By Fernando Gonzalez Closing 2011 with a glance back, a peek into the future and sincere gratitude to the artists and producers who keep creating and pushing forward, no matter how daunting the odds. Your work is an inspiration. Thank you all, let’s meet again in 2012. Catching up: Poncho Sanchez and Terence Blanchard Chano… Read More Jazz With An Accent: Catching up; Upcoming Releases; A New Jazz Label
By Fernando Gonzalez Catching up with a pair of worthy, recent releases: Indian fusion and Argentine bandoneones. Rudresh Mahanthappa Samdhi (ACT) Indian-American saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa has been methodically building his music out of blending South Indian Carnatic musical elements and contemporary jazz. In Samdhi, he takes it all a step further as he brings technology… Read More Jazz With an Accent: CDs by Rudresh Mahanthappa; Dino Saluzzi, Anja Lechner & Felix Saluzzi. And Further Thoughts
By Fernando Gonzalez Catching up with some interesting/mind-expanding/beautiful/provocative (and by now not so) new releases … Mario Adnet More Jobim Jazz (Adventure Music) Brazilian guitarist Mario Adnet’s exquisite follow up to Jobim Jazz (Adventure Music, 2007) not only pays tribute to Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos Jobim, but also composer and arranger Moacir Santos (whom Adnet… Read More Jazz With an Accent: CD Reviews
By Fernando Gonzalez Madrid. A concert by Cuban pianist Omar Sosa suggests, at different times, an ever-changing combination of musical event, performance art, and religious ceremony. His solo show at the lovely new Auditorio Conde Duque in Madrid, on Tuesday, as part of the XXVIII Festival Jazz Madrid, certainly had plenty of those elements. But… Read More Live Jazz: Omar Sosa at Auditorio Conde Duque in the XXVIII Festival Jazz Madrid
By Fernando Gonzalez Vince Mendoza Nights of Earth (Horizontal) Set to a generous, wide-angled perspective, and paced by smart, observant details, Nights on Earth plays like The World According to Vince. In some ways, it suggests a personal summation of his career thus far: a deep knowledge of American music vernacular and European classical music,… Read More Jazz With An Accent: New CDs from Vince Mendoza, David Murray Cuban Ensemble and Sammy Figueroa
By Fernando Gonzalez DJ Le Spam, aka Andrew Yeomanson, led a fascinating listening session of Miami vinyl last night at the Museum of Contemporary Art in North Miami. Not sure how many people outside Miami are aware that back in the 1970s, and before, well before there was a Gloria and Emilio Estefan or a… Read More Jazz With An Accent: Miami Before the Sound Machine
By Fernando Gonzalez A New Release Silvano Monasterios Unconditional (Savant) It might strike as a paradox, but sometimes the brilliance of certain inventions can be measured by how obvious, how commonplace they seem. The music of Venezuelan pianist Silvano Monasterios is so easy-on-the-ear, so elegantly structured, and has such a casual, lived-in feel that it… Read More Jazz With An Accent: A New Release, Coming Attractions and Better-Late-Than-Never
By Fernando Gonzalez CD REVIEWS Tatiana Parra: Aqui (Cdby) Brazil seems to produce singers, and especially female singers, like it produces soccer players – in quantities, maybe growing wild on some native trees, all seemingly casually talented, and slightly unclassifiable. Singer Tatiana Parra marvelous first solo album, Inteira (Complete), released last year, seemed to come out of… Read More Jazz With an Accent: Tatiana Parra, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Michel Camilo and Susana Baca
Big Band with a Latin Accent,Then & Now. By Fernando Gonzalez El Padrino (Fania/Codigo) Machito The big band occupies a special place in Latin Jazz history. For starters, in the 1940s and ‘50s, the orchestras led by Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez and Machito, the real life Mambo Kings, not only defined a certain sound, putting… Read More CD Reviews: Machito, Bobby Sanabria, Arturo O’Farrill, Pedro Giraudo
By Fernando Gonzalez Saxophonist James Moody, who died on December 9, 2010 of pancreatic cancer, was not only an extraordinary musician, but also a man of uncommon grace and generosity. Tonight, his life will be honored at the Blue Note in New York City in “A Celebration of Love and Life In Honor of James… Read More News:”A Celebration of Love and Life in Honor of James Moody” — Tonight at the Blue Note
The International Review of Music 