By Devon Wendell Costa Rican composer and percussionist Luis Muňoz is one of the most vibrant and dedicated Latin jazz artists on the scene today. His new album VOZ is an obvious labor of love which fuses Brazilian jazz, and “crossover” pop. But there’s a refreshing purity about VOZ. Muňoz is joined by special guests:… Read More New CD Review: Luis Muňoz “VOZ” (Pelin Music)
Of the Allure of Light, Harmony and Sirens (the dangerously beautiful ones) By Brian Arsenault Luis Munoz Luz (Pelin Music) If she won’t kiss you while this plays and the lights are down, things just aren’t going to work out. Percussionist, composer and arranger Luis Munoz in Luz (Light) brings us beautiful instrumentation, often in… Read More Brian Arsenault’s Short Takes: CD Reviews of Luis Munoz, The Sweet Remains and Chris Potter
By Don Heckman Los Angeles – Dec. 21. (Tues.) Bob Mintzer Big Band. Saxophonist Mintzer is also a masterful big band arranger and composer. Expect fireworks from his assemblage of L.A.’s finest players. Click HERE to read an earlier review of the Mintzer Big Band. Vibrato Grill Jazz…etc. (310) 474-9400. – Dec. 21. (Tues.) … Read More Picks of the Week: Dec. 21 – 26
By Don Heckman Luis Munoz Invisible (Pelin Music) Listening to this recording, experiencing its warm embrace, I can only marvel that Luis Muñoz does not have wider visibility. The Costa Rican-born composer’s music begins with the subliminal qualities of his native roots, then blossoms into a creative expression that transcends boundaries reaching from jazz to… Read More Jazz CD Reviews: Luis Munoz and Jon Gold
By Tony Gieske The magnificent Bill Cunliffe orchestra played an interesting encore before leaving the bandstand at Vitello’s Saturday, a classic Count Basie number that you’d think would be hard to mess up. And yet…. Not that the leader’s “One O’Clock Jump” chart wasn’t played beautifully. The five-man sax section sounded as one, and so… Read More Live Jazz: Bill Cunliffe’s Big Band at Vitello’s
The International Review of Music 