CALLE LOİZA JAZZ PROJECT - There Will Never Be Another You
www.calleloizajazzproject.com
Mark Monts de Oca (piano) Tony Batista (bass) Xavier Barreto (flute) Andre Aveling (guitar) Candido Reyes (guiro) Jimmy Rivera (drums) Reіnel Lὁpez (Brazillian percussion) Melvin Jones & Gordon Vernick (trumpets) Javier Oquendo (congas) Ivan Belvis (percussion). Recorded live at Bobby Acosta’s in San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 22nd 2019.
The `Project` refers to a re-union of members of a quartet that played in a famous Puerto Rican club some thirty years ago, to honour the memory of a departed friend and celebrate the careers of several legendary Latin American jazzmen. As plans for their get-together evolved it was decided to add more percussion and a flautist to the original combo of piano, bass, guitar and drums and bring in additional voices in the form of two American trumpeters, these being added later to what was originally conceived as a privately convened live performance. None of this audio engineered smoke and mirrors is evident from the recording which comes over quite seamlessly as though everyone was in the same place.
Their performance consists of eight jazz and songbook standards which are subjected to a variety of Latin American treatments. Some of the tunes take a fair bit of pummelling from the more frantic rhythms like the `Bomba`, the indigenous Puerto Rican beat, but as they are quickly dismissed before the music ploughs ahead on its ritmo route, no serious damage is done and an overall effect of passionate ebullience overwhelms all. Brubeck’s most famous ballad `In Your Own Sweet Way` wilts a little in the heat and the quirky metrics of Monk’s `Well, You Needn’t` don’t exactly gel with the polyrhythmic tumult but `Old Folks` responds well to its bolero facelift and `Someday My Prince Will Come` works well in the guise of a Cha-Cha.
Instrumentally there is much to admire and thrill: the trumpeters indulge in fiery interplay of a fleet, boppish variety and Monts de Oca, on piano, with Andre Avelino, on guitar, both shine as dynamic soloists. In addition, I particularly enjoyed Tony Batista’s taut, high tensile electric bass sound both in ensemble and the crunchy solos he displays here and there. The percussionists, of course, drive it all and if you have a taste for Latin American rhythm with all its mobility and complexity you’ll love this, especially the ride-out climaxes with added `choro` vocalisations. Play it as a soundtrack to your summer barbeque and put extra salsa on your burgers.
Reviewed by Euan Dixonwww.calleloіzajazzproject.com
www.calleloizajazzproject.com
Mark Monts de Oca (piano) Tony Batista (bass) Xavier Barreto (flute) Andre Aveling (guitar) Candido Reyes (guiro) Jimmy Rivera (drums) Reіnel Lὁpez (Brazillian percussion) Melvin Jones & Gordon Vernick (trumpets) Javier Oquendo (congas) Ivan Belvis (percussion). Recorded live at Bobby Acosta’s in San Juan, Puerto Rico, March 22nd 2019.
The `Project` refers to a re-union of members of a quartet that played in a famous Puerto Rican club some thirty years ago, to honour the memory of a departed friend and celebrate the careers of several legendary Latin American jazzmen. As plans for their get-together evolved it was decided to add more percussion and a flautist to the original combo of piano, bass, guitar and drums and bring in additional voices in the form of two American trumpeters, these being added later to what was originally conceived as a privately convened live performance. None of this audio engineered smoke and mirrors is evident from the recording which comes over quite seamlessly as though everyone was in the same place.
Their performance consists of eight jazz and songbook standards which are subjected to a variety of Latin American treatments. Some of the tunes take a fair bit of pummelling from the more frantic rhythms like the `Bomba`, the indigenous Puerto Rican beat, but as they are quickly dismissed before the music ploughs ahead on its ritmo route, no serious damage is done and an overall effect of passionate ebullience overwhelms all. Brubeck’s most famous ballad `In Your Own Sweet Way` wilts a little in the heat and the quirky metrics of Monk’s `Well, You Needn’t` don’t exactly gel with the polyrhythmic tumult but `Old Folks` responds well to its bolero facelift and `Someday My Prince Will Come` works well in the guise of a Cha-Cha.
Instrumentally there is much to admire and thrill: the trumpeters indulge in fiery interplay of a fleet, boppish variety and Monts de Oca, on piano, with Andre Avelino, on guitar, both shine as dynamic soloists. In addition, I particularly enjoyed Tony Batista’s taut, high tensile electric bass sound both in ensemble and the crunchy solos he displays here and there. The percussionists, of course, drive it all and if you have a taste for Latin American rhythm with all its mobility and complexity you’ll love this, especially the ride-out climaxes with added `choro` vocalisations. Play it as a soundtrack to your summer barbeque and put extra salsa on your burgers.
Reviewed by Euan Dixonwww.calleloіzajazzproject.com
