WHERE:DROM
85 Avenue A
New York, NY TIME: 6:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
STEVE KROON SEXTET WHEN: Saturday 5/1/10 WHERE:St. Albans Congregation Church
172-17 Linden Boulevard
St. Albans, NY TIME: 5:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
VENISSA SANTÍ WHEN: Saturday 5/1/10 WHERE:Perelman Theater – Kimmel Center
300 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $32 – $38
WILLIE MARTINEZ WHEN: Thursday 4/29/10 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 . . . ALFREDO RODRIGUEZ
Irving Gilmore Keyboard Festival WHEN: Friday 4/30/10 WHERE:Kellogg Foundation Headquarters
One Michigan Avenue East
Battle Creek, MI TIME: 12:00 p.m. TICKETS: $12
Irving Gilmore Keyboard Festival WHEN: Saturday 5/1/10 WHERE:Kalamazoo Civic Center
329 S. Park Street
Kalamazoo, MI TIME: 12:00 p.m. TICKETS: $12
CHICAGO AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Friday 4/30/10 WHERE:Green Dolphin Street
2200 N Ashland
Chicago, IL TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
CRAIG RUSSO LATIN JAZZ PROJECT WHEN: Friday 4/30/10 WHERE:Robbie’s
4 South Old State Capitol Plaza
Springfield, IL TIME: 5:30 p.m.
DARWIN NOGUERA EVOLUTION QUARTET WHEN: Tuesday 4/27/10 WHERE:Andy’s Jazz Club
11 E. Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
LOS GATOS WHEN: Wednesday 4/28/10 WHERE:Live At PJ’s
102 S 1st St
Ann Arbor, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 9:15 p.m. TICKETS: $7
PAULINHO GARCIA
Two For Brazil WHEN: Wednesday 4/28/10 WHERE:Jazz Showcase
806 S. Plymouth Court
Chicago IL TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
PONCHO SANCHEZ WHEN: Sunday 5/2/10 WHERE:Lincoln Theater
55 East State Street
Columbus, OH TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $29 – $34
TUMBAO BRAVO WHEN: Sunday 5/2/10 WHERE:Sangria’s
401 South Lafayette Avenue
Royal Oak, MI TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $5
If you’re on the WEST COAST this week . . . ANNA ESTRADA WHEN: Tuesday 4/27/10 WHERE:Zingari
501 Post Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 7:30 p.m.
GABRIEL ALEGRIA WHEN: Monday 4/26/10 WHERE:Mt. Hood Community College Theater
26000 SE Stark
Gresham, OR TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10 in advance, $12 at the door
RAY OBIEDO AND THE URBAN LATIN JAZZ PROJECT WHEN: Sunday 5/2/10 WHERE:CODA Supper Club
1710 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
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De La Habana A Nueva York Bobby Carcassés
Vero Records
The connection between an experienced mentor and a young learner represents one of the most important and interesting relationships in the jazz world. Older musicians always share their experience and wisdom with younger artists, helping them reach their full potential. Some musicians communicate their insights openly while others simply teach by example, but at some point, each long term musician mentors a younger person. This connection helps younger musicians learn vital performance skills, but it also keeps tradition alive. It serves as the only authentic way to pass the nuances of a tradition onto the next generation; human contact provides so much more than recordings, books, or web sites. The younger musicians soak in the mentor’s influence, building their artistic identity upon the older artist’s shoulder. They eventually need to stake their claim elsewhere, incorporate other ideas, and construct their own artistic identity. They always maintain that emotional and intellectual link to their mentors though, constantly calling upon those lessons from their early years. As the younger generation becomes mentors in their own right, pieces of those lessons become fodder for the next group of upcoming musicians. There’s an unbreakable bond between mentor and learner that creates an inspired love for music; when mentor and learner play together that passion rises to the forefront. Vocalist and trumpet player Bobby Carcassés shared his wealth of experience with generations of young musicians in Cuba, and now years later, he brings a group of those artists together on De La Habana A Nueva York for an unforgettable collection of Latin Jazz.
A Masterful Compositional Approach
Carcassés contributes several original pieces to the group, sharing some insightful compositional skills. Drummer Dafnis Prieto and percussionist Marvin Diz establish a calmly smoldering rumba that builds into an aggressive mambo from saxophonist Yosvany Terry on “Blues Guaguanco,” transitioning into a strong lyric from Carcassés. Terry leaps into his improvisation with a focused intensity, cutting loose into wildly squelching notes, followed by an equally impassioned statement from pianist Osmany Paredes. Bassist Yunior Terry mixes solid thematic development with a percussive edge on his solo, and after a quick return to the melody, Carcassés flexes his improvisational muscles through a series of pregones and a percussive scat solo. Carcassés stretches vocally over rich open flourishes from Paredes on “Blues Para Chano” until a frantic 6/8 groove sets the stage for an exciting melody. Prieto falls into a medium tempo swing behind Carcassés’ flugelhorn solo, building momentum through Paredes’ classy improvisation with transitions between rhythmic styles. Yosvany Terry rides through the rhythm section’s unstoppable inertia with an aggressive energy, leading into an engaging scat solo from Carcassés and an attention grabbing drum feature for Prieto. Paredes gently improvises over a calm bolero on “Veronica,” leading into a tender vocal reading from Carcassés, who expressively follows the melody throughout his complete range. Carcassés smoothly moves onto flugelhorn for a lyrical and reflective statement that winds through the chords with grace and style. Paredes complements a series of beautiful melodic lines with bluesy embellishments before pushing the band into a medium cha cha cha beneath Carcassés’ scat solo. Paredes explodes into a timbafied montuno, establishing an exciting momentum on “De La Habana A Nueva York” as Carcassés sings through a jazz fueled melody. The leader jumps right into an impressive scat solo, spinning bebop lines through the changes, until Yosvany Terry and Paredes both contribute equally gripping solos. After a return to the lyric, Paredes kicks the song into high gear with a timba feel, laying the foundation for fiery pregones, a propulsive mambo, a scatted drum solo, and a rousing conclusion. Carcassés’ demonstrates a masterful compositional approach with these pieces, filling the group with inspiration and dedication.
Drawing Upon Classic Cuban Songs
The group interprets some classic songs from Cuban music, drawing upon the musicians’ common cultural background. Yosvany Terry and flautist Andrea Brachfeld wrap a twisting melodic line through a driving cha cha cha groove on “Babalu,” setting the stage for a lively vocal from Carcassés, filled with expressive nuances. Paredes charges into an upbeat montuno underneath a repeated coro, providing a propulsive groove while Carcassés flies through several pregones. A ferocious mambo gives way to an assertive statement from Brachfeld, whose dual sense of melodic ingenuity and clave phrasing send the band flying into improvisations from Carcassés and Yosvany Terry. Paredes thoughtfully constructs an unaccompanied introduction with a modern flair on “No Seras De Mi” before providing sensitive support behind Carcassés. The two musicians work around each other telepathically, giving each other a balance of space and support that makes the performance flow with a sparkling vitality. Yosvany Terry displays an insightfully lyrical improvisational sense on soprano saxophone, filling his breathy tone with an understated elegance. These pieces connect the group with their common background, allowing them to construct personally charged performances.
Cutting Loose With Jazz Standards
Carcassés includes several jazz standards into the repertoire, giving the group an opportunity to cut loose. The rhythm section explodes into an uptempo swing behind Yosvany Terry’s introduction on “Sometimes I’m Happy,” assertively switching between son montuno and swing behind Carcassés’ vocal. As the rhythm section continues it’s frenetic feel changes, the singer scorches through a ferocious scat solo that ingeniously combines the chromatic complexities of bebop with the rhythmic precision of Cuban rhythms. Yosvany Terry finds a balance between Charlie Parker and Paquito D’Rivera on an energetic solo, leading into a blazing improvisation from Paredes who sets the keys on fire with an impassioned vigor. Carcassés boldly leaps into an absolute display of vocal mastery on his solo interpretation of “Summertime,” simulating all the instrumental parts with his voice. The vocalist sings through the melody while he keeps the bass line steadily chugging through the cracks, inserting percussive accents into the mix. This builds into a show-stopping performance as Carcassés tears into a staggering scat solo while keeping the rhythm section parts in his vocal, leaving no doubt about the depth of his vocal abilities. Yunior Terry lays down a catchy bass riff, as Prieto sends the group charging a son montuno and Carcassés sings through a Spanish lyric on “Green Dolphin Street.” Both Paredes and Yosvany Terry travel through the changes with a comfortable familiarity, working off the inspired spirit of their bandmates to build memorable statements. The rhythm section shrinks to percussion behind an imaginative improvisation from Yunior Terry, and after a return to the melody, the group escalates into a fierce groove behind Prieto, who delivers a staggering display of musicality. These pieces provide a great context for the group to get creative and enjoy the camaraderie of the musicians.
A Shining Example Of Afro-Cuban Jazz At Its Best
Carcassés reconnects with this group of young Cuban musicians on De La Habana A Nueva York, producing an inspired setting full of creative energy. Carcassés emanates skill and knowledge with every performance, composition, and idea, laying a solid foundation for musical expression. His musical identity leaps out of the album with the force of a steam train, presenting a serious and likable musician that understands his art form with a spellbinding clarity. His scat solos and vocal interpretations expose a long standing connection to bebop, as he fluidly flies through rapidly changing chords and colorful alterations. He stays solidly connected to Cuban traditions as well, calling upon clave structures and traditional conventions with familiarity and ease. At every level, Carcassés offers so much to his listeners and his fellow musicians, his influence as a mentor figure becomes obvious. His group of musicians felt that influence during their developmental years in Cuba; at this point, they all stand as leaders in New York’s Latin Jazz scene, but their connection to Carcassés remains apparent. A combination of musicians like Prieto, Paredes, the Terry brothers, and Diz screams of an upcoming massive musical experience, but they take that expectation one step further here. Every member of the group displays a captivating musical mastery, playing with an intensity, devotion, and passion that stems from their respect for Carcassés. All these pieces come together into a powerful musical experience on De La Habana A Nueva York, as mentor and learner come together to deliver a shining example of Afro-Cuban Jazz at its best.
Birthdays are a significant piece of a person’s life; they give friends, family, and community reason to celebrate and reflect upon an individual’s accomplishments. It’s a great way to honor a person, respecting the fact that their entrance into our lives changed things for the better. When a person has contributed to a larger community, the whole group turns their attention to that person for the day, showing their affection at least once a year. As the individual gets older, these birthdays gain more significance, with each passing year becoming more precious. While this tradition does bring the best of a musical community into the forefront, it sometimes seems a bit of a surface act. We shower our affections onto individuals once a year, while we simply recognize their presence during the other 364 days. Granted, we all have busy lives and throwing a major celebration for every major musician on each day of the year seems a bit over zealous. Still, musicians dedicate their lives to finding deeper meaning through artistic expression – an act that touches us all – we should do our best to celebrate that fact with all our energy. We need to especially recognize our musical elders on a regular basis – the artists have changed the course of the art form many times helped change our lives. As they pass each birthday, their time becomes limited, so they need to hear our appreciation daily. It’s food for thought around birthdays – are we simply celebrating these individuals one day a year or on a regular basis?
Legendary conguero Candido Camero reaches his 89th birthday today, April 22nd, 2010, and there’s a lot to celebrate about this master percussionist. Born in Havana, Candido spent his developmental years diving into a variety of different musical experiences, playing bass and tres before settling upon percussion. He soaked up several different musical influences, from the music of Cuba to the bebop flair of Kenny Clarke and Max Roach. He worked regularly as a musician in Cuba, doing gigs with Machito and Armando Romeu’s Tropicana Orchestra. Camero moved to the States in late 1952, finding regular work and meeting a number of important musicians, including bebop trumpet player Dizzy Gillespie. The iconic trumpeter introduced Camero to pianist Billy Taylor, who hired the conguero instantly. This began a long string of jazz associations for Camero, which led to work with Stan Kenton, Erroll Garner, Charlie Parker, Phil Woods, Gillespie, and more. He began leading his own groups in the mid-fifties, creating some top notch Latin Jazz with serious names from jazz community such as Al Cohn. Over the next several decades, Camero stretched his playing across the jazz and pop worlds, as his artistic flexibility ensuring that he stayed consistently busy. He found further success as a bandleader in the the seventies and eighties with funky tracks such as “Dancin’ and Prancin’” as well as “Jingo.” Camero’s technical innovations on the conga drums influenced a generation of percussionists, and as the conguero moved into the twenty-first century, he was recognized as a leader in the field. In 2000, he joined with Carlos “Patato” Valdes and Giovanni Hidalgo to form a massive percussion ensemble, The Conga Kings. He joined with Graciela Perez Gutierrez to record a classic collection of Cuban songs on the 2004 release Inolvidable. In 2006, film maker Ivan Acosta captured Camero’s contributions to the world of music in an outstanding documentary Candido: Hands of Fire. The NEA named Camero as a Jazz Master in 2008, making a high profile recognition of his importance. The list goes on as Camero continues to perform, spreading the wealth of his knowledge with the world.
In commemoration of Camero’s birthday and in hopes that we can all celebrate this outstanding musician’s contributions on a daily basis, we’re dedicating today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix to Candido Camero. In the first clip, Camero joins pianist Billy Taylor’s trio for a return to their arrangement of “Mambo Inn.” There’s a bit of a blurry homemade quality on the second video, but it features some classic Camero soloing with The Conga Kings. The last snippet places a montage of Camero photos over one of his classic Latin Jazz funk tracks, “Tic Tac Toe.” Take a minute to think about Camero on his birthday and then consider how to celebrate his legacy for the rest of the year – enjoy!
———- Candido Camero Performing “Mambo Inn” With Billy Taylor’s Trio
Candido Camero Stretching Out Over A 6/8 Rhythm With The Conga Kings
A Candido Camero Montage Over One Of His Classic Latin Jazz Funk Tracks “Tic Tac Toe”
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Want to hear more from Candido Camero? Check out these albums: Candido
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Do you have a video to contribute to satisfy our weekly Latin Jazz video fix? If so, send it in – it’s time to feed our addiction. I’m looking for live performances, from any context. I’ll most likely be posting one video per week, but if you’ve got another idea, let’s talk. So come on Latin Jazz videographers, musicians, and fans – let’s share some of our memorable videos! Get my contact info HERE.
The Spotlight Series highlights upcoming Latin Jazz musicians that have yet to reach national recognition. Many of these musicians thrive in local scenes and some tour in support of releases. All these musicians contribute greatly to the overall Latin Jazz scene, and they deserve our “spotlighted” attention.
Straight Shot Ed Fast And Conga-Bop
The words straight-ahead get thrown around a lot in the jazz world, often leaving a lack of clarity to the concept behind the phrase. Many people associate straight-ahead playing with the use of swing rhythms and standard repertoire from the thirties and forties. Jump into a tune like “All The Things You Are” at a medium swing tempo and many people will classify the performance as straight-ahead. In a related sense, this concept of straight-ahead also correlates to an old school approach to the music. For many musicians, a straight-ahead interpretation of jazz sits in the past and lacks the hip nature of modern jazz. Both of these ideas allude to a certain type of music, referencing it without describing it too accurately. A better way to frame the idea of straight-ahead might redirect the words towards an aesthetic approach to performing jazz rather than a stylistic description. In this light, straight-ahead jazz includes a clearly defined link to history and tradition without diving into esoteric musical grey areas. Musicians could play swing, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, or funk rhythms underneath jazz harmonies, but as long as they clearly presented the music in a traditional fashion, they’re still straight-ahead. Following this idea, drummer Ed Fast and his group Conga-Bop delvers some outstanding straight-ahead Latin Jazz on Straight Shot, mixing original compositions and standards into a memorable performance.
Strong Originals That Fuse Hard Bop And Afro-Cuban Rhythms
Fast leads his group through a number of uptempo originals, fusing bluesy hard bop with Afro-Cuban rhythms. The rhythm section establishes a driving rumba guaguanco beneath thick chordal patches from the wind players on “Encarnación,” leading into a menacing minor melody that sets a serious tone. Pianist Zaccai Curtis sends the rhythm section into high gear with a powerful montuno, inspiring saxophonist Chris Herbert into an energetic series of racing improvised lines. Curtis enthusiastically charges into an intelligent statement that plays off the rhythm section before laying down a montuno for an explosive solo from conguero Jorge Fuentes. Bassist Luques Curtis provides a slyly funky bass line before the complete rhythm section jumps into a medium tempo cha cha cha on “Straight Shot,” setting the stage for a laid back blues melody. Trumpet player Joel Gonzalez attacks his improvisation with a combination of bop flavored lines and short staccato notes, while trombone player Steve Davis mixes rhythmic jabs with legato phrases. Guitarist Greg Skaff cleverly mimics Davis and builds upon that initial idea with a blazing display of hard bop virtuosity, creating a masterful statement. Luques Curtis introduces “Once Upon a Time” with a lyrical bass figure over an uptempo son montuno that becomes the basis for an uplifting melody. Herbert moves onto flute for an engaging solo that grows through smart thematic development which transitions into a busy improvisation from Skaff that winds nimbly through the chord changes. After a return to the main melody, bongocero Esteban Arrufatt takes a quick improvisatory flourish, leading into an attention grabbing statement from Fast on timbales, who displays a knowledge of authentic phrasing and technique. The wind players ride through a melody full of short edgy phrases on “Ring Side” that comes alive through sharp chordal stabs from the rhythm section. A bluesy pick-up from Gonzalez leads into a soulful improvisation, followed by a series of interconnected ideas from trombonist James Burton. Zaccai Curtis slides through a quick improvisation with a modern edge, leading into an interesting moña and a blazing solo from Skaff. These pieces strongly display Fast’s composition skills, that show defined personality while paying respects to Afro-Cuban and bop traditions.
Clever Arrangements Of Classic Jazz Tunes
Fast includes arrangements of classic jazz tunes into his repertoire, presenting them with clever arrangements. The rhythm section establishes an assertive 6/8 rhythm with a bluesy swing on Lee Morgan’s “Boy What A Night,” framing the melody with a soulful edge. The rhythm section builds into a scorching heat behind Gonzalez as the trumpet player bounces his improvisation around the rhythmic basis. Davis follows with an impassioned fire, inspiring response from the rhythm section, while Zaccai Curtis tears through a blues fueled statement. The wind players provide gentle rhythmic hits over a bolero on Bill Evans’ “Detour Ahead” while Fast reflectively interprets the melody on vibes. Davis dances through a tender improvisation full of vitality that touches on both the sentimental and lively aspects of the song. The glistening sound of Fast’s vibes sparkle through a brief, but beautifully crafted statement, gracefully leading back into the main melody. These pieces connect Fast and his group with jazz history and finds them working creatively to place that history into an Afro-Cuban context.
Original Compositions From Fast’s Collaborators
Two of Fast’s collaborators contribute original compositions to the group, adding some variety and flair to the set. Zaccai Curtis lays down a catchy montuno with a bluesy dissonance behind a relaxed floating melody from the wind players on Davis’ “Blue Domain.” Herbert tears into his improvisation with an energetic zeal, followed by a thoughtfully soulful statement from Zaccai Curtis, and an engagingly understated solo from Gonzalez. Skaff jumps into a tasteful solo filled with bluesy licks, until Davis builds some momentum with an energetic solo, and Luques Curtis displays a strong percussive approach to melodic development. Legendary Latin Jazz musician Bill Fitch establishes a somberly serious tone on piano on his composition “Cuban Lament,” placing a classically elegant melody over a slow Afro rhythm. Fitch plays upon the melody with bluesy embellishments, playing with an insightfully understated touch that complements the entire setting. Fitch echoes the percussion with a vamp that serves as a foundation for a beautifully structured improvisation from Luques Curtis, leading back into an expressive return to the melody. The addition of more compositional voices add some variety to group’s repertoire, while reinforcing the overall sound of the ensemble.
A Distinct Artistic Identity Built Upon Historical Precedent
Fast and Conga-Bop present a lively set of straight-ahead Latin Jazz on Straight Shot, creating an appealing musical mixture that glistens with jazz class and Afro-Cuban flair. Fast emerges as a compelling band leader throughout the album, delivering memorable compositions, authentic performances, and a defined concept. As a writer, Fast comes from the hard bop school of bluesy melodies, rich chord structures, and marked rhythm section accompaniment. He cleverly combines this ideal with Afro-Cuban rhythms, placing everything clearly around the clave, creating a stylistic coherence that strengthens the music. Fast sits behind the drum kit with a keen eye on supporting the music, always keeping things aligned rhythmically, but never overstepping his role. This type of band leading sets the stage for some dedicated performances from his musicians, who feel the freedom to express themselves within the defined setting. Zaccai Curtis contributes some outstanding solos that leap out of the recording, overflowing with artistic identity. Skaff adds a skilled bop edge to the music with attention grabbing solos, and Luques Curtis consistently provides unwavering support throughout the album. The presence of Bill Fitch links the group to the greater Latin Jazz legacy, bringing his taste and experience into the mix. Fast and Conga-Bop take the best pieces of a straight-ahead Latin Jazz approach and blend them into an enjoyable musical collection on Straight Shot, leaving us with a clear picture of a group with a distinct artistic identity built upon a strong knowledge of historical precedent.
Every April, we celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), a thirty day celebration of the great American art form in all its various shapes and sizes. For the serious jazz lovers in the audience, this seems a bit redundant – we appreciate jazz 365 days a year. The reality can’t be avoided though – those of us with a year long love for jazz are in the minority. Most people have a very small understanding of jazz, if any at all, and JAM creates an opportunity for these people to connect with the jazz world. This awareness of jazz won’t happen overnight though; the uninitiated need some guidance to find their way into this wonderful world that we call jazz. As dedicated jazz fans, we have a responsibility to share jazz with everyone possible. This could be a major thing like taking a group of people to a jazz concert, but it doesn’t have to be such a huge endeavor. We could simply begin with a conversation about our beloved art form, jazz.
That can be a bit of an awkward leap though, so you might need a great conversation starter – what about Tito Puente? JAM occurs every April due to the large amount of jazz birthdays during the month, which includes El Rey. Puente was born 87 years ago today on April 20, 1923, and he spent his life making the world a better place with his music. We all know that Puente’s music is fun, thought provoking, and completely addictive – put on some music for a friend and they’ll become an instant fan. You need to break the ice first though, convincing your friend that Tito Puente is worth the listen. Fortunately, Puente lived a full and absolutely interesting life full of unbelievable tidbits that will peak any interest. I’ve gathered some of these juicy bits of info below to help you get the ball rolling. Lay some of these fun facts on your friends then turn them on to some of the great Puente recordings. You’ll guarantee yourself a great time, ensure the prolonged life of jazz, and introduce your friends to some of the world’s greatest music. Enjoy!
———- 1. Tito Puente Recorded Well Over 100 Albums In fact, he recorded 118 albums – this is no small feat by any standard. Most musicians will be lucky if they record half that number during the course of their career. In order to show just how impressive this is, start by doing the math. Puente died at the age of 77; if he had started recording right after his birth, he still would have needed to record two albums a year for a good chunk of his life in order to reach 118 albums. As brilliant as Puente was, he didn’t start recording until long after he was out of diapers, which means that he had to record two to three albums a year in order to reach that number. Place this in the context of popular culture. How many albums did The Beatles record? 12. How many recordings did the Rolling Stones make? 39. Puente was an amazingly prolific artist with a track record that’s hard to beat.
2. An Animated Version Of Tito Puente Guest Starred On The Simpsons The sixth season finale of The Simpsons finds Springfield Elementary striking oil when Groundskeeper Willie digs into the field. With the school rolling in money, Principal Skinner grants Lisa’s request to hire Tito Puente as the school’s new music teacher. Mister Burns takes advantage of the situation, steals the oil, and leaves the school in shambles. Puente gets laid off, the townspeople all find reasons to hate Mister Burns, and the evil businessman ends up with bullet in his gut, ending the season with an important question – “Who Shot Mister Burns?”
When The Simpsons returned for their seventh season, the police search for the shooter, and Puente stands as a prime suspect. Free from his teaching gig, Puente is on the job with his orquesta when the police come to question him. The iconic bandleader guarantees the police that he didn’t shoot Burns, but rather exacted his revenge in the form of a “slanderous mambo.” Puente and his band charge into “Señor Burns” where Puente insists that he’ll “settle the score on the salsa floor.” With an argument like that, the police can’t disagree, and Puente is freed of all charges. The results as a classic Simpsons episode and an unforgettable Puente moment.
3. Tito Puente Led A Band Of Muppets Through A Scorching Mambo On Sesame Street
Puente was one of the most important figures in Latin music, not only due to his incredible musicianship, but also as a result of his reach into popular culture. He understood the value of connecting with every audience – including the future generation of Puente fans. He found a place in the hearts of the younger audience through this appearance on Sesame Street that pit him directly against Oscar The Grouch. As Puente counts off his group of clave driven Muppets, Oscar immediately protests. It seems that Puente’s music was disrupting Oscar’s Grouchkateer meeting, so he suggests to Puente that “you and your little band go and play somewhere else.” Puente remains upbeat though, insisting that he can get Oscar and his gang dancing. Oscar doesn’t believe it, but who can resist “Ran Kan Kan”? The Muppet band tears through the classic tune while Puente sets his timbales on fire with some fantastic solo work. Before you know it, Oscar’s friends hit the dance floor, and in the end, even Oscar can’t resist moving to the rhythm. It’s a great piece that authentically introduces children to Puente and entertains us all.
4. Tito Puente Was An Honored American Veteran
At the age of 19, Puente was drafted into military service and served three years in the U.S. Navy. Puente saw action during World War II, and just like most things in his life, Puente excelled during his military service. He was discharged with a Presidential Commendation after serving in nine battles. He returned to New York, but the story doesn’t end there. As a result of his military service, the GI Bill funded Puente’s studies at The Juilliard School of Music, where he studied theory, composition, arranging, and more. This undoubtedly helped push Puente to a higher level of musicianship and allowed him to capture that elusive mixture of jazz and Afro-Cuban rhythms that he heard in his head.
5. Tito Puente Has A Star On The Hollywood Walk Of Fame Puente wasn’t just one of the biggest stars in Latin music, he was one of the biggest stars in the world. It only seemed logical that he should be immortalized with some of the most well known names in movies, music, and television on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On August 14, 1990, this became a reality as Puente’s star was unveiled. He sits right between Guy Madison and Jerry Moss at 6811 Hollywood Boulevard. It’s a tribute to Puente’s influence across the country and a cool tourist attraction. Next time that you’re in Tinseltown, check it out.
6. Tito Puente Owned A Restaurant In New York By 1995, Puente was doing very well in his musical career, and his finances allowed him to reach into other business areas. Always one to follow his passions, Puente combined two loves of his life – seafood and Latin Jazz – into a popular restaurant. Located at 64 City Island Ave in the Bronx, the night spot, appropriately named “Tito Puente’s,” paid tribute to the percussionist’s loves with class and wit. It was an upscale restaurant, featuring dishes such as paella, mofongo, and more, where people could spend a few dollars and get a great meal. Music filled the space, both through live performance and environmental touches. The bar didn’t simply use stools for their customers; when you hung out at the bar, you sat on a conga. The wall was a giant mural that featured some of the Latin Jazz greats – as you ate, Puente, Machito, Chano Pozo, and more all stared down at you, reminding you of the living history. During the documentary Calle 54, Puente actually takes viewers on a walk through the restaurant, filling in all the details. It was a great connection to the Puente legacy, and quite popular for a while. These days, the restaurant is under different ownership.
7. Tito Puente Appeared In A Number Of Movies Puente was affiliated with a number of movies throughout his career – in more ways than you might think. His music was used extensively in soundtracks, finding a spot in everything from Along Came Polly to My Super Ex-Girlfriend. He also appeared in several documentaries and concert films, including the exceptional Calle 54 and Roots of Rhythm. The most interesting placements arise when Puente worked as an actor in several movies. Maybe thinking of these roles as acting is a bit of a stretch – Puente basically played a version of himself – but they were fictional roles. He leads a smoking band and rips through a massive timbale solo in the 1992 film The Mambo Kings. He appeared as a bandleader alongside John Candy, Eugene Levy, and Meg Ryan in the 1986 comedy Armed and Dangerous. Puente worked with fellow jazz lover Woody Allen, once again appearing as a band leader in the 1987 film Radio Days. Puente led a diverse career, and movies played a recurring part in his story.
8. Tito Puente’s Timbales Are On Display At The Smithsonian Puente was really one of the great musical figures of the twentieth century, and fortunately, we’ve got some ways to remember him. The National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. keeps Puente on display for all to see . . . well, actually not Puente, but a set of his timbales. Puente performed at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics, and after the gig, he donated his timbales to the museum. In addition to the instrument, Puente signed the heads, one in English and one in Spanish – a clever symbol of the way that he touched both sides of the musical world.
9. Tito Puente Received Awards From City, State, And National Government Organizations
Too many musical legends die before the world recognizes them for all their accomplishments – fortunately this wasn’t the case with Puente. He loved the world, and the world loved Puente. Throughout the course of his career, organizations from all across the country showered Puente with honors. Mayor John Lindsay awarded Puente the key to the City of New York in 1969, due to Puente’s years of dedication to the city’s culture. He received Grammy Awards on four occasions for the albums Homenaje a Beny Moré, On Broadway, Mambo Diablo, and Goza Mi Timbal. The Recording Academy also awarded Puente with a Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 2000. He received the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal in 1990. A few years later in 1997, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. This list is just the beginning; especially in the later years of his life, Puente received many honors. Here at LJC, he was the voted as the first entry into our Latin Jazz Hall of Fame in 2008!
10. There’s A Street Named After Tito Puente In Spanish Harlem On August 20, 2000, three months after Puente’s death, the city of Harlem renamed a piece of East 110th Street as “Tito Puente Way.” The stretch of East 110th Street reaches from 5th Avenue to 1st Avenue and houses the tenement where Puente spent the first ten years of his life. It’s a great tribute to the environment that created Puente, guaranteeing that El Rey’s name will remain a vital piece of the New York community.
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
Trumpet player Gabriel Alegria and his Afro-Peruvian Jazz Sextet have completed their second recording, Pucusana, which will be released into the world in the beginning of August. This album takes the group’s mixture of jazz and Afro-Peruvian rhythms to the next level, and they’re ready to share it with the world . . . on their own terms. Alegria will be releasing Pucusana independently and he’s currently fronting a fund raising drive to support the promotion and distribution of the album. The group will be utilizing a unique fundraising site, Kickstarter, as the home base for their efforts. You can head over and donate as little as $10 to their cause – or as much as you’d like. Each level of contribution comes with an attached reward, ranging from unreleased recordings to a personal concert from the sextet. It’s a great way to support the growth of Afro-Peruvian Jazz, so head over to Alegria’s Kickstarter site and donate now!
This past week, saxophonist Jane Bunnett held a very special event as part of the Ottawa Jazz Festival, bringing together three Cuban piano masters – Guillermo Rubalcaba, Elio Villafranca, and Hilario Duran. The concert encompassed three generations of Cuban piano, all glued together by Bunnett and her band. For those of us not lucky enough to be there, the event was covered in detail by Peter Hum, who gave us three great posts on Bunnett last week over at Jazzblog.ca. The first article introduced Bunnett and her project and gave us some videos of each pianist – check it out HERE. The second piece featured some outtakes of an interview that Hum did with Bunnett, providing her thoughts on some jazz figures – you can read it HERE. The last entry was a review of the concert – get all the details HERE. Thanks for filling us in on a fantastic event Peter!
Those of you in the New York area have an opportunity to catch Latin Jazz harpist Edmar Castaneda in concert at Lincoln Center April 29th – May 1st. The innovative musician and his trio will be opening for the Yellowjackets and Mike Stern in what promises to be an unforgettable evening. Latin Jazz Corner readers get a special deal that will get you into the concert at a discounted price. Just head over to the Lincoln Center website to purchase tickets and enter the special discount code “GUITAR” – this will get you $20 tickets! That’s a great price, you can’t miss this one. Buy tickets HERE.
I made some errors this past week in my article on Graciela and Ella Fitzgerald that I wanted to point out. Graciela’s full name was Graciela Perez Guiterrez, not Perez Grillo; that name belonged to Machito himself. I also provided the incorrect birthplace for Fitzgerald – she was born in Newport News, Virginia not Yonkers, New York. My apologies to everyone for those errors and thanks to the Latin Jazz e-group for keeping me honest!
If you’re in SOUTH AMERICA this week . . . EDWARD PEREZ WHEN: Monday 4/19/10 WHERE:ICPNA de Chiclayo
Chiclayo, Peru TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: 20 soles
If you’re in EUROPE this week . . . BRIAN LYNCH
NYU Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble WHEN: Thursday 4/22/10 WHERE:Club Artelis
Riga, Latvia TIME: 7:00 p.m.
NYU Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE: Sinfonietta
Riga, Latvia TIME: 7:00 p.m.
NYU Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble WHEN: Saturday 4/24/10 WHERE: Cesis Cultural Center
Cesis, Latvia TIME: 6:00 p.m.
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . ADRIANO SANTOS BRAZILIAN JAZZ TRIO WHEN: Wednesday 4/21/10 WHERE:NuBlu
62 Avenue C
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m.
ANDREA BRACHFELD WHEN: Wednesday 4/21/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10, 1 Drink minimum
ANNETTE AGUILAR & STRINGBEANS WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE:The Brick Yard Bistro
16 Division Street
New Rochelle, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
ARTURO O’FARRILL
Solo Piano WHEN: Wednesday 4/21/10 WHERE:Puppet’s Jazz Bar
481 5th Avenue Park Slope
Brooklyn, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
ARTURO STABLE WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE:Small’s
183 West 10th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20
BOBBY SANABRIA
Ascension with Special Guest Candido Camero WHEN: Wednesday 4/21/10 WHERE:Fonda Boricua Lounge
172 East 106th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 4/25/10 WHERE:Birdland
315 W. 44th Street
Manhattan, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. & 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30
CHRIS WASHBURNE & S.Y.O.T.O.S. WHEN: Sunday 4/25/10 WHERE:Smoke
2751 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20 minimum
PEDRO GIRAUDO WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE:Live At The Falcon
1348 9W Marlboro
New York, NY TIME: 7:15 p.m. & 8:45 p.m. TICKETS: SUGGESTED DONATION
PILAR DE LA HOZ WHEN: Thursday 4/22/10 – Sunday 4/25 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
RICHIE VIRUET & THE BLUE CLAVE SEXTET WHEN: Thursday 4/22/10 WHERE:Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe
236 East 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $7
ROBERTO QUINTERO WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE:Fonda Boricua Lounge
172 East 106th Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
If you’re in the MID-EAST this week . . . CHICAGO AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Tuesday 4/20/10 WHERE:Northbrook Junior High School
1475 Maple Street
Northbrook, IL TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
LOS GATOS WHEN: Wednesday 4/21/10 WHERE:Live At PJ’s
102 S 1st St
Ann Arbor, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 9:15 p.m. TICKETS: $7
WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE:Detroit Institute of Arts
5200 Woodward Avenue
Detroit, MI TIME: 7:00 p.m. & 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: FREE with museum admission ($8)
TUMBAO BRAVO WHEN: Sunday 4/25/10 WHERE:Sangria’s
401 South Lafayette Avenue
Royal Oak, MI TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $5
WAYNE WALLACE
Guest Artist With The Merit Latin Jazz Big Band WHEN: Sunday 4/25/10 WHERE:Joy Faith Knapp Music Center- Merit School of Music
38 South Peoria Street
Chicago, IL TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
If you’re in the MID-WEST this week . . . GABRIEL ALEGRIA WHEN: Thursday 4/22/10 WHERE:Outpost Performance Space
210 Yale SE
Albuquerque, NM TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20
WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE:Dazzle Jazz Club
930 Lincoln Street
Denver, CO TIME: 7:00 p.m. & 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20
If you’re on the WEST COAST this week . . . ANNA ESTRADA WHEN: Saturday 4/24/10 WHERE:Caffe Trieste
1667 Market Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m.
COTO PINCHEIRA WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE:Jazz School
2087 Addison Street
Berkeley CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
FRANK CANO WHEN: Saturday 4/24/10 WHERE:Steamer’s
138 W. Commonwealth Avenue
Fullerton, CA TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $8
GABRIEL ALEGRIA WHEN: Sunday 4/25/10 WHERE:Tula’s
2214 Second Avenue
Seattle, WA TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20
JOVINO SANTOS NETO WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE:Egan’s Ballard Jazz House
1707 NW Market Street
Seattle, WA TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $25
w/Claudio Roditi WHEN: Saturday 4/24/10 WHERE:The Nordic Heritage Museum
3014 NW 67th Street
Seattle, WA TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $35
NAGUAL WHEN: Friday 4/23/10 WHERE:Fox And Goose
1001 R Street
Sacramento, CA TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $6
Once a musician develops a unique concept, they become responsible for the growth and survival of their artistic vision. An audience always exists for new musical ideas, but a musician needs to find those listeners. They need to take their musical ideas to as many people as possible through live performance, recordings, and online distribution. Once they connect with an audience, they need to keep them listening – a task that sounds a lot easier than it actually is. An artist needs to find a personal attachment to their audience that will last longer than one night. They need to remind the audience about their musical passion and show them why they should share that passion. With a large group of strong believers, their audience will only multiply; word of mouth becomes the most powerful support system available. As the musician finds their fan base growing rapidly, they need to create new experiences to interest these listeners. New recordings help focus an audience’s attention, but thinking outside the box leads to more interesting and memorable ideas. It’s an ongoing process that demands a musician to be a vigilant advocate for their artistic ideas, but it’s the only way to guarantee the growth of any musical approach.
I think our goal as a band has always been to make people feel some stuff – make them experience something and bring them in. We put the energy out to the audience and we try to make sure that they’re involved. That’s always been our thing, because Afro-Peruvian music is like that. That’s its energy – it’s involving everybody. It’s a community. I think the thing that we work hard on is to make sure that when we’re playing these jazz tunes – and some are complicated in terms of harmony and all this other stuff – we try to project the good energy of Afro-Peruvian music and make sure that people are brought into what we’re doing. So whatever – five year-olds, ten year-olds, one hundred year-olds – whatever, we try to make sure that they’re brought in. We’ve always made that a big priority for the band. So I think now that we have this vision of what Afro-Peruvian music is, I think it’s still that thing, but I think that it’s clearer to us how to put these elements together. 
GA: Tutuma is one of the main reasons that we decided to launch Kickstarter. The club was opened by two fans of the band. They came to Peru on that first Tour Peru project that we did. The whole idea that we can do Kickstarter is inspired by Tutuma because when we did the first Tour Peru project in 2008 and we invited all the fans to come with us, we didn’t know who would come. There was a group of forty people – it was a little crazy, but it was really fun. One night at a restaurant we were eating with all the fans and this couple said to us, “You know, we should totally have something like this in New York.” They meant the peña – the type of Afro-Peruvian club that we were sitting in. This is where Afro-Peruvian music is preserved and practiced in Peru. These places are called peñas – they’re very humble, and they’re almost like people’s homes. They’re not fancy, they’re not decorated in any particular way, and they’re just very basic little places. But the music is incredible. There’s always nice food, people come and go, and it’s just a total hang. They said to us, “There’s nothing like this in New York City. New York has everything, but it doesn’t have this.” Her family was a restaurateur family; she’d been in this business, and she said, “Wouldn’t it be great to have this club?” And of course we said, “Yes! It would be great! Count us in!” People always give you a zillion ideas, so we were like, “Of course, yea, count on us!” 
Next thing I know, she calls me up, and she’s like, “Hey, I’ve got a space that I want you to look at.” I was like, “What?!?” At that point, I said, “Wow, you’re really serious.” And she said, “Oh yea, we can use this space.” It’s a tiny little space – it seats like forty people, it’s tiny. And she was like, “Yea, this is one of the spaces that we have that we’ve been trying to rent out, but my Dad’s going to rent it to me instead. So we can do it here.” She asked me to advise on the artistic thing and try to develop a plan for the music and all that. But her deal was that the Sextet had to play, because that’s what is going to bring people in. Meanwhile, they followed us around to a gig in New Orleans and Pittsburgh, and all these different places – they would just appear there! Fortunately, all those shows were great! They were sell-outs, people were screaming and yelling, so they were like, “All right, we’re going to do this, and the Sextet has to play!” I was a little shy about it, because it’s like, booking your own band so much and all this. But she was very adamant about it. She was like, “We at least have to have you guys play three or four nights a week.” It’s sort of been working itself out and now we’re there three nights a week and sure enough, people do come around. It’s always packed with people. It’s a small space, so it’s not that difficult to fill it up. Filling it up every week in New York though, I think is an achievement. So we’re very proud of that. 
GA: It’s not huge, and the bands that you see at Tutuma are pretty much the bands that there are. What’s really interesting is that the concept is something that other people start to like. So, for example, singers come through that say, “You know, I’ve always wanted to sing Afro-Peruvian music, can I do something like that?” We’ve actually had people learn the style and start to get into it for the first time at Tutuma. So I think it’s going to be a place that ultimately is going to strictly have Afro-Peruvian Jazz music seven nights a week with some traditional Afro-Peruvian music thrown in to keep that kind of balance and vibe. But I do think that’s the way it’s going to go. Here at NYU where I teach, there are two Afro-Peruvian ensembles. These students have traveled to Peru, they’ve performed there, and they’re learning about the stuff. They’re taking small steps. Some of them become really curious about it; they’re not ready to say this is what I want to do yet, because it’s a whole new concept. But it’s interesting that they get into it and they perform. We’ve had them at the club as well. So I do think that the scene is going to develop that way and that there will be just a flow of nothing but Afro-Peruvian Jazz. Right now we have other things as well that we program, other Latin American styles. But I think with the strength of the concept in place, that it is going to evolve that way. 
GA: It’s the Sextet, but we’ve invited Russell Ferrante back. He’s on it again. We also have Arturo O’Farrill on it this time. He’s a great friend, and he himself just won the Latin Jazz Grammy. We’ve played with him a bunch of times here in New York on different projects, so he’s on there as well. Those are the two guests. And there are two bass players actually – we were in bass player transition. Ramon (de Bruyn) was leaving the band and John (Benitez) was coming into the band, so they’re both on the album, which is really cool. 
GA: Right, he’s amazing. He’s just dived in and started learning all the stylistic things. I think that you’re really going to enjoy what he does on the album.
LJC: How do you see this pushing the album and reputation of the band out further?
Inspiration serves as the first steps of a musician’s journey, emerging as the pre-cursor to a long road towards a greater concept. Technical development and musical experience helps artists grab these little flashes of inspiration and persistence allows them to nurture their ideas. The leap from idea to broad concept requires a few more pieces of the puzzle though, requiring the musician to maintain focus over years. The musician needs to explore the idea in a variety of contexts, utilizing a variety of different ensembles to experiment. With only a vague idea, the artist doesn’t have any idea where to apply these creative thoughts; they need to simply try their ideas in different places. The musician needs to find a number of different collaborators in the process. Each new set of ears will provide a different perspective upon the music and help refine the idea in a unique way. Some of these musicians will continue as long term partners while others will go their own way, but they will all help shape the greater idea. Most of all, the musician needs to keep their eye on the prize, realizing that over the course of time, their initial inspiration will grow into a defined and personal artistic concept.
GABRIEL ALEGRIA: As opposed to Cuban music and certainly Brazilian music, we don’t have a clave; that doesn’t exist in Afro-Peruvian music. A better way to understand it is to compare it to the swing rhythm used in the ride cymbal in jazz music. If you had to say there was a clave in jazz music, you would say it’s that pattern on the ride cymbal. That pattern is the clave, but whoever is playing it interprets it and changes it around all the time. That’s more where the Afro-Peruvian rhythms lie. If you have a lando pattern, it’s going to be the inspiration for the whole thing and everything’s going to revolve around that pattern, but it’s not going to be a strict thing where everything’s going to have to line up like in Cuban music. So each of these patterns, whether it’s lando, festejo, or whichever rhythm that we’re playing, it’s being used in the way that you would use a ride pattern in jazz. It would just be the thing that kind of gives the aura. Everybody plays on and off of these rhythms, but never just strictly keeping the time. 
That’s what makes Afro-Peruvian music different than Afro-Cuban or Brazilian music . . . radically different. When you hear what they call “Latin Jazz” – hopefully at some point I’m going to be able to make a case for changing that term – what they call “Latin Jazz” is usually Afro-Cuban music or Brazilian music. People say Latin Jazz, but what they don’t really realize is that what they’re actually listening to is Afro-Cuban Jazz and Brazilian Jazz. Those sounds are layering. You have the different instruments that are all playing patterns and then on top is a soloist that’s improvising. That’s where the jazz part comes in; the soloist is kind of riding on top of all these set rhythmic patterns. So it’s very charged and it’s very powerful. Whereas in our music, all of these patterns are being toyed with the whole time by all the musicians and interaction. The soloist is playing, but everybody is sort of changing up these patterns based upon what the soloist plays. In that way, it’s a more direct relation to the jazz tradition. We use the same kind of listening and reacting that you would have in the jazz tradition in Afro-Peruvian Jazz. The people that inspired us weren’t really dealing with this. They were dealing with a stage of playing folk music with these more contemporary instruments and this other thing. In that sense, we’re the first band that’s put together this sound, but definitely not in any kind of a vacuum. 
When we go around to the different schools and do workshops, they’ll have these charts. On the chart that they’re playing with their big band, it says, “Latin” as a descriptor of how they’re supposed to play. So of course, it makes you wonder, “Well, what would they do if it said, American Jazz? Or just American?” What would you do? So in the same way that American gets divided into easy swing, medium swing, fast swing, slow swing, all of that stuff, Latin American Jazz has the same issue. Latin American Jazz should just be what it is, which is Latin American Jazz and each groove has its name. So people should get up and say, “Alright, I want to do a 12/8 Afro-Cuban groove on this” or “I want to do a 12/8 Afro-Peruvian groove on this.” “I want to do a festejo.” I want to do a lando.” “I want to do a bomba.” “I want to do a bolero.” That’s what we should work towards, rather than just kind calling it Latin and then expecting people to know what to do. That gets really difficult. 
GA: Well actually, no. The 2002 release was just the three of us – it was Hugo, Laurandrea, and myself. It had a different cajon player and a different bass player. Jorge Reyes is actually on that album; he’s getting to be really well known now. And there’s a pianist – at the time I was still using a piano, which I don’t use anymore. It had all these other colors and things going on there. We are going to have a couple of those tracks available with the Kickstarter thing. Then the new albums are the ones that kind of represent what we’re trying to do.
GA: The music scene in general is extremely, extremely eclectic in Peru. Of course, everybody says that about every music scene, but more specifically in Peru, it’s eclectic in each instrumentalist. By virtue of the way the market works down there, any one Peruvian musician needs to really be able to play a variety of styles. There’s not as much specialization as there is here. In New York, musicians really dig into one niche. Whereas in Peru, one gig will be straight-ahead jazz, the next gig will be Afro-Cuban music in some Cuban establishment, the next gig will be guaylas from the mountains of Peru – and it will be the same people playing all these different things. That’s kind of the way that they radio is too. People think in Los Angeles or New York or whatever there’s a lot of variety, but it’s really nothing compare to the extremes that you get when you flip through the dial in Peru. You get these crazy micro-tonal musics from the jungle and then this crazy pentatonic pan flute kind of things, then the Afro-Peruvian things, then rock and pop and salsa, and all the other Caribbean music that gets imported – it’s just crazy. Meanwhile, the musicians are learning all this stuff to be able to have work. So that’s kind of where all the musicians are coming from. It makes them very, very versatile. One of the things Alex Acuña always says it that, you know, he can just sing them a rhythm and they pick it right up. Whereas, when he’s working in Los Angeles in the studios, it sometimes takes forever to explain to somebody what he wants, because they don’t have any flexibility to just kind of adapt. There’s pros and cons to that, but I would just kind of say that the scene is very eclectic. So a jazz club isn’t really a jazz club, a pop club is not really a pop club. They’re always going to have these other things just popping in and out of their programs. It’s an exciting thing. It’s a really rich thing. If you’re ever there, you go out in a week and you’ll just be stretched to these outer limits of your listening, just in the city of Lima. Let alone if you go out into the mountains or the jungle or something. That’s kind of how it is.
GA: The upside is that there is this open-minded thing where anything goes and it can be very, very creative. The down side is that . . . there’s something to be said for all the great work that Wynton Marsalis does. He really digs in to preserve a certain kind of sound for the benefit of everybody. If somebody doesn’t do that then that sound sort of can dissipate or get lost to lack of hipness. So Wynton has done a really good job in preserving that very strong tradition and that’s important. Whereas in a scene like Lima, jazz becomes this very generic term, almost how I’m complaining about the Latin thing. You talk to a musician in Peru and he may say, “Play this in jazz.” That may be something that a musician that knows what he’s doing may actually say, just because they don’t have a clear understanding of what jazz even means. I did a gig with a really great rock band, and it was like that. They were like, “Can you play this more jazz?” I had no idea exactly what they meant, but they were trying to get at something. They didn’t have the language to say something like, “Can you swing the eighth notes?” or something that somebody here would definitely be able to say. 
Musicians regularly experience flashes of inspiration in their daily lives, that’s simply the reality of a creative life. Anything can spark a new idea or musical interest – a passing comment from a friend, a song on the radio, a bell, a whistle, or a sound in their community – when any of these sounds passes through a musician’s filter, they may trigger a creative surge. One thing leads to another and before they know it, that musician has an idea that can potentially send them in a new direction. At that point, true artistry can occur; the musician can take the idea and nurture it into a full-blown concept that drives a musical exploration. That process actually takes some skill and experience though; many musicians simply let these inspirational ideas float past them without further development. The ability to grab inspiration and run with it sits in the realm of the truly dedicated musician, and the long-term development of those ideas requires an experienced musical mind. The distance between inspiration and a fully developed concept may equate to months or even years; in some cases the realization of a concept may take a lifetime. Regardless of the path, the trip from inspiration to artistic execution requires a dedicated mind and an insightful musical persistence.
GABRIEL ALEGRIA: Even though there weren’t any professional musicians in the family, I think the main thing was that there was this understanding that everybody needed to play an instrument – it was kind of an unwritten rule. So as we were growing up, my Dad would always say, “Well, what instrument are you going to play?” It was always an issue when I was really small. He’d take us to shows and we’d see things. Ultimately, I decided to play the trumpet. Once you get involved in music, you realize that you’re doing it in all your spare time so it would be really cool to get paid for it. You’re doing it all the time anyways, so why not try to get paid for it? That’s sort of how it all started. Then, of course, since everybody in the family is kind of artistic, they didn’t have any problem with that. I guess that environment pushes you in a certain way.
GA: When you’re 11 or 12 years old, at least in my case, you’re not listening like you do when you’re a little bit older. In the house, there was a lot of classical music, because my father is really into classical music. Outside, there was a lot of Eva Ayllon, and all these other musical people that I grew up knowing about and listening to. That’s kind of the combination. Jazz popped in there through teachers at school that made us play that music. At first, I didn’t even know what it was, it was sort of like, “Join the jazz band, it’s the cool thing to do versus the other band!” Now that I’m older and I see little kids playing, I realize the value system that they’re dealing with as they learn music is just completely different than actually being a dedicated musician. You’re just sort of playing songs that somebody is teaching you, and it’s for fun. At first, its just like a game, and then at some point you realize that you have to practice. That changes everything, because then you’re like, “O.K., I’ve got to get some lessons.”
GA: Yea, I was always doing the other things. I was always going out at night and playing with jazz bands and rock bands – different things that were not related to the symphonic world. Ultimately, I was much more comfortable in that scene than I was in the classical world. At one point, I decided that I really needed to do my own thing. So I did that first album which is now kind of out of print and disappeared. Then I decided to take a group on the road to create a band around some of the sounds that I was imagining. I called up Hugo (Alcázar), the drummer in the band – we had been playing since we were kids. I said, “Here’s what I want to do, do you have somebody that can handle this kind of percussion?” I kind of described it to him – I needed some dancing and I needed these various things. He recommended that we reach out to Huevito (Freddy Lobatón). Unbeknownst to us, he’s a very, very difficult cat to find. It took like a month to just find where he was. He didn’t have a cell phone, no e-mail, nothing like that. We finally tracked him down. He’s such a personality, such great energy, and everything. He really wanted to do it. He had no idea what we were talking about; he was just strictly an Afro-Peruvian musician with a sensibility for all kinds of things. He’d never done anything outside of the tradition. But he was super open minded, so he was like, “Yea, Yea, let’s do it!” It’s been like a family ever since. Laurandrea, the saxophonist, was in the band from the beginning, as well as Hugo, Huevito, and myself – the four of us have been together for about five years, going on six. We’ve been through a couple of different bass players and a couple of different guitar players. Yuri’s been with us now for about three years, so he’s pretty much part of the family. It’s been kind of a special and unique thing that evolved.
GA: Yea, I think so. What’s really important to always point out is that no one ever does just invent something out of a vacuum. Not even Miles – it’s never just out of the blue. When we were growing up, when we were 17 or 18, there was this project called Hijos Del Sol. Los Hijos Del Sol was Alex Acuña’s attempt to get back to Peru and try to involve Afro-Peruvian music in what he was doing. So he got Eva Allyon, Wayne Shorter, and a bunch of different musicians to play through traditional Peruvian tunes that had kind of been arranged in what to our ears now sounds like a pop-world music style. Back then, they were calling it fusion-jazz; different words like that were being thrown around. Regardless of what the sound actually was, the idea was floating around that this instrumental music and Afro-Peruvian music can co-exist. So we were already interested in that. We would go to these shows and they were spectacularly huge shows with twelve or thirteen people in the band, lights . . . they were just these really great shows. Eva Allyon of course, she’s such an inspiration; she always sang with the band. They did all these classic Afro-Peruvian tunes with this other sound. 
Now, I think the main thing that happened with us was that we actually started to use functional jazz language. We use actual chord relationships and harmonic movements that are functional to jazz, so they really sound like jazz. Not so much coloring of chords that makes it sound like world music or just something that’s an embellishment of the folk music. In our music, it really does reach into each tradition kind of deeply, and we try to find the connection between jazz music and Afro-Peruvian music; we really try to find those connections. A lot of times, the connections aren’t necessarily just technical, meaning they’re not just rhythms and chords. It’s more like the spirit of a certain song. Certain songs work well on certain grooves and certain American songs work well with certain Afro-Peruvian grooves. But it’s not just a blank formula where you can take any tune, put it on any Afro-Peruvian groove and it will work. I’m not sure why – we haven’t really sorted it out. It would be great to have a formula. 
Birthdays are a significant piece of a person’s life; they give friends, family, and community reason to celebrate and reflect upon an individual’s accomplishments. It’s a great way to honor a person, respecting the fact that their entrance into our lives changed things for the better. When a person has contributed to a larger community, the whole group turns their attention to that person for the day, showing their affection at least once a year. As the individual gets older, these birthdays gain more significance, with each passing year becoming more precious. While this tradition does bring the best of a musical community into the forefront, it sometimes seems a bit of a surface act. We shower our affections onto individuals once a year, while we simply recognize their presence during the other 364 days. Granted, we all have busy lives and throwing a major celebration for every major musician on each day of the year seems a bit over zealous. Still, musicians dedicate their lives to finding deeper meaning through artistic expression – an act that touches us all – we should do our best to celebrate that fact with all our energy. We need to especially recognize our musical elders on a regular basis – the artists have changed the course of the art form many times helped change our lives. As they pass each birthday, their time becomes limited, so they need to hear our appreciation daily. It’s food for thought around birthdays – are we simply celebrating these individuals one day a year or on a regular basis?
. In 2006, film maker Ivan Acosta captured Camero’s contributions to the world of music in an outstanding documentary 
. The NEA named Camero as a Jazz Master in 2008, making a high profile recognition of his importance. The list goes on as Camero continues to perform, spreading the wealth of his knowledge with the world.
Every April, we celebrate Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM), a thirty day celebration of the great American art form in all its various shapes and sizes. For the serious jazz lovers in the audience, this seems a bit redundant – we appreciate jazz 365 days a year. The reality can’t be avoided though – those of us with a year long love for jazz are in the minority. Most people have a very small understanding of jazz, if any at all, and JAM creates an opportunity for these people to connect with the jazz world. This awareness of jazz won’t happen overnight though; the uninitiated need some guidance to find their way into this wonderful world that we call jazz. As dedicated jazz fans, we have a responsibility to share jazz with everyone possible. This could be a major thing like taking a group of people to a jazz concert, but it doesn’t have to be such a huge endeavor. We could simply begin with a conversation about our beloved art form, jazz. 
In fact, he recorded 118 albums – this is no small feat by any standard. Most musicians will be lucky if they record half that number during the course of their career. In order to show just how impressive this is, start by doing the math. Puente died at the age of 77; if he had started recording right after his birth, he still would have needed to record two albums a year for a good chunk of his life in order to reach 118 albums. As brilliant as Puente was, he didn’t start recording until long after he was out of diapers, which means that he had to record two to three albums a year in order to reach that number. Place this in the context of popular culture. How many albums did The Beatles record? 12. How many recordings did the Rolling Stones make? 39. Puente was an amazingly prolific artist with a track record that’s hard to beat.
The sixth season finale of The Simpsons finds Springfield Elementary striking oil when Groundskeeper Willie digs into the field. With the school rolling in money, Principal Skinner grants Lisa’s request to hire Tito Puente as the school’s new music teacher. Mister Burns takes advantage of the situation, steals the oil, and leaves the school in shambles. Puente gets laid off, the townspeople all find reasons to hate Mister Burns, and the evil businessman ends up with bullet in his gut, ending the season with an important question – “Who Shot Mister Burns?”
Puente wasn’t just one of the biggest stars in Latin music, he was one of the biggest stars in the world. It only seemed logical that he should be immortalized with some of the most well known names in movies, music, and television on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On August 14, 1990, this became a reality as Puente’s star was unveiled. He sits right between Guy Madison and Jerry Moss at 6811 Hollywood Boulevard. It’s a tribute to Puente’s influence across the country and a cool tourist attraction. Next time that you’re in Tinseltown, check it out.
By 1995, Puente was doing very well in his musical career, and his finances allowed him to reach into other business areas. Always one to follow his passions, Puente combined two loves of his life – seafood and Latin Jazz – into a popular restaurant. Located at 64 City Island Ave in the Bronx, the night spot, appropriately named “Tito Puente’s,” paid tribute to the percussionist’s loves with class and wit. It was an upscale restaurant, featuring dishes such as paella, mofongo, and more, where people could spend a few dollars and get a great meal. Music filled the space, both through live performance and environmental touches. The bar didn’t simply use stools for their customers; when you hung out at the bar, you sat on a conga. The wall was a giant mural that featured some of the Latin Jazz greats – as you ate, Puente, Machito, Chano Pozo, and more all stared down at you, reminding you of the living history. During the documentary 
, Puente actually takes viewers on a walk through the restaurant, filling in all the details. It was a great connection to the Puente legacy, and quite popular for a while. These days, the restaurant is under different ownership.
Puente was affiliated with a number of movies throughout his career – in more ways than you might think. His music was used extensively in soundtracks, finding a spot in everything from 
to 
. He also appeared in several documentaries and concert films, including the exceptional 
. The most interesting placements arise when Puente worked as an actor in several movies. Maybe thinking of these roles as acting is a bit of a stretch – Puente basically played a version of himself – but they were fictional roles. He leads a smoking band and rips through a massive timbale solo in the 1992 film 
. Puente worked with fellow jazz lover Woody Allen, once again appearing as a band leader in the 1987 film 
. Puente led a diverse career, and movies played a recurring part in his story.
Puente was really one of the great musical figures of the twentieth century, and fortunately, we’ve got some ways to remember him. The National Museum of American History in Washington D.C. keeps Puente on display for all to see . . . well, actually not Puente, but a set of his timbales. Puente performed at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Summer Olympics, and after the gig, he donated his timbales to the museum. In addition to the instrument, Puente signed the heads, one in English and one in Spanish – a clever symbol of the way that he touched both sides of the musical world.
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. The Recording Academy also awarded Puente with a Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 2000. He received the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal in 1990. A few years later in 1997, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts. This list is just the beginning; especially in the later years of his life, Puente received many honors. Here at LJC, he was the voted as the first entry into our Latin Jazz Hall of Fame in 2008!
On August 20, 2000, three months after Puente’s death, the city of Harlem renamed a piece of East 110th Street as “Tito Puente Way.” The stretch of East 110th Street reaches from 5th Avenue to 1st Avenue and houses the tenement where Puente spent the first ten years of his life. It’s a great tribute to the environment that created Puente, guaranteeing that El Rey’s name will remain a vital piece of the New York community. 
