The Vermont Review The Vermont Review Afro-Latin jazz is alive and well in the 21st Century. The most popular Afro-Latin revival to occur in the last couple years was the documentary Buena Vista Social Club and its Ry Cooder produced soundtrack. Directed by noted director Wim Wenders, the documentary highlighted the aging and unheralded jazz musicians from the island nation of Cuba. Since the success of the movie, many of the musicians from the movie have enjoyed tremendous touring and studio success in the United States. Social Club members Ruben Gonzalez, Eliades Ochoa, Barbarito Torres and Ibrahim Ferrer have all recorded splendid solo albums. In addition, American jazz musicians such as David Sanchez, Afro-Cuban All Stars and McCoy Tyner have also Afro-Latin recordings from. In general, polyrhythmic percussion, a raw funky sound, inventive danceable rhythms and an undeniable passion for creating music characterize the Afro-Latin jazz sound. Some Afro-Latin music has all of these characteristics and some only have one. Here are few more artists to add to the revival.
Marc Ribot Y Los Cubanos Postizos/ Muy Divertido (Atlantic Records, 2000)
Thank the lord that guitarist Marc Ribot’s foray into the music of the Caribbean was more than a one album experience. As was the case with his first Latin expedition, Ribot superbly combines the swinging Latin rhythms with his own distortion laden avant-fusion jazz riffs. One of the albums highlight tracks is "Las Lomas De New Jersey" which begins by sounding like a song played by some hombre outside a cantina while Cervezas are being served. Add to the equation, Frankie Vasquez’s lyrics about New Jersey, and things get a little less traditional. By song’s end, Ribot throws down a vicious guitar solo that would make Vernon Reid of Living Color fall back in amazement. It is like the Knitting Factory meets the Sopranos meets flamenco. Perhaps there is a continued Soprano’s theme with the song "Carmela Dame La Llave", a tune that has Ribot at his electric best and Anthony Coleman giving the Hammond B-3 a great workout. Other tunes like "El Gaucho Rojo" are characterized by Latin polyrhythms with Ribot taking the songs from peaceful beginnings to frenetic crescendos. "El Gaucho Rojo" is slow and deliberate and it brings out bassist Brad Jones fantastic 12 String acoustic guitar work while "Se Formo El Bochinche" and "El Divorcio" are great dancing tunes with Latin singing thrown on top. "Baile Baile Baile" sounds like the Miami Sound Machine gigged with King Crimson. Ribot has already proven his guitar ability in so many circles – from Trey Anastasio’s Surrender to Air" to John Lurie’s Lounge Lizards. These gigs have Ribot heading down roads of complexity or other worldliness. It seems that Y Los Cubanos Postizos gives Ribot time to relax and stretch his fingers out. The English translation of the album’s title, Muy Divertido, is "very entertaining". Very appropriate.
Either/Orchestra/More Beautiful Than Death (Accurate Records, 2000)
Since the band’s inception in 1985, Cambridge, Massachusetts’ Either Orchestra has served a continuous role of redefining the big band’s role in modern jazz. Over the years, there have been select big bands that have successfully escaped the stagnant associations that big bands developed during the 1940s. The war years saw a form of big band jazz that put more emphasis on creating a crisp sound and less focus on the individual talents or the compositions themselves. There have been bands led by Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Sun Ra that took their big bands and played complex arrangements accompanied by astute musicianship. The Either/ Orchestra is the latest installment in this big band con-conformity. For their previous albums, the ten-piece band combined big band arrangements with a slight touch of avant-garde musicianship. The Either/Orchestra lineup for this album consists of Tom Halter (trumpet, flugelhorn), Colin Fisher (trumpet, flugelhorn), Joel Yennior (trombone), Jaleel Shaw (alto saxophone), Russ Gershon (tenor, soprano saxophones), Charlie Kohlhase (baritone saxophone), Dan Kaufman (Steinway, Rhodes and Wurlitzer pianos, Hammond B-3), Rick McLaughlin (bass), Harvey Wirht (drums); and Vicente Lebron (congas, bongos, percussion). For the epic tune "Number Three", Miguel Zenon replaces Shaw on alto saxophone and Atemu Aton sat in on bass. Unlike their previous albums, the Either/Orchestra (which has been dormant from recording since 1996) looked to incorporate the afro-Latin, South American drumming into there already different sound. With a polyrhythms on a constant, the Either Orchestra work through nine extremely rhythmic and spiritual pieces that sound like the common ground between early 1960s Coltrane, Duke Ellington, Mongo Santamaria and Medeski, Martin & Wood. Three of the albums cuts, "Amiak Abet Abet", "Musicawi Silt" and Feker Aydelmey" which form the "Ethiopian Suite, undoubtedly serve as the album’s centerpiece. These three songs are innovative interpretation of three Ethiopian pop songs that were a hit during the 1970s. The songs pay a direct tribute to the rhythms of the African continent but also show a touch of American groove. Find out more about the Either/Orchestra at http://www.accuraterecords.com/
Caribbean Jazz Project / New Horizons (Concord Picante 2000)
The all-star band Caribbean Jazz Project features vibist/marimbist Dave Samuels,
flautist Dave Valentin, guitarist Steve Khan, bassist Juan Benitez and a drum percussion
section consisting of Richie Flores, Robert Vilera. The choice of instruments, especially
the flute and marimba, easily create the light airy sounds that are associated with every
Latin populace from Cuba to the depths of New Orleans. The album is primarily composed of
originals written by the three primary members. Dave Samuel’s "Ivory Coast"
and "Rain Forest" are dangerously close to contemporary smooth jazz that one may
hear with Spyro Gyra . Being a former member of the band pretty much explains that
similarity. Steve Khan’s "Charanga Si, Si" is a little less on the cheesy
side with its rhythmic grooves and full percussion. "Safe and Sound" is the only
straightforward blues on the entire album. In addition his guitar work is a relief amongst
the floaty sounds of the flute and vibraphone. An exception to the originals is a version
of Dizzy Gillespie’s " A Night in Tunisia". Gillepsie was one of the first
musicians to bring Latin music into the jazz fold and this is an appropriate tribute. The
other influence to this group is vibist Carl Tjader who Samuels obviously tips his hat
towards. Before this project came to complete fruition, it was Samuel’s intention to
make a Tjader tribute. This is why Samuels recruited a tandem percussion section – so
that he could reflect the Mongo Santamarie/Willie Bobo duet that played with Tjader. For
anybody looking for some soothing sounds, this is the answer. If you are looking for bold
and daring explorations, I would suggest the albums listed at the beginning of this
review.
Claudia Acuna / Wind From The South (Verve, 2000)
Wind from the South is Chilean born jazz singer Claudia Acuna’s debut release with Verve Records. The soulful singer, who belongs in the same grouping with illustrious divas such as Diane Krall, Teri Thornton and Dee Dee Bridgewater, plays the songs of her nation with the Latin dancing rhythms of "Viento Del Sur" and "Gracias, A La Vida" as well the soft "Alfonsina Y El Mar", which is a popular Argentinean song and the first tune that Acuna ever learned to sing. The album also shows her love of traditional American songs. The album opens with "Pure Imagination", the song that Gene Wilder made so popular while picking edible flower tea cups and strolling by a chocolate river in Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Other interesting songs are "My Man’s Gone Now" which is from George Gerswhin’s Porgy and Bess as well as Stevie Wonder’s "Visions", an uptempo version of Duke Ellington’s "Prelude to a Kiss" and "The Thrill is Gone" which was originally popularized by Stan Getz. Acuna is supplemented by a capable band of Jason Lidner (piano), Avishai Cohen (bass) and Jeff Ballard (drums).
Poncho Sanchez/Latin Soul (Concord Picante, 1999)
The Texas born Sanchez may come from the land of the blues but he definitely belongs in
the land of the Congas (wherever that may be). On his eighteenth recording with Concord
Jazz’s Latin label (Picante), Sanchez lets his Latin roots fly. Recorded live at the
appropriately named Conga Room in Los Angeles and the world re-known Yoshii's in San
Francisco during the summer of 1999, Sanchez is backed by a great nine person band.
Together, they play timbales, chekere, bongos, congas, trombones, pianos, saxophones,
trumpets, flugelhorns and various percussion and create a robust, funky Latin sound.
Throughout the performance, Sanchez pays respect to the Latin jazzmen who came before him.
There is Mongo Santamaria’s "Besame Mama" and Will Bobo’s
"Lisa". There are also Latin versions of Herbie Hancock’s "Watermelon
Man", which was something that Mongo Santamaria did years earlier; and Eddie
Harris’ "Cold Duck Time." As it being a live performance, the energy on
this recording is intense and it is a great collection of Latin jazz tunes that will get
you on the dance floor.
Drumplay / Live at Nelson Lodges (Signal Tree, 1999)
Drumplay may be the less "Latin" out of this group, but this band’s use
of percussion definitely harks to African and the roots of all American music. Here is the
list of ingredients that Drumplay use for their percussion stew : Deagan xylo-marimba,
ashiko, dumbek, congas, maracas, bodhran, claves, shakers, talking drum, gong, Noah bell,
rainstick, bongos, djembe, clay whistle, , Pearl maple kit, Zildjian & Sabian cymbals;
Latin percussion caxixi, Peter Englehart metal percussion, Rhythmtech tambourine,
tamborim, cowbells, whistle, Latin and Cosmic Percussion, gon bops, bells, hand drums,
ganza, shakers, whistles, flex-a-tone, wind catchers, and noisemakers. The only people
that could rival that selection of percussion related instruments would have to be Billy
Martin, Mickey Hart, Babatunde Olatunji,
or Airto Moreira. The percussion hails from Cleveland, Ohio and laying down Afro-Cuban,
Brazilian and Middle Eastern polyrhythmic percussion improvisations. That is a lot of
descriptors and instruments for a quartet led by James Onysko. He prefers to call his
music "rhytmprovisations". This day jobbing radio broadcaster (you can hear him
on NPR) finds his influences in two of the 20th Century’s greatest space
travelers – the Sun Ra Arkestra and Daevid Allen’s Gong. Sun Ra felt he was from
the real planet of Saturn while Daevid Allen created a fantasy world of mythical planets,
spaceships and aliens. In addition, Drumplay played a great set at the last Space Daze
festival, which featured the great space rockers, Hawkwind. Despite his claiming cosmic
influences, Onysko and company (Brett Brandon, Warren Levert, Sam Phillips) are rooted in
the rhythms of planet earth. Recorded live in 1998, Live at Nelson Lodges’ fours
"songs" brings forth the bare essence of music communication. There are not
special affects or histrionics just four musicians using their instruments as way to
express feeling and emotion. (www.drumplay.com/)
Longineu Parsons/Spaced: Collected Works 1980-1999 (Luv N’ Haight www.ubiquityrecords.com, 1999)
This is a great jazz recording from a relatively obscure trumpeter. The songs for this compilation were taken from four different sessions from this assistant professor of music from Florida A&M University. "Take the High Road", "Funkin’ Around", "It Will Be Better" and "Spaced" sounds like John Coltrane meets Willie Bobo as Parsons, pianist George Eduard Nouel and saxophonist Sulaiman Hakim lay down extensive solos over a thumping groove-laced rhythm. Nouel not only shines as a soloist but his accompaniment is very percussive in the same style as McCoy Tyner. The tunes "Emerald Paradise" and "Hannibal’s March" feature Parson’s trumpet and flugelhorn in a smaller quartet while "Passing Moment" was recorded as a trio. Regardless of the size of the bands, Parsons never deviates far from a blend of Latin rhythms and spiritual solos. Parsons spent much of his early years playing in Asia, the Middle East and Africa as well as taking a teaching position in Guadeloupe. Through this experience, Parsons combines his own jazz education and experience (studied at Berklee, played with Sun Ra) with his own travels and recorded a series of numinous recordings that can now all be found on one fine disk. This is another rescue from the depths of obscurity by the folks at Ubiquity Records.
Antibalas/ Liberation Afrobeat (Afrosound Records, 2000)
Most of the musicians covered in this article have dealt with more of the "Latin" side of "Afro-Latin" than the "Afro" aspect. This mainly has to do with the facts that music definitely entered a melting pot once in the Caribbean – there was music from Africa, Latin America and European all coming together to create new and vibrant sounds. One style of music that is predominantly known for its primarily African roots is known as Afro-funk which has been popularized by African pop musician like Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and Mulato Astatqe. Another band to follow in the afro-funk footsteps is New York City’s Antibalas, which is a 14 piece "revolutionary anarchist orchestra." They may hail from the Big Apple but their heart lies in a significantly larger island directly west across the Atlantic Ocean. Like the Nigerian Fela, the music of Antibalas is deep in the grooves as well as having political overtones. Here is the band’s take on their songs: " Afrobeat music is and has always been political music……..Do we not have problems here in America and in our home countries? Why try to forget about our problems when we can identify them and solve them. Why make pretty music and leave the world as miserable as it was when you were born into it?" These are the ideas and concepts behind each song. Surely you will dance. Hopefully you will be inspired to act as well." The band is led by Mexican-American saxophonist Martín Antibalas, whose last name means "bullet proof". The name may have apropos to the band’s revolutionary stature but not to the music itself. It is far from bulletproof as the rhythms, beats, keyboard textures and horn/guitar lines are far from the rigidity that is associated with being bulletproof. Their sound is free flowing, loose, raw, funky and willing to head in any direction. On the surface, tunes like "N.E.S.T.A" and "Dirt & Blood" , may seem to be simple extended grooves. Closer scrutiny reveals many numerous rhythms and musical patterns that make this funk run so deep that one may need a backhoe to find its source. "Si Se Puede" and "Battle of the Species" have an organ/percussion based vibe similar to Santana’s earlier works – just add a little James Brown and a lot of horns. Although a predominantly "American" band, Antibalas absolutely captures a universal groove that goes way beyond the confines of New York City. The music takes the listener on such a pleasant music journey, it is hard to think that these guys are "anti" anything. If these are the sounds of the revolution, sign me up. http://www.antibalas.com