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
One of the nicest things about the Obama presidency has been the loosening of the restriction upon artistic exchange between Cuba and the United States. Over the past year, we’ve seen a number of important Cuban dance bands visit the States for high profile tours, which leaves us with one thought – bring on the Cuban jazz! Our wish has been granted recently as guitarist Pablo Menendez and his band Mezcla has been hitting the States for a series of concerts. Over at Latino Web Cafe, Hector Aviles has spent some time talking with Menendez about music, performing in the States, and more. He provides a short historical written piece and then you can check out the streaming audio for the actual interview. Great stuff, definitely worth checking out – you can find it HERE.
Jazz blogger Peter Hum took a few minutes to spend some time with a few tango jazz albums this past week, sharing his thoughts in a post entitled “Tango Jazz Conspiracy.” He provides some insight into some great albums here, including Bien Sur! from pianist Emilio Solla and his group The Tango Jazz Conspiracy as well as Un Motón De Notas from pianist Emilio Teubal and his group La Balteuband. He also throws in some videos of terrific live performances from both groups, which really illustrate his points. To top this off, there’s a great interview with tango jazz pianist Pablo Ziegler – an important musicians that spent many years playing with Astor Piazzolla. You’ve got to read this – check it out 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. At this point, there’s just about 40 days left so don’t delay! It’s a great way to support the growth of Afro-Peruvian Jazz, so head over to Alegria’s Kickstarter site and donate now!
6/2: Drummer & Percussionist Bobby Sanabria, 1957
6/2: Percussionist Tito Puente, Jr., 1971
6/4: Saxophonist & Clarinetist Paquito D’Rivera, 1948
6/5: Trumpet Player & Conguero Jerry Gonzalez, 1949
———-
LIVE LATIN JAZZ
If you’re in CARIBBEAN this week . . . HUMBERTO RAMIREZ
Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Festival WHEN: Thursday 6/3/10 WHERE:Tito Puente Amphitheater
Parque Luis M Marín
Ave. Jesús T Piñeiro
San Juan, Puerto Rico TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30
MICHEL CAMILO
Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Festival WHEN: Friday 6/4/10 WHERE:Tito Puente Amphitheater
Parque Luis M Marín
Ave. Jesús T Piñeiro
San Juan, Puerto Rico TIME: 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: $35
MIGUEL ZENON
Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Festival WHEN: Saturday 6/4/10 WHERE:Tito Puente Amphitheater
Parque Luis M Marín
Ave. Jesús T Piñeiro
San Juan, Puerto Rico TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $35
PAQUITO D’RIVERA
Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Festival WHEN: Thursday 6/3/10 WHERE:Tito Puente Amphitheater
Parque Luis M Marín
Ave. Jesús T Piñeiro
San Juan, Puerto Rico TIME: 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $30
PUERTO RICO HEINEKEN JAZZFEST BIG BAND
Featuring Paquito D’Rivera, Michel Camilo, Giovanni Hidalgo, and more!
Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Festival WHEN: Sunday 6/6/10 WHERE:Tito Puente Amphitheater
Parque Luis M Marín
Ave. Jesús T Piñeiro
San Juan, Puerto Rico TIME: 6:30 p.m. TICKETS: $45
WILLIAM CEPEDA’S ETHNO JAZZ PROJECT
Heineken Jazz Festival WHEN: Friday 6/4/10 WHERE:Tito Puente Amphitheater
Parque Luis M Marín
Ave. Jesús T Piñeiro
San Juan, Puerto Rico TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $35
If you’re in EUROPE this week . . . HENDRIK MUERKENS WHEN: Saturday 6/5/10 WHERE:Klaipeda Jazz Festival
Klaipeda, Lithuania
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . ADRIANO SANTOS BRAZILIAN JAZZ TRIO WHEN: Wednesday 6/2/10 WHERE:NuBlu
62 Avenue C
New York, NY TIME: 10:00 p.m.
ARTURO O’FARRILL
Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra – Musica Nueva 3: Latin Jazz Across The Americas WHEN: Friday 6/4/10 – Saturday 6/5/10 WHERE:Symphony Space
2537 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $35
ARTURO SANDOVAL
Burlington Discover Jazz Festival WHEN: Friday 6/4/10 WHERE:Flynn Center
153 Main Street
Burlington, VT TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $28 – $38
WHEN: Friday 6/5/10 WHERE:Blue Ocean Music Hall
4 Ocean Front N
Salisbury, MA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $45
BOBBY SANABRIA
Birthday Celebration For Bobby Sanabria!
Quinteto Okobio with special guest Candido Camero WHEN: Wednesday 6/2/10 WHERE:Fonda Boricua Lounge
172 East 106th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10
BRIAN LYNCH
Spheres Of Influence WHEN: Thursday 6/3/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 West 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10 & 2 drink minimum
CHEMBO CORNIEL WHEN: Thursday 6/3/10 WHERE:Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe
236 East 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $7
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 6/6/10 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 6/6/10 WHERE:Smoke
2751 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20 minimum
ELEONORA BIANCHINI WHEN: Friday 6/4/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
ELIO VILLAFRANCA WHEN: Saturday 6/5/10 WHERE:Chris’ Jazz Cafe
1421 Sansom Street
Philadelphia, PA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20
ERIC KURIMSKI WHEN: Thursday 6/3/10 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane St
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
JOHN BENITEZ WHEN: Tuesday 6/1/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
JOVINO SANTOS NETO WHEN: Wednesday 6/2/10 WHERE:Ryles Jazz Club
212 Hampshire Street
Cambridge, MA TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
LUIS BONILLA WHEN: Friday 6/4/10 WHERE:The Falcon
1348 9W
Marlboro, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: Suggested Donation
LULA VALDIVIA WHEN: Saturday 6/5/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
MIGUEL ZENON WHEN: Wednesday 6/2/10 WHERE:The American Theater
125 East Mellen Street
Hampton, VA TIME: 7:30 p.m. TICKETS: $22.50 – $30
WHEN: Wednesday 6/2/10 WHERE:Black Rock Center For The Arts
12901 Town Commons Drive
Germantown, MD TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30 – $35 in advance; $35 – $40 at the door
ROBBY AMEEN
CD Release Celebration For Days In The Life WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 WHERE:The Blue Note
131 W. 3rd St
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: Bar – $10, Table – $15
SAMMY FIGUEROA & HIS LATIN JAZZ EXPLOSION WHEN: Friday 6/4/10 WHERE:The Van Dyke
846 Lincoln Road
Miami Beach, FL TIME: 9:00 p.m., 10:30 p.m., & 12:00 a.m. TICKETS: $22
If you’re in the MID-EAST this week . . . DARWIN NOGUERA EVOLUTION QUARTET WHEN: Tuesday 6/1/10 WHERE:Andy’s Jazz Club
11 E. Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
LOS GATOS WHEN: Wednesday 6/2/10 WHERE:Live At PJ’s
102 S 1st St
Ann Arbor, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 9:15 p.m. TICKETS: $7
TUMBAO BRAVO WHEN: Sunday 6/6/10 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 . . . ALEXA WEBER MORALES WHEN: Saturday 6/6/10 WHERE:Azucar Latin Bistro
71 E. San Fernando Street
San Jose, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
FRANK CANO WHEN: Saturday 6/5/10 WHERE:Steamers
138 W. Commonwealth Avenue
Fullerton, CA TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $8
GRUPO FALSO BAIANO WHEN: Saturday 6/5/10 WHERE:Mario’s La Fiesta Restauran
2506 Haste Street
Berkeley, CA TIME: 1:30 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
MARK LEVINE & THE LATIN TINGE
Featuring Brazilian Vocalist Claudia Villela WHEN: Saturday 6/5/10 WHERE:The Jazz School
2087 Addison Street
Berkeley, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
In Session Adriano Santos Quintet
Every genre holds a set of master composers – the artists that write songs that everyone encounters during their career. Some of these composers become household names, reaching the general public around the world with the strength of their creations. Other composers loose the connection with the mass audience, but earn the respect of artists and more refined listeners. Their compositions might cross genre barriers and find a home in another musical world, or they might simply stay confined in one artistic landscape. Regardless of their legacy, these composers all have one thing in common; they write unforgettable music with lyrical melodies and appealing chordal foundations. The strength of vital musical elements keeps these songs alive across multiple generations of listeners and performers. Listeners always return to these songs, appreciating their beauty across diverse interpretations from various artists. Musicians spend years studying these compositions, learning the inner details of the composer’s approach and investigating the space for personal interpretation. These songs become cultural marker that transcend style and simply float into the realm of great music, setting the standard for future musical statements. Drummer Adriano Santos recognizes a number of important Brazilian composers on In Session, leading his quintet through an inspired set of major compositions.
Performing With Enthusiasm And Flair
Santos and his group attack a number of up-tempo classics with enthusiasm and flair, delivering memorable performances. The full group charges quickly into a driving samba behind the main melody on Raul Mascaranhas’ “Sabor Carioca,” committing to the song with a lively intensity. Saxophonist David Binney flies into his improvisation with racing runs that wisely wrap through the colorful chord changes until pianist Helio Alves jumps into his solo with an energetic zeal that pushes him into an inspired interaction with Santos. Both Binney and Alves take turns trading eight bar phrases with percussionist Dendé, leading into an enthusiastic display of syncopated creativity from Santos. The group provides coloristic shading over ethereal nature sounds on the introduction to Milton Nascimento and Fernando Brant’s “From the Lonely Afternoons,” until Santos slides into an up-tempo samba rhythm behind an understated melody. Binney kicks the song into high gear with a thoughtful solo that winds legato melodic ideas around smart rhythmic figures, helping build the band into a convicted momentum. Alves creates contrast with short rhythmic ideas, stretching into longer thoughts and chordal attacks that lead towards a rising dynamic. Alves leaps into a bluesy rhythmic vamp over a driving baião rhythm on Victor Assis Brasil’s “Pro Zeca,” as Binney storms into an upbeat and memorable melody. Binney takes his time developing his ideas, moving through several choruses with an inventive inertia that stretches his thoughts into a larger statement. Alves builds off the song’s original vamp, racing long bluesy lines over the groove, leading into a smart and unforgettable percussion display from both Dendé and Santos. Alves introduces a frenetic melody over the breakneck speed of Santos’ drums on Dorival Caymmi and Paulo Cesar Pinheiro’s “Ninho da Vespa,” until Binney joins him for a full reading. The rhythm section disappears behind Binney’s solo, who takes advantage of the sonic space, stretching his ideas freely and creatively. Some brilliant interaction between piano, sax, and drums leads organically into Alves’ improvisation, which becomes charged with the rhythmic power of the pianist’s lines and his melodic ingenuity. The group dives into these pieces with conviction and passion, showing a deep connection to the music and a respect for the artists.
Taking The Group In Different Directions
Santos takes the group in several different directions on other pieces, skillfully arranging the songs in unique ways. Alves provides rich chordal support behind Binney’s gentle interpretation of Toninho Horta’s “From Ton to Tom” until Santos and bassist David Ambrosio push the song into a moving samba groove. The rhythm section falls into a subdued bossa nova behind Alves’ improvisation, allowing the pianist to apply a soft reflective touch to his statement. Binney maintains the same careful lyricism in his solo until the rhythm section pops back into a samba for an upbeat finish. An unaccompanied combination of percussion and vocals from Dendé sets a serious tone to Airto Moreira’s “Xibaba,” until Binney and Alves wind a catchy melody around a six beat samba. Alves makes good use of the samba’s different rhythmic meter, bouncing melodies around the groove with a playful spirit. Binney applies a more dramatic approach to his solo with a heavy intensity, and after a loosely interpreted return to the melody, Santos and Dendé engage in an inspired exchange of improvised ideas. Ambrosio stretches out over a light cha cha cha with an insightful sense of melodic creativity on J.T. Meirelles’ “Contemplação,” leading into a quick and understated melody from Binney. Alves quickly contrasts the laid back feel with an inspired push behind his solo, breaking up long jazz fueled lines with prodding rhythmic figures. Binney begins his improvisation with long lazy notes, slowly building into a screaming series of squawking lines that provoke a frenzied response from Santos. A unison rhythmic melody from Binney and Alves skips against a sparse backdrop on Moacir Santos’ “Amphibious” until a decidedly minor tonality sends the band into a driving son montuno. As the rhythm section falls back into samba, Binney refers to the melody, leaping between the familiar and original with a decided urgency. Alves spins boppish lines through the changes, building intensity with bluesy embellishments and aggressive chordal attacks. These pieces diversify the set, bringing some different influences into the performance while holding onto the integrity of the compositions.
Paying The Highest Possible Tribute To Classic Composers
Santos presents a number of Brazilian Jazz classics with class and style on In Session, exploring them with respect and an unflappable musicality. The choice of repertoire reveals Santos’ deep connection to Brazilian music, as he digs past obvious choices and finds some true gems. He has done his homework in many ways, making sure that the pieces are performed with a lively attitude that reflects upon the composer respectfully. At the same time, Santos keeps his focus upon jazz and improvisation, always letting inspiration sit at the core of the recordings. He lets his musicians take long extended solos that evolve organically over the music, guaranteeing exciting results. Santos plays with an appealing groove that holds true to the heartbeat of Brazilian styles, but also opens into the interactive nature of jazz. Binney serves as a perfect companion in Santos’ musical statement, bringing a jazz sensibility to the recording with his biting tone and focused improvisational intensity. Alves brings his extensive experience across both jazz and Brazilian music into the mix, serving as the glue that simultaneously holds things together and keeps the performance flexible. Santos and his group obviously hold the repertoire on In Session close to their hearts, and they let it show, paying the highest possible tribute to the composers – an inspired, creative, and musical performance filled with passion and conviction.
After establishing himself as a diverse musician with a broad set of tools to contribute to the Connecticut music scene, drummer Ed Fast found several outlets to share his experience. His love to Latin Jazz got more intense, driving him to study recordings from masters like Cal Tjader and Hilton Ruiz. Looking to explore these interests more fully, Fast assembled a number of musicians from the area into a new group, Conga-Bop. The group gained momentum on the local scene, inspiring Fast to record a collection of original pieces and creative arrangements. After finishing the main tracks for the album, Fast received a multitude of calls for Broadway musical work, taking him around the world for a number of years. When he finally had a break in his schedule, Fast completed work on the album, releasing Straight Shot in 2007. He continued balancing his schedule between Latin Jazz, Broadway shows, and symphonic work, and along the way found time to work with young musicians. Two young musicians worked closely with Fast and made a particularly strong impact upon the Latin Jazz community – Zaccai and Luques Curtis. Fast spent some influential years with the Curtis Brothers before they broke into New York’s Latin Jazz scene, helping them build their knowledge of the style. Fast worked as musical director for a youth group that included the Curtis Brothers, which performed across the Hartford scene and even made its way to gigs in Cuba. Now a mentor on the Connecticut music scene with a broad knowledge base, Fast not only made his own creative contributions to the music, but also kept it moving into the future.
Through his work with Conga-Bop and beyond, Fast certainly made a splash upon the Connecticut music scene, with a greater impact that spread into the larger Latin Jazz world. In the first piece of our interview with Fast, we looked at his early musical development, his introduction to Latin Jazz, and his relationship with legendary conguero Bill Fitch. In the conclusion of our conversation, we dig into the Latin Jazz scene in and around Hartford, the recording of Straight Shot, and Fast’s influence upon the Curtis Brothers.
———- LJC: Is there a Latin Jazz scene around the Hartford area?
EF: There had been for a while, but it kind of varies in strength. There seems to be a little bit of a resurgence now. We’ve had some remarkable players come through the area that are doing a lot in the Latin Jazz scene now. The Curtis Brothers were both on the scene. Luques is playing bass with Eddie Palmieri now. When they were in town, they were doing a lot of Latin Jazz. When they were little kids, they were playing all over the place. When they got older, they started playing with my group a little bit, and then they formed their own group, Insight. They did a lot until they took off for New York. In fact, Zaccai is coming back to Hartford to do a solo concert this summer. Those guys have definitely kept the Latin Jazz scene afloat. Then there’s been a few other groups here and there. I’ve had my group playing on and off for years, but I wind up going off on these musical tours from time to time which put me out of the picture. I wound up doing 42nd Street in Moscow for months. I went all over Asia with The Sound Of Music. I did a stint on Broadway for a year with Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. That kind of makes my Latin Jazz projects stop and start.
LJC: Why don’t you tell me a little bit about how Conga-Bop came together?
EF: I was working with another Latin Jazz group out of college. I had really been getting into Cal Tjader and I also started transcribing a lot of tunes by other folks, like Hilton Ruiz. I love a lot of his compositions. He had a tune called “Home Cookin’;” I transcribed that tune and for a while that was the name of our band, Home Cookin’. I kind of put together the band so that I could do the music that I really wanted to perform, like all the Tjader stuff and the Hilton Ruiz stuff. Then I started transcribing a lot of Fort Apache music as well. So that’s why I put the band together, to play those tunes from people that I really enjoyed. Tito Puente too – I play a little vibes as well. The group was an outlet for me to do the charts that I really wanted to do and didn’t get a chance to do in other people’s bands.
LJC: I love your vibes playing on “Detour Ahead” from the Straight Shot album. Is your vibes playing a big part of the group?
EF: Generally I have to say no. Right now we’ve been playing with two horns. We’re in a small area with a small budget, so I don’t have a chance to bring the vibes in much. When we do bigger festivals I do. Last summer we did an outdoor jazz festival in Hartford – for those big events I like to bring out the vibes and feature them on a tune or two. Last year we did Tito Puente’s version of “Jitterbug Waltz;” I did that on vibes. It’s the only waltz you’ll hear in 4/4 time!
LJC: I read on that you recorded the album earlier but Straight Shot didn’t come out until 2007. What was that process like?
EF: We had enough material together to do the album including some original things that I wanted to record too. So we recorded it all in a weekend down in Stamford, Connecticut. It’s a self-produced album and money winds up playing a part in everything. We got the recording done and some of the mixing, but then I wound up going on tour to Asia with Sound Of Music. Right after that I went straight to Broadway to do Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Between those two things, it kind of took me away from the project. It also gave me a chance to make some money, and then go back, get it mixed, printed, and produced. That was the delay between recording and production.
LJC: I love your writing on the album. You mentioned Fort Apache, and that group really pops out as an influence – how do you approach writing in this context?
EF: It’s such a crazy thing – it happens all different ways . . . for me anyways. The very first tune on the album, “Encarnacion,” the way that happened – we were invited to play a concert at the University of Hartford and they were going to record it and produce a CD. So you had to have original material . . . I had to write an original piece! I sat down at the piano, came up with a bass line, then the melody, and harmonized it. I could feel it was going to be some kind of rumba tempo underneath that. Then I just have to live with it for a while. One thing will lead to another until eventually I find that, yes, that’s exactly where it should be. I try not to force things. If it takes days, it takes days. If it takes weeks, it takes weeks. Eventually, it feels like the thing will write itself if I give it enough time. One thing will lead to a logical next step.
LJC: I imagine that since the album is a few years old, you probably have more material that you’re working with . . .
EF: Yep! I’m dying to do another one. I’ve got a bunch more original things. Also, I commissioned some friends to write some really nice arrangements on jazz standards with vocals. I just think that will improve upon the appeal, to feature a vocalist on a few tunes – jazz standards that people know. And then sprinkled in with that, my crazy original stuff. I’ve got some original pieces that I’m really excited about having people hear. We’ve been playing them live and they’ve been very well received. But again, the whole thing is how to finance it – that’s the trick!
LJC: I know that you do a lot of symphony work and Broadway shows, do you do any straight-ahead jazz in the area?
EF: From time to time I do some straight ahead, but not a whole lot. I love doing the theater stuff; I get to use everything I learned – playing on xylophone, timpani, timbales, congas, bongo . . . it’s a ball. You get to play with a fairly large group and actors on stage – then there’s lights and the whole big production. I love doing that. Then when I get home, I get symphony work and my Latin Jazz group. There’s other fine, fine drummers in the area that do nothing but bebop. So they’ll generally get those calls before I do.
LJC: One of the things that I think really distinguishes a group is how fluent they are on the whole jazz side of the equation. Your band is very jazz oriented, so who are the jazz guys that influenced your concept?
EF: I’m so glad to hear you say that, because I do feel like we’re not coming from a salsa bag. It’s very much jazz infused. In Hartford, we’ve had Jackie Mclean, who just passed away last year. He was at The Hartt School; he had the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz. There’s just a lot of jazz in the area, probably due to him; he’s brought a lot of great artists in. We do that Lee Morgan tune on Straight Shot, “Boy, What A Night” – that’s from The Sidewinder album. Everyone knows The Sidewinder, but that whole album is great, it’s got so many great tunes. There’s “Totem Pole,” “Boy, What A Night,” “Hocus Pocus” . . . There’s a lot of great tunes on there. “Boy, What A Night” just happened to fit really great on that 6/8 groove. All that old Blue Note stuff – Billy Higgins, Lee Morgan, Art Blakey of course, Thelonious Monk – I listen to all those guys and really enjoy that music. And then it becomes a matter of you love all that music but you want to write something that reflects you and what you hear. But all those folks are part of the influence. I’m so glad that it comes through in the writing too. It’s Fort Apache too, I feel like they’re coming out of that bag. They’ve done salsa type gigs, but boy, those guys can play jazz . . . Steve Berrios swings!
LJC: I recently did an interview with Andy about Grupo Folklorico, what a great guy . . .
EF: I’ve just got to tell you, we love Andy. One time I had a gig with the adults in Hartford and we could not find a bass player anywhere. To make a long story short, I tracked down Andy’s number and called him up in New York. He came up and did the gig with us. It was so funny – I’m transcribing all these Cal Tjader tunes, like “Alonso,” that nobody that I talk to has ever heard of these tunes. I was talking on the phone to Andy and he was asking, “What kind of stuff do you do?” I said, “Well, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of this tune, but Alonso?” He said, “I’ve been playing that since I was twelve years old!” So anyways, I got him a ride up from New York and he played the gig with us. It was just amazing.
I was working with Luques and Zaccai and their older brother Damien; they were little kids. They had a Latin band together, and I used to bring them all the charts that I would do with my group. I got them started on “Home Cookin’,” “Guataca,” and these Hilton Ruiz charts. They had a little band together. The great part about it though, was that they played at intermission and Andy got to meet them. From that day on, Andy took a real sincere, heartfelt interest in the kids, particularly Luques. He gave him a three-quarter bass to play; he’s just been a super guy for the kids and for all of us. He’s a very knowledgeable, beautiful guy.
LJC: How much interplay is there between the Hartford scene and New York or Boston?
EF: I don’t feel like there’s a lot of interplay, except for the fact that now Luques and Zaccai come up occasionally. There’s been a lot of jazz guys that have been going to school at The Jackie Mclean Institute. They’ll have a thing going in Hartford, but they’ll wind up leaving and going to New York. There’s a little bit of a connection that way, but generally, they tend to be separate scenes. I’ve got some great music students that are going to Philadelphia to play and I’ve got of course a lot of friends in New York that are playing. I want to get my band playing in those different cities more – up in Boston as well. So I would like to start that connection if I can have my band Conga-Bop play Boston, New York, Hartford, Philadelphia, and try to link that up a little bit.
LJC: I read that you took a group of young musicians to Cuba at one point – what happened there?
EF: The group that went to Cuba was Luques and Zaccai Curtis and their brother Damien Curtis. They have just exceptional parents; their parents have been very supportive of the whole music thing. I had met them at The Artist Collective, a school for young kids that Jackie Mclean also started. I met them there and then found out a while later that they were putting together a little Latin Jazz group of kids; there were up to twelve kids. So, I started working with them; bringing the charts over. We rehearsed and they started doing gigs in Hartford. They opened up for me or they played in between sets for me. They got so good so quickly; they’re so talented. They were also so dedicated. They wound up opening up for Tito Puente when he came to Hartford. Then they got invited to open up for Libre down at S.O.B.’s. People kept seeing them and hearing them. Next thing you know, Chucho Valdes invited them to perform down in Cuba. When that happened, I was their music director. Ted Curtis, their father, went through all the arrangements to make the trip possible. But Chucho Valdes, who directs that festival down in Havana, invited the kids to come down there and play. It was an absolutely incredible experience that I was very, very privileged to be a part of.
LJC: Was there a lot of interaction between the Cuban musicians and the kids?
EF: The kids did quite a bit of playing with different folks. It was just great to see that interaction. The musicians over there are something else. We got a bit of an understanding into how that happens. It’s a Communist country, so if you’re a musician over there, you’re paid by the government – that’s your full-time job. We went to see a young group. They have three levels of artists – A, B, and C; C being the lowest level. If you get a big enough following, you’re promoted to B and that gets you a pay raise. Then finally up to A and you make more money. We saw a C level group and they all lived in a gymnasium. They had bunk beds all around the gymnasium; that’s where they lived and slept. Their instruments were in the middle of the gymnasium; everything was all set-up. They said that they wake up, they practice from nine until lunchtime and then after lunch until dinner – as a band. Then after dinner, they all practice individually until midnight. Then they go to bed and they do the same thing the next day. If I can get one rehearsal for my band before a gig, I’m thrilled – you know? These guys literally eat and sleep this music, as a band. The kids got a lot of interplay with them; it was a great trip.
LJC: You mentioned that you want to put together a new album, what are the future plans for Conga-Bop?
EF: We have quite a few dates coming up this summer at different festivals, so I’m looking forward to that. I do have enough material now for a CD, so I’m actively working on trying to figure out how to get that done. In one way, I’d love to self-produce it again. In another way, it would definitely help to have a label that has some kind of distribution and marketing power behind it, so I’m going to look into that. I would really like to try and get something done before the summer is out – at least get a recording and then maybe by fall get it produced.
Local music scenes across the United States are home to musicians that have found national recognition, but in most cases, the heart and soul of that music scene can be found elsewhere. While major names bring attention to a local music scene and often help sell concert tickets or recordings, their contributions to the actual artistic development of the scene can be inconsistent. These musicians are focusing their creative endeavors upon producing a product that reaches listeners outside their local scene, largely through travel, concerts abroad, and streams of recorded works. While they may perform in their local scene, their presence just isn’t consistent enough to make a genuine grassroots impact. The daily act of creating music within a community shapes the aesthetics of that music scene, and it requires a group of artists that spend the majority of their time in the trenches of that region. The musicians that perform in the nightclubs, work in the symphonies, teach in the schools, and play on the streets create the area’s musical character. They feel the pulse of the community, and they find ways to translate that into their artistic output. They reflect upon the needs of their community, discover the best ways to deliver a musical solution, and then do the long hard work to make it a reality. These are the musicians provide an area’s artistic heartbeat, and they should be celebrated with enthusiastic appreciation.
Drummer Ed Fast has helped shape the heart and soul of the music scene around Hartford, Connecticut for many years, sharing his love for Latin Jazz and more. A Connecticut native, Fast found a love for music at an early age, both at home and in school. He eventually connected with drums and percussion, a path that led him into collegiate music studies at The Hartt School Of Music. During his time in college, Fast studied with master percussionist Alexander Lepak, who encouraged him to dive into percussion instruments across the musical world. Fast took this lesson to heart, spending time mastering symphonic percussion, mallets, drum kit, and more. A marimba gig brought Latin music to Fast’s attention, and he soon discovered the Latin Jazz mastery of Cal Tjader. Recordings from the legendary musician enthralled Fast, who soon became hooked on the combination of Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz. His interest in Tjader inspired Fast to search for percussionist Bill Fitch, who became an important musical mentor. Fitch connected Fast to the music’s history and provided essential insights into the world of Afro-Cuban percussion. As Fast moved from the role of student to professional, he balanced his work between Latin Jazz, Broadway musicals, and symphony performances. All pieces of Hartford’s musical world benefited from Fast’s impeccable musicality, with his love for Latin Jazz at the center of his musical output.
Fast built a wealth of musical knowledge and experience during his formative years that he eventually applied with his group Conga Bop on the album Straight Shot. His musicality goes beyond the confines of genre or tradition, bringing broad skills that will benefit any musical situation. In the first piece of our interview with Fast, we look at his development as a musician, his discovery of Latin Jazz, and his relationship with important conguero Bill Fitch.
———- LATIN JAZZ CORNER: How did you get started in music – was it something that you started in your childhood or did it come later?
ED FAST: When I was a kid we had a piano in the house. My mom played piano and I taught myself to play a bit. We had some teach yourself books lying around the house so I picked up the piano a little bit. Then I switched over to drums in elementary school. I studied drums all through elementary and high school and then ended up going to The Hartt School Of Music.
LJC: What type of music was around you when you were growing up? Were you into jazz at that age?
EF: There wasn’t much jazz going on. My mom used to play a lot of the old standards – Jerome Kern, Oscar and Hammerstein stuff. Then some other popular stuff of the day, Burt Bacharach and that type of thing. But there was no real focus on jazz in the house. I got into that a little bit later when I got into college.
LJC: I read that in your early studies one of your teachers told you to master all different percussion instruments, which gave you a broad perspective. Who gave you that and how did it shape your relationship with the instruments?
EF: When I went college, I went to The Hartt School Of Music; the reason that I went there was to study with Alexander Lepak. He’s the one that made sure that you studied all the percussion instruments, for a couple of reasons. You really learn a lot about music from bottom to top. Just studying timpani you learn bass clef and understand how the bass functions. The same with the marimba, it’s kind of like studying piano; you get your harmony and melody and rhythm all in one instrument. So he was a big proponent of that. He also made it clear that you’d have a lot more luck trying to find work if you didn’t have to say, “No, I can’t do this show because I don’t know how to play the xylophone or I don’t know how to play timpani.” So it served two purposes – you became a very well rounded, well-educated musician, plus it made you much more marketable when it came to work. I found that to be very true.
LJC: When were you at Hartt?
EF: I was there twice. From ’83 to ’87, I got my undergraduate degree. Then they put me on a full scholarship to come back and get my graduate degree. So I got to study for a couple of more years with Lepak. He was just a remarkable musician and teacher, so I couldn’t pass that up.
LJC: When did you get into jazz in that course of things?
EF: Lepak was a great big band drummer and composer. He composed great big band charts. When I got there to the school, I had already been playing drum set, but mainly more rock type stuff. I did a little bit of jazz band things in high school; I went to Old Lyme High, a very small school – there wasn’t a whole lot of jazz going on there. Lepak was a big jazz musician, composer, big band writer and drummer . . . a great jazz drummer. Right from the get go, we worked a lot on that. Not only on drum set, but also on mallets. We got into all the chord voicings on the vibraphone. I’m very, very thankful that we got into that. Once I started writing music, I felt like I had something to back it up with – that harmonic knowledge and chordal knowledge from studying jazz with Lepak on mallets and drums.
LJC: How did you make the leap into Latin rhythms, checking out Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms – was Lepak into that as well?
EF: That wasn’t a specialty of his, but he was knowledgeable in that area. Actually what happened was, when I was still in college, I got hired by some guys to play marimba doing Mexican folk music. From there, it was a small leap to checking out the vibraphone and in particular, Cal Tjader. The thing about Cal Tjader was he had the real guys on there, Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, and of course later on, Poncho Sanchez. But everything was clean and not overdone – you could hear how all the parts were supposed to fit together. Once I heard Cal Tjader, that kind of captured my imagination and I kind of ran with it from there. I have to say that Cal Tjader was probably my biggest influence early on when I got into Latin Jazz.
LJC: Was someone in the area who was a mentor and helped you learn about the Latin side of the music?
EF: When I got into Cal Tjader, there was one record in particular that really drew me in, and that was Sona Libre. That album in particular had a tune on there called “Insight,” that was written by the conga player on the album, Bill Fitch. That tune really knocked me out. I took that tune “Insight,” that was written by Bill, and I transcribed all the parts – piano, bass, timbales, congas, vibraphone – I transcribed everything. I learned so much from that tune. It really impressed me that this conga player, Bill Fitch, took an amazing solo over one of the hippest montunos that I’ve ever heard in Latin Jazz. That’s the only album that I ever saw him on. It turns out that after trying to track him down for literally years and years and years, he lived in New Haven, Connecticut. That was right down the street from me . . . well, forty minutes away. So I got to hook up with him quite a bit. This guy was an amazing guy. He kind of dropped out of the music scene. He came up with Chick Corea in Boston and went to Berklee. A buddy of mine just worked for Chick out in Colorado, and Chick said that Bill Fitch hipped him to the real deal when it came to Latin Jazz piano playing. He came up with Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Don Alias, Tony Williams, and more. I used to go down every week to play with him. I took his advice on who to listen to and what was important playing wise. This guy was an amazing guy.
LJC: I’d love to hear more about him, he sounds like a pretty important player.
EF: This guy is amazing. Have you heard about that movie, The Soloist, about the violinist who was in L.A.? He went to Juilliard; they made a whole movie about him . . . well, Bill Fitch has got a story like that, but times ten. He went to Berklee, and he was one of the first conga players at Berklee. Gary Burton, and all these guys know Bill. I saw Don Alias just like a month before he passed away; he said, “Man, you think you know who the greatest conga player is? It’s not many of the guys out there, it’s Bill Fitch, the greatest conga player ever!”
People don’t know about him because he dropped out of the scene so early. Once he left Berklee, he went to New York. Cal Tjader was in New York and someone came running over to Bill’s apartment. He was living with Chick Corea at the time; they were roommates. Someone said, “Hey, Bill, Cal’s looking for a new conga player, you’ve got to come down and sit in with him.” So Bill sat in with him and got hired on the spot. Cal flew him out to California and he made that record with him, Sona Libre. He did a couple of other things. From what I hear, Bill wrote so many amazing charts, but where those charts are . . . who knows? Apparently all the conga drummers used to come out and watch Bill play because he was really something special.
LJC: That would be interesting to track down some of that music.
EF: Bill told me that they made a videotape out on Hermosa Beach; I think it was for Fantasy Records. I was trying to get in touch with anybody that might have a copy of that. I have no idea what tunes they videotaped, but it would be great to Bill when he was twenty-one years old, doing his thing with Cal.
Bill is on another album with this organ player named Charles Kynard and that album was Bill Fitch, Armando Peraza, and one other percussionist. On the cover it says “The Greatest Latin Percussion Section Ever Assembled.” It was Armando Peraza on bongo and Bill Fitch on congas. All these guys were very close.
LJC: Is Bill still with us?
EF: He is; that guy’s got nine lives. I went away on a tour to Japan and he was in the hospital. I was thinking that I would never see him again. I was going away for two months, and he was skinny as pole, didn’t have the strength to move his legs or anything. I came back from Japan, he had put on fifty pounds and he was wheeling someone down the hallway in a wheelchair. Eight years later, and he’s still with us.
———-
Make sure that you check back tomorrow for Part Two of our interview with Latin Jazz drummer and percussionist Ed Fast. We’ll be going into more detail about Hartford’s music scene, the creation of Conga Bop, the recording of Straight Shot, and much more. Don’t miss it!
With the summer rapidly approaching, the festival season looms in the near future, forcing us to once again look at the role of Latin Jazz in the jazz festival. Over the past few years, the presence of Latin Jazz has become more regular on the jazz festival circuit. While the appearance of Latin Jazz at festivals bodes well for the exposure of the art form, the artists appearing represent a very thin slice of the modern scene. Many of the same names appear across the country as festival favorites Poncho Sanchez, Eddie Palmieri, and Pete Escovedo dominate the festival scene. These are amazing artists with historically important backgrounds that audiences enjoy; they are great festival choices, but any good festival should balance their program with newer artists. Other festivals rely upon their local Latin Jazz scene, integrating regional talent into the larger festival’s lineup. Once again, this is a good thing, as it invigorates the local scene, but then festivals need to incorporate national artists. The most prevalent Latin Jazz issue facing jazz festivals is the dominance of Afro-Cuban Jazz as a representative of the music. Afro-Cuban Jazz makes up a huge piece of the style and it should be a part any jazz festival, but the modern Latin Jazz world contains much more diversity. Many jazz festivals address some of these problems, but for the most part, Latin Jazz occupies a precarious position upon the festival scene.
The United States hosts a good number of jazz festivals during the summer, but it doesn’t really offer many balanced representations of Latin Jazz; we need to look South for that, to the Peru International Jazz Festival. The 2010 festival brings a wide selection of artists, ranging from the well-established name artist to the the local talent. The backbone of the festival sits in several appearances by trumpet player Gabriel Alegria and his Afro-Peruvian Jazz Sextet. The group symbolizes the strength of jazz in Peru and the potential of the meeting between the two cultures. Recent Grammy winner and leader of the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, pianist Arturo O’Farrill represents both jazz celebrity and musical visionary. He brings his group to the festival, with some Afro-Cuban Jazz credibility and a broad perspective on the greater Latin Jazz world. Colombian harpist Edmar Castañeda stands as one of the most intriguing Latin Jazz artists of the past several years, bringing his unusual jazz instrument into a mixture of jazz, Colombian rhythms, and traditional Latin Jazz ideals. His presence at the festival not only guarantees some outstanding music, but it also demonstrates a need for diverse musical experiences. These three artists alone deliver enough strength to drive large audiences into the festival, creating magical music experiences. This is a jazz festival though, and there’s more than Latin Jazz on the agenda – additional artists include tabla player Badal Roy, French musicians the Eric Longsworth Quartet, Chilean vocalist Camila Meza, and more. The Jazz Peru International 2010 Festival promises to be a stellar event that brings together musicians from across the musical spectrum into a unique collective.
Stateside festivals could learn a thing or two about Latin Jazz programming from the Peru International Jazz Festival. In honor of the festival’s 2010 schedule, today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix is dedicated to the festival’s artists. The first clip features Alegria and his Afro-Peruvian Jazz Sextet performing the song “Puerto Pimentel” at Tutuma Social Club. The next video show Castañeda performing a dynamic solo piece entitled “Jesus Of Nazareth.” The last shot find O’Farrill displaying his genius in a solo piano performance at Puppet’s Jazz Club in New York. These three videos give a taste of the music available at the festival; it should be an amazing few days! If you make it out to the festival, please do send your feedback this way – enjoy!
———- Gabriel Alegria & His Afro-Peruvian Jazz Sextet
Harpist Edmar Castañeda Performing Solo
Pianist Arturo O’Farrill Performing Solo
———-
Want to hear more from Jazz Peru International Festival artists? Check out these albums: Arturo O’Farrill: Risa Negra
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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.
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
Jazz At Lincoln Center has been doing a great job programming some wonderful Latin Jazz artists into their schedule over the past few months, and their streak continues this month. On Friday May 28 and Saturday May 29, JALC will be hosting a concert entitled “Latin In Manhattan: A Journey To Brazil” in Rose Theater at 8:00. Mario Adnet will lead an all-star band through a look at the music of Brazilian master composer Moacir Santos. The group will include some heavy musicians, including Ricardo Silveira, Luis Bonilla, and more. Once again, the folks at JALC are offering LJC readers a special deal on concert tickets – simply head over to the website and purchase tickets to concert using the promotional code “Brazil.” This will give you 25% off the regular ticket price! If you’re in the New York area, don’t miss a great night of music, honoring one of the most important composers in Brazilian Jazz – buy your tickets 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 $10 to their cause – or as much as you’d like. Each level of contribution comes with an attached reward, ranging from unreleased recordings to a personal concert from the sextet. At this point, there’s a little over 45 days left so don’t delay! It’s a great way to support the growth of Afro-Peruvian Jazz, so head over to Alegria’s Kickstarter site and donate now!
If you’re in CARIBBEAN this week . . . ARTURO SANDOVAL
Bonaire Jazz Festival WHEN: Wednesday 5/26/10 WHERE:Plaza Resort Bonaire
Bonaire Island TIME: 10:00 p.m.
If you’re in SOUTH AMERICA this week . . . ARTURO O’FARRILL WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 WHERE:Jazz Zone
Av. La Paz 646
Pasaje el Suche
Miraflores, Peru TIME: 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: 55 soles
WHEN: Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:Jazz Zone
Av. La Paz 646
Pasaje el Suche
Miraflores, Peru TIME: 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: 55 soles
EDMAR CASTANEDA WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 WHERE:Jazz Zone
Av. La Paz 646
Pasaje el Suche
Miraflores, Peru TIME: 11:00 p.m. TICKETS: 55 soles
WHEN: Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:Jazz Zone
Av. La Paz 646
Pasaje el Suche
Miraflores, Peru TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: 55 soles
GABRIEL ALEGRIA WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 WHERE:Huaca Santa Catalina
Calle Pascual Saco Oliveros cuadra 8
altura de la cuadra 2 de Av. Nicolás Arriola
La Victoria, Peru TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 WHERE:Jazz Zone
Av. La Paz 646
Pasaje el Suche
Miraflores, Peru TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: 55 soles
PAQUITO D’RIVERA
With Jazz Sinfônica WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 – Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:Auditório Ibirapuera
Sao Pablo, Brazil TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: R$ 30,00 e R$ 15,00
If you’re in CENTRAL AMERICA this week . . . BOBBY MATOS WHEN: Wednesday 5/26/10 WHERE:Centro Cultural Tijuana
Paseo De Los Héroes Y Javier Mina S/N
Zona Río, Tijuana
Baja California Norte, Mexico TIME: 7:30 p.m.
If you’re in AFRICA this week . . . OMAR SOSA
Mawazine Festival WHEN: Tuesday 5/25/10 WHERE:Yaacoub El Mansour/Urban Music Stage
Rabat, Morocco TIME: 10:00 p.m.
If you’re in EUROPE this week . . . SAMUEL QUINTO WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 WHERE:Sheraton Hotel
Rua do Tenente Valadim 146
4100 Porto, Portugal TIME: 10:30 p.m.
If you’re on the EAST COAST this week . . . ALCATRAZ WHEN: Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
BOBBY SANABRIA
Quarteto Aché WHEN: Wednesday 5/26/10 WHERE:Fonda Boricua Lounge
172 East 106th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $10
CARLOS AVERHOFF WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 WHERE:Beehive
541 Tremont Street
Boston, MA TIME: 10:00 p.m.
CHICO O’FARRILL’S AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ ORCHESTRA WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 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 5/30/10 WHERE:Smoke
2751 Broadway
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m., 10:00 p.m. & 11:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20 minimum
CURTIS BROTHERS WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 WHERE:Vlada Lounge
331 West 51st Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:00 p.m.
EDMAR CASTANEDA
Duo With Joe Locke WHEN: Wednesday 5/26/10 WHERE:Jazz Standard
116 East 27th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. TICKETS: $20
ERIC KURIMSKI WHEN: Thursday 5/27/10 WHERE:Terraza Cafe
40-19 Gleane St
Elmhurst, NY TIME: 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
GARY MORGAN & PANAMERICANA WHEN: Tuesday 5/25/10 WHERE:Zinc Bar
82 W 3rd Street
New York, NY TIME: 9:30 p.m., 11:00 p.m., & 1:00 a.m. TICKETS: $10 & 2 Drink Minimum
GREG DIAMOND WHEN: Wednesday 5/26/10 WHERE:Flutebar – Midtown
205 West 54th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m.
LANNIE BATTISTINI WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 WHERE:The Dali Museum
1000 Third St South
St. Pete, FL TIME: 5:30 p.m. TICKETS: $15
MARIA CANGIANO WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 7:00 p.m. & 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
MARK HOLEN’S ZAMBOMBA WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 WHERE:Via Della Pace
48 East 7th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
MARIO ADNET
Latin in Manhattan: A Journey to Brazil WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 – Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:Rose Theater – Jazz At Lincoln Center
33 West 60th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $30 – $95
MARK WEINSTEIN WHEN: Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:Cecil’s Jazz Club
364 Valley Road
West Orange, NJ TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15
PAPO VAZQUEZ
With The Bronx Arts Ensemble WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 WHERE:Van Cortland Park
501 Courtlandt Avenue
Bronx, NY TIME: 2:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
PAUL CARLON OCTET
With Jazz Sinfônica WHEN: Tuesday 5/25/10 WHERE:S.O.B.’s
204 Varick Street
New York, NY TIME: 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: $15 in advance; $20 at door
SAMMY FIGUEROA WHEN: Thursday 5/27/10 WHERE:Sculler’s Jazz Club
400 Soldiers Field Road
Boston, MA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $22
SOFIA TOSELLO WHEN: Thursday 5/27/10 WHERE:Tutuma Social Club
164 East 56th Street
New York, NY TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:30 p.m. TICKETS: NO COVER
WILLIE MARTINEZ WHEN: Thursday 5/27/10 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 . . . CRAIG RUSSO LATIN JAZZ PROJECT WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 WHERE:Swinger’s Grill
1304 Cross Creek Drive
Normal, IL TIME: 8:00 p.m.
DARWIN NOGUERA EVOLUTION QUARTET WHEN: Tuesday 5/25/10 WHERE:Andy’s Jazz Club
11 E. Hubbard Street
Chicago, IL TIME: 9:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
LOS GATOS WHEN: Wednesday 5/26/10 WHERE:Live At PJ’s
102 S 1st St
Ann Arbor, MI TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 9:15 p.m. TICKETS: $7
TUMBAO BRAVO WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 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 . . . BRIAN ANDRES AFRO-CUBAN JAZZ CARTEL WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 WHERE:CODA Supper Club
1710 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: $10
ESTRADA BROTHERS WHEN: Thursday 5/27/10 WHERE:Vibrato Jazz Grill
2930 N. Beverly Glen Circle
Bel Air, CA TIME: 6:30 p.m.
KAT PARRA WHEN: Friday 5/28/10 – Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:D’Vine Wine and Jazz
775 Cochrane Road
Morgan Hill, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
NAGUAL
Sacramento Jazz Festival WHEN: Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:Sheraton Grand Nave Ballroom
1230 J Street
Sacramento, CA TIME: 2:30 p.m. TICKETS: $35
Sacramento Jazz Festival WHEN: Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:Firehouse Lot
1112 2nd Street
Sacramento, CA TIME: 5:30 p.m. TICKETS: $35
Sacramento Jazz Festival WHEN: Saturday 5/29/10 WHERE:The Depot
2001 K Street
Sacramento, CA TIME: 8:30 p.m. TICKETS: $35
PABLO MENEDEZ & MEZCLA WHEN: Monday 5/24/10 WHERE:Kuumbwa Jazz Center
320 Cedar Street
Santa Cruz, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $20 in advance; $23 at door
WHEN: Thursday 5/27/10 WHERE:Yoshi’s – Oakland
510 Embarcadero West
Jack London Square
Oakland, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. & 10:00 p.m. TICKETS: 8:00 p.m.: $18; 10:00 p.m.: $12
RAY OBIEDO & MAMBO CARIBE
Sacramento Jazz Festival WHEN: Sunday 5/30/10 WHERE:Turntable Junction
Between I and J Streets on Front Street
Sacramento, CA TIME: 7:00 p.m. TICKETS: $35
WAYNE WALLACE
FCS Benefit Gala WHEN: Wednesday 5/26/10 WHERE:Yoshi’s – San Francisco
1330 Fillmore Street
San Francisco, CA TIME: 8:00 p.m. TICKETS: Show Only: $50; With Reception: $100
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El Puente (The Bridge) Steve Pouchie Latin Jazz Alive Records
Context means many things to a musician, significantly effecting their ability to develop meaningful statements. On one hand, context might refer to the type of rhythmic foundation placed beneath the music. Different styles demand unique rhythmic approaches that change the musical requirements of the performance. Musicians must phrase differently, structure their improvisations from a distinct perspective, and interact through unique channels based upon the stylistic foundation. On the other hand, context can relate to the music’s instrumentation, ranging from traditional combinations to absolutely unique mixtures. The limits of an artist sitting in a sea of musicians among a big band are quite different than an artist in a small combo. Instrumentations provide both freedom and limits for musicians, allowing opportunities to interact with the individuals around them. The meaning of context changes based upon the conversation, but its impact always stays the same; it effects the musician’s ability to perform at their highest level. Certain contexts play upon a musician’s strengths and they bring out the best in the musician. Other contexts challenge the musician, forcing them to struggle through unfamiliar territory. Strong musicians demonstrate the ability to navigate their way through numerous different contexts, consistently performing at a high level. Vibraphonist Steve Pouchie creates a number of different contexts through smart compositions and arrangements on El Puente (The Bridge), showing strong musicality at all points.
Featuring Guest Artists With A Full Ensemble
Pouchie features a number of original compositions with a full ensemble, bringing several guest artists into the mix. Pouchie provides a melodic vamp over an up-tempo son montuno on “Journey Into Outland,” until a full brass section interjects explosive attacks around melodic phrases from saxophonist Julio Botti. Sharp edged band breaks send Pouchie into an enthusiastic improvisation full of quick runs, followed by a rhythmically engaging solo from Botti. Pianist Adan Perez charges full steam into his improvisation, playing with a rhythmic abandon that inspires response from the rhythm section. Perez provides an uplifting vamp behind Pete Nater’s trumpet embellishments on “The Shores Of Summer,” leading into a catchy vibes melody framed by brass accents. Nater attacks his improvisation with an assertive edge, spinning bop edged phrases through the full range of his instrument over an active montuno. Pouchie grabs the song’s energy and flies into his solo with long rapid lines and short percussive phrases that build upon the band’s momentum. Freely interpreted vibraphone, flute, and saxophone lines float over a spacious guaguanco on “Naomi’s Fantasy,” until the band jumps into a son monunto behind intertwining lines from Botti and flautist Ariel Santiago. Botti mixes long flowing melodic ideas and clave driven rhythmic ideas into a strong improvisation, grounded by musical integrity. Santiago plays upon the percussive potential of his instrument, creating a rhythmic improvisation that leads into an exciting solo from timbalero Erik Piza. These pieces expose the strength of Pouchie’s compositional and performance skills in a large ensemble setting, revealing a powerful voice.
Placing The Vibraphone In A Thin Texture
Pouchie highlights several original compositions that place the vibraphonist in a thin texture, bringing the beauty of his instrument to the forefront. Flautist Andrea Brachfeld emphasizes band breaks with melodic fragments while Pouchie provides flourishes on “Watch Ur Wallet,” before breaking into a longer melodic idea. Brachfeld drives the band into a strong forward motion with a series of propulsive ideas that push cleverly constructed ideas through his instrument’s wide range. Pouchie utilizes his ingenious sense of thematic development to create a cohesive statement filled with energy. Light band attacks open into an airy and colorful texture on “Sands Of Outland,” changing gears into a funky groove colored by a lush melody from Pouchie’s vibes. The rhythm section thins to only Perez, who plays a gentle series of chords behind Pouchie, who carefully improvises around key notes. As the rhythm section bursts back into the groove, Pouchie furiously races into quick runs matching the band’s powerful sound. Little Johnny Rivero skillfully quintos over a 6/8 groove on “Montana De Suenos” before jumping into a driving guaguanco behind saxophonist Ivan Renta’s rhythmic melody. Pouchie builds his improvisation over time, starting with long spacious phrases that grow into fully formed and engaging lines. Renta follows with an energetic statement that runs rapid lines over the active rhythm section, until Barrios contrasts with a classy and understated improvisation. Brachfeld and Pouchie join rhythm section hits around a 6/8 groove on “The Ghanan Trail,” leading into a memorable melody that winds around the groove like a stylistic glove. Brachfeld navigates the rhythm section’s momentum with a confident ease, spurring interactive thoughts with a storm of percussive ideas. The whole group falls into a winding unison line that lands on sharp breaks, providing spaces with a virtuosic display of conga skills from Rivero. These pieces place Pouchie among a smaller group of musicians, where he provides strong support and a bold presence as both a soloist and member of the rhythm section.
Creative Interpretations Of Standards
Pouchie demonstrates his connection to the Latin Jazz world with creative interpretations of several standards. Pouchie breaks the melody to Tito Puente’s “Picadillo” into pieces while each band member inserts quick ideas before the full group jumps into the traditional melody. Renta weaves his cutting tone through the vamp with a clever use of chromatics before Ronnie Puente creates a quietly intensive statement on marimba. An instrumental interlude bursts into an explosive solo from Rivero that climaxes into Pouchie’s furious display of mallet work over a montuno from Renta. The band creates a wild inertia with a driving montuno and aggressive solo from Botti, introducing “Take Five,” which cleverly fits into a son montuno with smartly placed breaks. Botti charges into the addictive vamp with an impassioned flair, creating fiery lines full of edgy chromatic ideas. Pouchie brings an equal of amount of drive into his improvisation, mixing rapid runs with syncopated ideas that push the group forward. An understated vamp from Pouchie quickly bursts into a familiar theme on “Green Dolphin Street,” with Botti and Pouchie sharing melodic duties. Pouchie cuts loose over the well-known standard with jazz fueled ideas, leading into a statement from Barrios, who develops ideas with a smart refinement. The rhythm section leaps into action behind Botti’s aggressive run through the chord changes, leading into an explosive exchange of percussive ideas between drum kit player Jotan Afanador and Rivero’s bongo. Pouchie dramatically moves through the traditional introduction to “Manha De Carnaval” before the rhythm section falls into a bossa nova behind the main melody. Pouchie utilizes space wisely, crafting a melodically rich improvisation that floats smoothly over the groove. Nater builds a smart shape to his solo with wisely applied dynamics, leading into a series of solidly developed themes from pianist Sam Barrios. These pieces display Pouchie’s strong command over traditional settings, as he produces creatively structured interpretations of well-known standards.
Riding Strong Musicianship Through Creative Contexts
Pouchie presents a variety of creative contexts on El Puente (The Bridge) and consequently delivers some inspiring music. His instrument provides a high degree of flexibility that allows him to comp supportively, solo expressively, and take on rhythmic roles. Each one of these tasks demands insightful musicianship though, and Pouchie brings plenty of that into the mix. He fills the texture elengently when placed solely against a rhythm section or when paired with only a flute. He balances his place as a teamplayer in a larger ensemble, stepping in and out of the spotlight as necessary. Pouchie buids each performance around the best musical choices, relying on chops at some points, while preferring restraint at others. His compositions and arrangements form the heart of the album, as Pouchie structures each performance context around ideas that inspire his group. He wisely surrounds himself with some of the New York Latin Jazz scene’s top musicians, insuring some high level performances. Both Botti and Renta play with fire and an insightful knowledge of the rhythmic concept at every turn. Brachfeld provides the perfect match to Pouchie’s vibes, taking turns emphasizing her flute’s light tone or its percussive qualities. Pouchie has given some heavy thought to the musical contexts on El Puente (The Bridge), and he rides a strong sense of musicianship through the recording’s musical settings with confidnece and ease.
Academic thought provides a different perspective upon the musical experience that results in a consistent stream of new ideas. Regardless of the academic’s experience in the musical genre, their main goal is the pursuit of new knowledge, inevitably leading them towards uncharted territory. As the researcher bravely investigates unfamiliar musical areas, they step into the position of the outsider, an unfamiliar face in a musical community. This places a bit of uncomfortable tension onto the research process, as they try to gain the trust of a new community. It also adds an invaluable perspective; looking into a musical process from the outside brings fine details into light. It allows the researcher enough separation from the cultural elements to appreciate the music on an aesthetic level but analyze it from a detached stance. Without an emotional attachment to the music’s context, the research can examine it from multiple perspectives and reconsider it on a variety of levels. If the community confirms the researcher with insider status, they gain yet another viewpoint that leads them towards a more complete understanding of the culture. With repeated exposure and an eventual acceptance by the musical community, the researcher can develop new conclusions and educate the greater public about musical truths. Once they reach the public through books or other educational materials, they help spread a knowledge of tradition and original streams of thought into the world. Inevitably, their work leads to the survival of the musical culture and the creative manipulation of its elements in the modern musical world.
When bass clarinetist Paul Austerlitz leaped into the world of academics and ethnomusicology, he carried practical performance experience and a working knowledge of jazz and Dominican merengue. Encouraged by his parents in the arts at a young age, Austerlitz found a musical voice on both the clarinet and the saxophone Pursuing his passion, he attended Bennington College, where he gained valuable insight into music from trumpet player Bill Dixon and drummer Milford Graves. Working as a professional musician after graduation, Austerlitz found ample work opportunities in the world of Dominican merengue. The style fascinated him, presenting technically challenging saxophone parts and an addictively danceable groove. As Austerlitz moved deeper into the style, he saw academics as a way to further his interests in the music. He enrolled at Wesleyan University, producing a thesis upon the role of the saxophone in merengue. He produced books on both of his primary interests, giving the world Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity and Jazz Consciousness: Music, Race, and Humanity. Both books delved into major issues of race and identity in African American and Dominican culture, placing the emphasis upon the history and development of music. Austerlitz continued performing throughout his academic life, most recently culminating in the production of an astounding demonstration of Dominican Vodu Jazz on the album Journey. This recording brought all the pieces of Austerlitz’s academic life into an artistic presentation, allowing him to creatively interpret his many lessons. With each piece of writing and musical expression, Austerlitz built upon his research and helped push Dominican music and jazz into the world.
Years of study and research have provided Austerlitz with an invaluable perspective upon the music, while equal amounts of time working in the trenches of the musical scene gave him an authentic artistic understanding. In part one of Tomas Peña’s discussion with Austerlitz, the bass clarinetist talked about his early musical experience, the influence of Milford Graves, and his initial involvement in Dominican merengue. In the second piece of the interview, Austerlitz goes over the main ideas of his two major academic books, looks at the development of Journey, and talks about his current musical direction.
———- TOMAS PEÑA: The book, Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity was published by Temple University Press in 1997. A lot has been written about the history of salsa; however, I have not seen that many books on the history of Dominican music. At least not in the states.
PAUL AUSTERLITZ: At the time, there was wave of ethnomusicologists who wrote books on Latin American, or non-Western music. I was part of that wave. The nice thing that I found most rewarding about the book is the reception in the Dominican Republic. People really started digging it and I was inducted into the Dominican Academy of Sciences, which is a very prestigious institution . . . and not being Dominican, do you know what I mean? I taught at the National University (University of Santo Domingo) and the National Conservatory Of Music. They had been so accepting of me. Then the Academy of Sciences in conjunction with the National Ministry of Culture asked me if they could translate the book into Spanish, which they did. The experience was very gratifying.
TP: And well deserved I might add.
PA: I also have a band in the Dominican Republic.
TP: What kind of music does the band perform?
PA: Pretty much what you heard at El Taller Latin Americano.
TP: At what point did you decide to come full circle and explore your Finnish roots?
PA: Many Dominicans would say, “You are so into our music, what’s your traditional music like?” The truth is I did not know so I decided to look into it.
TP: As I understand it, Finnish music owes a lot to African American music. How so?
PA: Going back to the 1930s, jazz was a big influence. During the ’60s there was Rock n’ Roll and later there was Hip Hop and stuff like that. The Finnish musicians who were interested in traditional folk music started creating fusions with Finnish music and jazz.
TP: I would like to hear that. I am sorry to say that my knowledge of Finnish music, in all its forms is ZIP!
PA: I was surprised because I was looking for the traditional stuff, but a lot of them were playing new folk music that had jazz, rock and classical influences. I found it somewhat ironic that the Finnish musicians had taken a similar path as me.
PA: I started teaching at Brown University in 1998. At the same time, I started writing Jazz Consciousness: Music, Race, and Humanity. Going back to some of the questions you asked me in the beginning, I basically wanted to understand myself. Put another way, Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity was about Dominican music. I am proud of the end result and the fact that it was accepted by Dominicans, but there was something missing because I was always talking about other people. The people that influenced me – especially Milford Graves – said that you have to understand yourself. I wanted to write a book about jazz that looked at African American music in a global context and from my perspective as a white musician. I wanted to say that the music was made by black people in a racist country and look at that racist context in history. Then I wanted to explain how a white European immigrant in New York experiences that. Many black musicians have written very eloquently about race and racism. Some white scholars have done it too but they are in the minority.
TP: When I think of white scholars who have written eloquently about African music, Afro-Caribbean music and African art the first name that comes to mind is Professor Robert Farris Thompson.
(Interviewer’s Notes: Dr. Robert Farris Thompson has devoted his life to studying the art history of the Afro-Atlantic world. He received his BA, MA, and PhD degrees from Yale and has served on their faculty since 1965. Thompson has published numerous books and articles on topics as diverse as African dance, art history of the Black Americas, bark cloth art by the pygmies of the Ituri Forest, and altars of the Black Atlantic world. In 2003, the College Art Association, in its inaugural award of Distinguished Lifetime Achievement for Art Writing, honored this “towering figure in the history of art, whose voice for diversity and cultural openness has made him a public intellectual of resounding importance.” Thompson is the author of Flash of the Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy and Tango: The Art History of Love).
PA: I should have mentioned him earlier. As I said before, I had no desire to become an academic like my dad, however I did want to be an academic like Robert Farris Thompson.
TP: You and me both. Thompson is one of the hippest and most forward thinking academics I have ever encountered. Imagine a white guy teaching a course on the mambo at Yale University before it was fashionable! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
PA: Getting back to the book there are chapters on jazz, race and music. There is also a chapter on Machito and Mario Bauza, which is very “New York.”
TP: How was the book received?
PA: It has kind of an activist aspect to it and some of the people at Brown University did not like it. In fact, I was denied tenure specifically because of the book. It was very disruptive because I had a great job at there and I was training a number of graduate students who were completing there PhD’s in ethnomusicology. Ironically, after I was denied tenure the book received two international awards and an honorable mention in the Woody Guthrie Prize (International Association for the Study of Popular Music).
TP: How did Brown state their case?
PA: The University stated that the book was not up to their standards. Afterwards I left Brown and got a job at Gettysburg College (Sunderman Conservatory) and I am happy to say that they have been very welcoming of my research and my creative work.
TP: Bring me up to speed on what you are doing now.
PA: After I finished the second book, I was granted a Fellowship from the Rhode Island Foundation for music composition. It was the largest grant that a composer had ever received in Long Island ($25,000.00). I used that money to create the CD, Journey. Admittedly, I don’t like all of my recordings, but that one I like! I was meticulous with it. If there was something I didn’t like I changed it. And I have different bands, I recorded part of it in the Dominican Republic and in New York. So I did that and since about 2005 I’ve been focusing primarily on composing, playing and developing new music.
TP: How has Journey been received? Does the listening public get it?
PA: It’s hard to tell. I had a nice review in Jazz Times and a couple of reviews in All About Jazz and some European magazines. People seem to like it. I am getting some airplay . . . it’s hard to tell. The album contains so many different styles of music.
TP: I think that people who love and understand African based music will appreciate it. Also, if they see your band live they will “get it.” Your music is very deep, spiritual and communal. There is nothing quite like it.
PA: For the record I had a band in the Dominican Republic before I had a band in the states. Which is to say I have been working on the concept for a long time. Also, I was attending a lot of religious ceremonies in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Brazil. I gradually became involved in the Yoruba religion in New York. More recently I got involved in Dominican and Haitian Vodu. I was initiated in Haiti last year. In fact, I left Haiti 6 days before the earthquake.
When I starting to putting the tour together I knew what I wanted to do but I wasn’t sure if I was going to call it the “Vodu Jazz Project.” Then I thought to myself, “It is Vodu Jazz. Why do I have to be ashamed of it?.” At the performance I wore a ritual scarf on my head and danced. I decided to be “out there” with it and doing the spiritual thing helped me to open up.
TP: More power to you and why not?
PA: A lot of people that were there were not jazz fans, however they accepted it as part of the whole.
TP: I think that at the end of the day the overarching theme of our conversation has to do with the transformative power of music. Meaning, how it has transformed your life and brought you to where you are today.
PA: I agree with that.
TP: Music has certainly transformed my life.
PA: Music is an expression of cosmic harmony. You find it in Sufism, Indian music and European music. One of the best ways to connect with music is through spirit. Especially the music we are talking about . . . I have always felt that so strong, even though I am not from the Caribbean. When I perform I just try go give into. The thesis of Jazz Consciousness: Music, Race, and Humanity is that jazz comes from African American culture but it is also this human thing that touches everyone.
TP: Is there anything else on your agenda?
PA: I want to write a book on the transformative power of music and the link between spiritual music, spiritual traditions and jazz. I also want to talk about Vodu in the Dominican Republic and my experience as a member of the religion. I am not ready to write about that yet but I hope to write about in the future.
TP: I look forward to seeing the book materialize and catching your band the next time you perform in New York. Thank you for speaking with me. It has been interesting, enlightening and above all, a pleasure.
Latin Jazz musicians need an academic edge to their artistic concept, a fact that they can deeply embed in their music or carry into the greater public. The genre’s musical complexities demand a high level of thinking from any performer. Navigating intricate chord changes and improvising within thick compositions requires more than basic musical instinct – an artist needs to be committed to a lifetime of rigorous study. This requires a focused and regular approach to practice and a consistent detailed analysis of music. For most musicians, this is the work that happens behind the scenes; their listening audience hears the end result, but they miss the academic side of the process. A small piece of the musical population takes the art form’s academic side a bit further, producing scholarly work that moves the music forward in a different way. These artists generally dig a bit deeper into the historical aspect of the music, doing extensive research. They might spend more time in the analytical process, pulling details from each study that could be missed in a more casual overview. Most importantly, they dig deeply into the music’s cultural aspect, discovering tradition and finding new ways to communicate the inner workings of the performance practice. The findings broaden our understanding of the genre through books, papers, articles, presentations, and lectures. They put musical and cultural ideas into a tangible form of communication that speaks loudly and clearly. The most intriguing artists will put their scholarly discoveries back into their musical output, completing a thorough connection between academics and art.
Bass clarinetist Paul Austerlitz has balanced his life between performance and academics, giving us some extremely interesting products on both sides of the spectrum. Raised in New York, Austerlitz built his appreciation for the arts in the midst of parents deeply involved in the academic world of Columbia University. He picked up the clarinet as a teenager and later moved to the saxophone, eventually furthering his music studies at Bennington College. Austerlitz found a home in the Black Studies program at Bennington, developing a close relationship with drummer Milford Graves. Under the influence of Graves, Austerlitz stretched his musical concept and started looking into the world of African musics. After graduation, Austerlitz faced the daunting task of creating a professional music career in New York, looking for work in the Latin music world. Dominican merengue was very popular in New York at the time, and there was an increasing need for skilled saxophonists. Austerlitz fit the bill precisely for these gigs, and dug into the music full force. His immersion into the merengue world introduced him to the intricacies of the music and inspired him to dig a little deeper. The scholarly world provided the perfect outlet for Austerlitz’s study, so he enrolled at Wesleyan University, with a focus upon ethnomusicology. His studies enabled him to dive into a deep study of Dominican merengue, resulting in a detailed thesis and an extensive book. Austerlitz never left the performance world though, and his musical output became richly filled with the benefits of his study. As he moved between both worlds, Austerlitz grew into a thoughtful artist that intelligently connected culture, art, and personal expression.
Austerlitz stands as a unique Latin Jazz artist, intelligently exploring the connection between Dominican music and jazz while producing academic work. His musical output has moved this often overlooked side of Latin Jazz into high artistic ground while his academic work has shed new light upon the cultural importance of merengue. In the first piece of a two part interview with Austerlitz, Tomas Peña discusses Austerlitz’s musical development, his connection with Milford Graves, his movement into the Latin music world, and his transition into the academic world.
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“Austerlitz is a leading scholar of merengue. Nevertheless, he wears his erudition lightly. Through all the exposition he remains a buen elemento, able to pick up a sax and play merengue with his peers.” Professor and author, Robert Farris Thompson
TOMAS PEÑA: Welcome to The Latin Jazz Corner. Congratulations on your recent performance at El Taller Latino Americano.
PAUL AUSTERLITZ: Thank you!
TP: Where are you from originally?
PA: I was born in Finland. My mother (Sylvi) is from Finland and my dad (Robert) is from Romania. My mother and I moved to New York when I was 1 years old. My father was a professor at Columbia University and my mother was a scholar who worked towards her PhD while she was raising me. I grew up on the upper West Side, near Columbia University.
TP: Were your parents musically inclined or into the arts?
PA: They were really into music and the arts.
TP: I understand they enjoyed listening to European classical music at home.
PA: My father also had an appreciation for jazz. He was not a jazz buff; however, he fooled around on the piano.
TP: At 18, you attended Bennington College and somehow ended up in the Black Music Division. How did that occur?
PA: That was an interesting phenomenon because trumpet player Bill Dixon was teaching there.
TP: What year was that?
PA: 1975. It was an era when Black Studies were flourishing. Anyway, Dixon asked the question, “If there is a White (European) Studies Department, why isn’t there a Black Studies Department?” Somehow, he was able to convince the school to go along with his ideas. It was a very small department. Later, he brought in Milford Graves.
TP: When did you gravitate towards the saxophone?
PA: Actually, I started playing the clarinet when I was 15. Prior to that, I had taken piano lessons and I played the guitar by ear. Bill Dixon was the person who suggested that I study the bass clarinet.
TP: This happens to be one of my favorite instruments. Moving on, I am going to read a passage that you wrote about the transformational powers of music and you chime in. “By playing and listening to jazz I cultivated a consciousness that helped me negotiate my ambivalence.”
PA: I guess I felt a divide between my European background and the fact that I am an American. I felt Finnish in a way, however in reality I am an American and a New Yorker. My family lived in a white neighborhood right next to Harlem and there was a whole other culture living right next door that we knew nothing about. So I felt torn because I valued my European culture. I liked it and I understood it, but at the same time I was drawn to Black culture and music. The thing that is so cool about Black music is that Ellington and Charlie Parker were very hip to European classical music without ever sacrificing their allegiance to their own culture. As Ellington was known to say, they were “Gut bucket but sophisticated.” In other words, they were complete! They had the funky blues thing going on that you could move your ass to, but at the same time, you could hear strains of Debussy, Stravinsky and Beethoven. Put another way, I admired their ability to be so holistic. I should also mention Eddie Palmieri, the Machito band and Mario Bauza, who created dance music, but appreciated and were influenced by Bartok and McCoy Tyner. They inspired me because they had everything!
TP: Milford Graves has had a tremendous impact on your life. Tell me about him.
PA: Milford is an African-American musician from New York who started out playing in Afro Cuban and Latin Jazz bands and later got into freely improvised music. He taught at Bennington and inspired me to learn about Afro Cuban music and African music. He is also into Chinese philosophy, acupuncture and healing. Moreover, he plays the Tabla and studies Indian Classical music. Milford was kind of an ethnomusicologist without calling himself that.
(Interviewer’s Notes: Born in 1941, Milford Graves became a famous jazz drummer in the sixties. If somehow we forgot about the fact that he helped lead a musical revolution in jazz in the ’60′s (where he led his own ensembles and worked with Albert Ayler, Paul Bley, Don Pullen, and many others), Professor Milford Graves still would be greatly admired for his steady, long-time dedication to the field of music therapy. A tenured teacher at Bennington College for over a quarter of a century, he has also done extenstive work as an acupuncturist, herbalist and leader of the non-profit organization the International Center for Medicinal and Scientific Research.)
TP: And he was obviously ahead of his time. He was listening and playing world music before the category came into existence.
PA: During a time when people were not really talking about it. Therefore, Milford was the one who got me into world music, ethnomusicology and African religions like Voodoo. In many respects, he was an even bigger influence on me than Bill Dixon was. After I left Bennington, I stayed in touch with him and invited him to visit me at Brown University, which he did. He asked me to write something about him.
PA: Yes. Kind of in the form of an interview. His story as it was told to me in his voice. I am still in touch with him; he is sort of like my mentor.
TP: After graduation, you returned to New York and became involved in the Latin music scene; particularly the Dominican music scene. How did that happen?
PA: We had this little Latin Jazz group. I was just learning about Latin music and the guys in the band suggested that I find work in a dance band. At the time, there was a demand for saxophonists in merengue bands. I always liked percussion and drumming and playing the jaleos was like playing the percussion part on my instrument.
TP: Did the Latino community welcome you warmly or put you through the ringer?
PA: If you can play, the music people will always accept you. Think about all of the non-Latino musicians who would only play in Latin bands, but were major figures. People like Marty Sheller, Barry Rogers, and Cal Tjader not only participated, but also were major figures.
TP: OK. Let me rephrase that. How does a “white guy” with little to no experience in the genre go about gaining acceptance from the Latino community?
PA: Actually, I always felt very welcome. I was not playing on the level of say, Barry Rogers, but no one really minded because I was not playing in bands that were on that level. In addition, I liked and respected the culture and I enjoyed the way the people were. I enjoyed the women, the way Latinos are more outgoing. I found the Latino community to be very open.
TP: And obviously, the feeling was mutual.
PA: I was also very devoted to learning how to play merengue on the saxophone and there was a demand for that. There was a need for that and I was able to get the gigs because of that.
TP: I don’t profess to know a lot about merengue; however, to my ear the saxophone parts sound very challenging.
PA: I consider it to be one of the most difficult kinds of music to play on the saxophone. At the time, Wilfrido Vargas was very popular and his sax parts were very intricate. There are certain nuances that have to be played and they are very precise. Even if you get the notes right, the music has to be interpreted in a particular way. When I went to graduate school, I wrote my master’s thesis on the role of the saxophone in merengue.
TP: Sounds like a fascinating thesis.
PA: The information is in my book, Merengue: Dominican Music and Dominican Identity. For the record, I played with Joseito Mateo, who was considered the king of the merengue in the 1950s. He is still around and plays occasionally.
TP: There is a great photo of Joseito Mateo in your book! Do you keep up with the latest trends in Dominican music?
PA: Not as much as I used to. There is a new style of merengue called mambo merengue, which is sort of like rap; however, I have not kept up with it.
TP: So you come to a point in your life where realize that your life lacks stability. Shortly thereafter, you enroll at Wesleyan University and major in Musicology. What prompted you to take that route?
PA: I was very inspired by drummer and educator Milford Graves, who talked about music as a part of a larger study, which was the study of the cosmos. My parents were academics, but I didn‘t want to do what they did; it was too limiting. So I thought to myself, why not do what Milford did and embrace my parent’s academic background while furthering my interests?
TP: So you enrolled at a university and embarked on a long-term study of Dominican merengue.
PA: Yes.
TP: It is pretty obvious to me because you were already immersed in the Dominican culture.
PA: It was the logical thing to do. I was actually very interested in African music and African religion and Afro Caribbean religion. However, I decided to do the Dominican merengue because I thought I would be able to do a good job and as you pointed out, I was already immersed in the culture.
TP: And you were still playing in Latin bands and learning about the music.
PA: Yes. At the time, I was playing with a few bands in Connecticut.
PA: I completed my PhD in 1993 and turned my dissertation (on Dominican music) into that book
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Make sure that you check back tomorrow for Part Two of Tomas Peña’s conversation with Latin Jazz bass clarinetist and saxophonist Paul Austerlitz. Peña and Austerlitz discuss his academic books, his exploration of his Finnish roots, and his recent work including the inspiring album Journey. Don’t miss it!
Each local music scene can point to a hand full of people that nurtured, supported, and accelerated the regional growth of Latin Jazz. It certainly takes the force of an entire community to establish Latin Jazz across a music scene, but there are always inspired individuals that serve as instigators. In most cases, they don’t enter their musical careers with the intention or even desire to change the scene; their passion for the music simply drives them to great heights. They seek out the most challenging and inspiring performance situations and they hold an insatiable thirst for musical knowledge. Their search for new ideas and artistic growth can potentially send them around the world, investigating the hot spots of Latin Jazz culture. Trips to Cuba, New York, and Puerto Rico all become necessary stops in their journey, and they return home with a broad understanding of the music’s inner workings. They inevitably build a context for their own personal expressions with local musicians, sharing their knowledge and building upon the talents of the area. They become mentor figures for the musicians around them, spreading their love of the genre with an addictive energy. Recordings and high profiles performances can make a national impact, bringing their knowledge, musicianship, and skills to a greater base of listeners. This always benefits the local scene, encouraging other musicians to take their Latin Jazz statements into the world. Once these musicians gain momentum around Latin Jazz, their connection to the music only gets stronger, keeping them on a creative path.
The San Francisco Bay Area’s Latin Jazz scene has flourished over the past few decades, due in large part to the hard work and dedication of percussionist John Santos. Born into a musical environment, Santos picked up drums and percussion early, performing with salsa bands throughout San Francisco. He developed a solid respect for tradition that would guide his career, but also an experimental edge, that would keep him exploring new contexts for Latin Jazz. Santos traveled extensively in search of a greater understanding of the music’s history, taking him to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, New York, and more. Along the way, he worked with some of the most important musicians in the genre, including Cal Tjader, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Palmieri, Francisco Aguabella, Omar Sosa, and many more. These experiences helped fuel Santos’ desire to create his own statements, bringing Latin Jazz into the Bay Area. In the seventies and early eighties, Santos led two groups that showed the massive Latin Jazz potential of the Bay Area scene: Orquesta Tipica Cienfuegos and Orquesta Batachanga. In 1985, Santos formed one of the most important groups in Bay Area Latin Jazz history, The Machete Ensemble, a group that brought together the area’s best musicians into a creative context. Santos and the group released nine albums, worked with musicians such as Cachao, won multiple Grammy nominations, and earned a high profile reputation that built momentum around the Bay Area’s Latin Jazz scene. In 2006, Santos closed the door on The Machete Ensemble, opting to perform with a sextet that includes flautist John Calloway, pianist Marco Diaz, bassist Saul Sierra, drummer David Flores, and saxophonist Melecio Magdaluyo. With two albums under their belt, The John Santos Sextet has continued the tradition of excellence, spreading Latin Jazz throughout the Bay Area community. While maintaining his performance career, Santos has worked as a clinician, lecturer, and educator throughout the world, sharing his extensive knowledge. Santos has been a tireless advocate for Latin Jazz, and his passion has contagiously spread throughout the area.
Today, the San Francisco Bay Area houses a number of world class Latin Jazz groups and individual musicians, largely due to the impressive work done by Santos. In tribute to his years of work in the Bay Area’s Latin Jazz world, today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix is dedicated to Santos. The first two videos feature Santos’ groundbreaking work with the Machete Ensemble from 1995 and 2005; keep an eye open for some of the Bay Area’s top Latin Jazz musicians including Rebeca Mauleon, Orestes Vilato, John Calloway, Wayne Wallace, and more. The third clip features The John Santos Quintet performing a scorching rendition of Chucho Valdes’ “Mambo Influenciado.” The last piece is an awe-inspiring performance from Santos, playing alongside pianist Elio Villafranca at the Monterey Jazz Festival. There’s some great music from the Bay Area’s best here – enjoy!
———- John Santos And The Machete Ensemble In 1995
John Santos And The Machete Ensemble In 2005
The John Santos Quintet At The DeYoung Museum
John Santos With Elio Villafranca At The Monterey Jazz Festival
———- JOHN SANTOS CLINIC & PERFORMANCE WITH THE STANFORD AFRO-LATIN JAZZ ENSEMBLE
Bay Area Latin Jazz fans have a treat in front of them as percussionist, historian, and educator John Santos presents an open clinic/demonstration with the Stanford Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble. The presentation, entitled “The Anatomy Of Latin Jazz” will be held this Thursday May 29th at 12:00 p.m. in the Braun Rehearsal Hall on the Stanford campus – admission is free and open to the public. It’s a great opportunity to learn from one of the Bay Area’s best. The following Monday May 24th, Santos will be a guest artist at the group’s Spring concert, playing some great Latin Jazz charts. The group, led by pianist Murray Low, has been getting insights from incredible musicians all year; the show should be fantastic – don’t miss it!
The Anatomy Of Latin Jazz – clinic/demonstration from John Santos WHEN: Thursday 5/20/10 WHERE:Braun Rehearsal Hall – Stanford University
541 Lasuen Mall
Stanford, CA TIME: 12:00 p.m. TICKETS: FREE
———-
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.
After establishing himself as a diverse musician with a broad set of tools to contribute to the Connecticut music scene, drummer Ed Fast found several outlets to share his experience. His love to Latin Jazz got more intense, driving him to study recordings from masters like Cal Tjader and Hilton Ruiz. Looking to explore these interests more fully, Fast assembled a number of musicians from the area into a new group, Conga-Bop. The group gained momentum on the local scene, inspiring Fast to record a collection of original pieces and creative arrangements. After finishing the main tracks for the album, Fast received a multitude of calls for Broadway musical work, taking him around the world for a number of years. When he finally had a break in his schedule, Fast completed work on the album, releasing 
in 2007. He continued balancing his schedule between Latin Jazz, Broadway shows, and symphonic work, and along the way found time to work with young musicians. Two young musicians worked closely with Fast and made a particularly strong impact upon the Latin Jazz community – Zaccai and Luques Curtis. Fast spent some influential years with the Curtis Brothers before they broke into New York’s Latin Jazz scene, helping them build their knowledge of the style. Fast worked as musical director for a youth group that included the Curtis Brothers, which performed across the Hartford scene and even made its way to gigs in Cuba. Now a mentor on the Connecticut music scene with a broad knowledge base, Fast not only made his own creative contributions to the music, but also kept it moving into the future. 
LJC: Is there a Latin Jazz scene around the Hartford area?
EF: Yep! I’m dying to do another one. I’ve got a bunch more original things. Also, I commissioned some friends to write some really nice arrangements on jazz standards with vocals. I just think that will improve upon the appeal, to feature a vocalist on a few tunes – jazz standards that people know. And then sprinkled in with that, my crazy original stuff. I’ve got some original pieces that I’m really excited about having people hear. We’ve been playing them live and they’ve been very well received. But again, the whole thing is how to finance it – that’s the trick!
EF: I’m so glad to hear you say that, because I do feel like we’re not coming from a salsa bag. It’s very much jazz infused. In Hartford, we’ve had Jackie Mclean, who just passed away last year. He was at The Hartt School; he had the Jackie McLean Institute of Jazz. There’s just a lot of jazz in the area, probably due to him; he’s brought a lot of great artists in. We do that Lee Morgan tune on 
EF: I’ve just got to tell you, we love Andy. One time I had a gig with the adults in Hartford and we could not find a bass player anywhere. To make a long story short, I tracked down Andy’s number and called him up in New York. He came up and did the gig with us. It was so funny – I’m transcribing all these Cal Tjader tunes, like “Alonso,” that nobody that I talk to has ever heard of these tunes. I was talking on the phone to Andy and he was asking, “What kind of stuff do you do?” I said, “Well, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of this tune, but Alonso?” He said, “I’ve been playing that since I was twelve years old!” So anyways, I got him a ride up from New York and he played the gig with us. It was just amazing. 
EF: The group that went to Cuba was Luques and Zaccai Curtis and their brother Damien Curtis. They have just exceptional parents; their parents have been very supportive of the whole music thing. I had met them at The Artist Collective, a school for young kids that Jackie Mclean also started. I met them there and then found out a while later that they were putting together a little Latin Jazz group of kids; there were up to twelve kids. So, I started working with them; bringing the charts over. We rehearsed and they started doing gigs in Hartford. They opened up for me or they played in between sets for me. They got so good so quickly; they’re so talented. They were also so dedicated. They wound up opening up for Tito Puente when he came to Hartford. Then they got invited to open up for Libre down at S.O.B.’s. People kept seeing them and hearing them. Next thing you know, Chucho Valdes invited them to perform down in Cuba. When that happened, I was their music director. Ted Curtis, their father, went through all the arrangements to make the trip possible. But Chucho Valdes, who directs that festival down in Havana, invited the kids to come down there and play. It was an absolutely incredible experience that I was very, very privileged to be a part of. 
Local music scenes across the United States are home to musicians that have found national recognition, but in most cases, the heart and soul of that music scene can be found elsewhere. While major names bring attention to a local music scene and often help sell concert tickets or recordings, their contributions to the actual artistic development of the scene can be inconsistent. These musicians are focusing their creative endeavors upon producing a product that reaches listeners outside their local scene, largely through travel, concerts abroad, and streams of recorded works. While they may perform in their local scene, their presence just isn’t consistent enough to make a genuine grassroots impact. The daily act of creating music within a community shapes the aesthetics of that music scene, and it requires a group of artists that spend the majority of their time in the trenches of that region. The musicians that perform in the nightclubs, work in the symphonies, teach in the schools, and play on the streets create the area’s musical character. They feel the pulse of the community, and they find ways to translate that into their artistic output. They reflect upon the needs of their community, discover the best ways to deliver a musical solution, and then do the long hard work to make it a reality. These are the musicians provide an area’s artistic heartbeat, and they should be celebrated with enthusiastic appreciation.
LATIN JAZZ CORNER: How did you get started in music – was it something that you started in your childhood or did it come later?
EF: When I went college, I went to The Hartt School Of Music; the reason that I went there was to study with Alexander Lepak. He’s the one that made sure that you studied all the percussion instruments, for a couple of reasons. You really learn a lot about music from bottom to top. Just studying timpani you learn bass clef and understand how the bass functions. The same with the marimba, it’s kind of like studying piano; you get your harmony and melody and rhythm all in one instrument. So he was a big proponent of that. He also made it clear that you’d have a lot more luck trying to find work if you didn’t have to say, “No, I can’t do this show because I don’t know how to play the xylophone or I don’t know how to play timpani.” So it served two purposes – you became a very well rounded, well-educated musician, plus it made you much more marketable when it came to work. I found that to be very true. 
EF: That wasn’t a specialty of his, but he was knowledgeable in that area. Actually what happened was, when I was still in college, I got hired by some guys to play marimba doing Mexican folk music. From there, it was a small leap to checking out the vibraphone and in particular, Cal Tjader. The thing about Cal Tjader was he had the real guys on there, Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, and of course later on, Poncho Sanchez. But everything was clean and not overdone – you could hear how all the parts were supposed to fit together. Once I heard Cal Tjader, that kind of captured my imagination and I kind of ran with it from there. I have to say that Cal Tjader was probably my biggest influence early on when I got into Latin Jazz. 
. That album in particular had a tune on there called “Insight,” that was written by the conga player on the album, Bill Fitch. That tune really knocked me out. I took that tune “Insight,” that was written by Bill, and I transcribed all the parts – piano, bass, timbales, congas, vibraphone – I transcribed everything. I learned so much from that tune. It really impressed me that this conga player, Bill Fitch, took an amazing solo over one of the hippest montunos that I’ve ever heard in Latin Jazz. That’s the only album that I ever saw him on. It turns out that after trying to track him down for literally years and years and years, he lived in New Haven, Connecticut. That was right down the street from me . . . well, forty minutes away. So I got to hook up with him quite a bit. This guy was an amazing guy. He kind of dropped out of the music scene. He came up with Chick Corea in Boston and went to Berklee. A buddy of mine just worked for Chick out in Colorado, and Chick said that Bill Fitch hipped him to the real deal when it came to Latin Jazz piano playing. He came up with Chick Corea, Gary Burton, Don Alias, Tony Williams, and more. I used to go down every week to play with him. I took his advice on who to listen to and what was important playing wise. This guy was an amazing guy.
, about the violinist who was in L.A.? He went to Juilliard; they made a whole movie about him . . . well, Bill Fitch has got a story like that, but times ten. He went to Berklee, and he was one of the first conga players at Berklee. Gary Burton, and all these guys know Bill. I saw Don Alias just like a month before he passed away; he said, “Man, you think you know who the greatest conga player is? It’s not many of the guys out there, it’s Bill Fitch, the greatest conga player ever!” 
Academic thought provides a different perspective upon the musical experience that results in a consistent stream of new ideas. Regardless of the academic’s experience in the musical genre, their main goal is the pursuit of new knowledge, inevitably leading them towards uncharted territory. As the researcher bravely investigates unfamiliar musical areas, they step into the position of the outsider, an unfamiliar face in a musical community. This places a bit of uncomfortable tension onto the research process, as they try to gain the trust of a new community. It also adds an invaluable perspective; looking into a musical process from the outside brings fine details into light. It allows the researcher enough separation from the cultural elements to appreciate the music on an aesthetic level but analyze it from a detached stance. Without an emotional attachment to the music’s context, the research can examine it from multiple perspectives and reconsider it on a variety of levels. If the community confirms the researcher with insider status, they gain yet another viewpoint that leads them towards a more complete understanding of the culture. With repeated exposure and an eventual acceptance by the musical community, the researcher can develop new conclusions and educate the greater public about musical truths. Once they reach the public through books or other educational materials, they help spread a knowledge of tradition and original streams of thought into the world. Inevitably, their work leads to the survival of the musical culture and the creative manipulation of its elements in the modern musical world.
and 
. Both books delved into major issues of race and identity in African American and Dominican culture, placing the emphasis upon the history and development of music. Austerlitz continued performing throughout his academic life, most recently culminating in the production of an astounding demonstration of Dominican Vodu Jazz on the album 
. This recording brought all the pieces of Austerlitz’s academic life into an artistic presentation, allowing him to creatively interpret his many lessons. With each piece of writing and musical expression, Austerlitz built upon his research and helped push Dominican music and jazz into the world. 
TOMAS PEÑA: The book, 
PA: I also have a band in the Dominican Republic. 
and 
).
PA: Music is an expression of cosmic harmony. You find it in Sufism, Indian music and European music. One of the best ways to connect with music is through spirit. Especially the music we are talking about . . . I have always felt that so strong, even though I am not from the Caribbean. When I perform I just try go give into. The thesis of 
Latin Jazz musicians need an academic edge to their artistic concept, a fact that they can deeply embed in their music or carry into the greater public. The genre’s musical complexities demand a high level of thinking from any performer. Navigating intricate chord changes and improvising within thick compositions requires more than basic musical instinct – an artist needs to be committed to a lifetime of rigorous study. This requires a focused and regular approach to practice and a consistent detailed analysis of music. For most musicians, this is the work that happens behind the scenes; their listening audience hears the end result, but they miss the academic side of the process. A small piece of the musical population takes the art form’s academic side a bit further, producing scholarly work that moves the music forward in a different way. These artists generally dig a bit deeper into the historical aspect of the music, doing extensive research. They might spend more time in the analytical process, pulling details from each study that could be missed in a more casual overview. Most importantly, they dig deeply into the music’s cultural aspect, discovering tradition and finding new ways to communicate the inner workings of the performance practice. The findings broaden our understanding of the genre through books, papers, articles, presentations, and lectures. They put musical and cultural ideas into a tangible form of communication that speaks loudly and clearly. The most intriguing artists will put their scholarly discoveries back into their musical output, completing a thorough connection between academics and art. 
TOMAS PEÑA: Welcome to The Latin Jazz Corner. Congratulations on your recent performance at El Taller Latino Americano. 
TP: At 18, you attended Bennington College and somehow ended up in the Black Music Division. How did that occur?
TP: Milford Graves has had a tremendous impact on your life. Tell me about him. 
PA: I consider it to be one of the most difficult kinds of music to play on the saxophone. At the time, Wilfrido Vargas was very popular and his sax parts were very intricate. There are certain nuances that have to be played and they are very precise. Even if you get the notes right, the music has to be interpreted in a particular way. When I went to graduate school, I wrote my master’s thesis on the role of the saxophone in merengue.
Each local music scene can point to a hand full of people that nurtured, supported, and accelerated the regional growth of Latin Jazz. It certainly takes the force of an entire community to establish Latin Jazz across a music scene, but there are always inspired individuals that serve as instigators. In most cases, they don’t enter their musical careers with the intention or even desire to change the scene; their passion for the music simply drives them to great heights. They seek out the most challenging and inspiring performance situations and they hold an insatiable thirst for musical knowledge. Their search for new ideas and artistic growth can potentially send them around the world, investigating the hot spots of Latin Jazz culture. Trips to Cuba, New York, and Puerto Rico all become necessary stops in their journey, and they return home with a broad understanding of the music’s inner workings. They inevitably build a context for their own personal expressions with local musicians, sharing their knowledge and building upon the talents of the area. They become mentor figures for the musicians around them, spreading their love of the genre with an addictive energy. Recordings and high profiles performances can make a national impact, bringing their knowledge, musicianship, and skills to a greater base of listeners. This always benefits the local scene, encouraging other musicians to take their Latin Jazz statements into the world. Once these musicians gain momentum around Latin Jazz, their connection to the music only gets stronger, keeping them on a creative path. 
