Alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Miguel Zenón has focused his studies of Latin and Caribbean musics in a labyrinthine conversation with jazz throughout his career. The quartet's last album, 2019's wonderful Sonero, was dedicated to music associated with salsa singer and composer Ismael Rivera. Enabling Zenón's vision are his longstanding bandmates: drummer Henry Cole, pianist Luis Perdomo, and bassist Hans Glawischnig. Música de las Américas also employs percussion quintet Los Pleneros De La Cresta and other ...
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Alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader Miguel Zenón has focused his studies of Latin and Caribbean musics in a labyrinthine conversation with jazz throughout his career. The quartet's last album, 2019's wonderful Sonero, was dedicated to music associated with salsa singer and composer Ismael Rivera. Enabling Zenón's vision are his longstanding bandmates: drummer Henry Cole, pianist Luis Perdomo, and bassist Hans Glawischnig. Música de las Américas also employs percussion quintet Los Pleneros De La Cresta and other guests in a work about the history of the American continent in pre- and post-Columbian eras.Opener "Taínos y Caribes" reflects the contrasts between the cultures of the peace-loving Taíno people and their warrior rivals, the Caribe. Both were eliminated through colonization. An agitated piano vamp with strong Latin accents introduces Zenón and Cole responding with boppish statements, and Perdomo's solo is fleet, incisive, and authoritative. Zenón delivers a knotty, Charlie Parker-esque solo before returning to the melody. Single "Nevegando (Los Estrellas Nos Guian)" meditates on Caribbean sailors in canoes who navigated solely by the stars. A bell-like piano intro is appended by bass and whispering cymbals. Percussionists enter, establishing the rhythmic flow before Zenón glides through the melody and indulges in a swinging, riveting solo and a soulful group chant. "Opresion y Revolucion" offers complex polyrhythms in evoking the Haitian Revolution and the influence of its vodou music. Guest percussionist Paoli Mejías converses with Perdomo in a harmonically advanced, ferociously percussive attack. The stately opening of "Imperios" is processional, meant to evoke the empires of the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas and their many cultural and scientific achievements. The lilting melody dictates Zenón's solo, punctuated by a rhythm section that envelops him in flow while stretching the frame; it allows the saxophonist to alternate between fiery single lines and phrases that syncopate the rhythm's beats. "Venus Abiertas" references Eduardo Galeano's seminal book Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of Pillage of a Continent about the exploitation of South America's natural resources. Perdomo offers a spare, mournful reflection of the title. Zenón echoes it on entrance, but quickly changes direction as his alto screams, evoking the rage, panic, and fear of a plundering that continues today. "Babula" features guest percussionist Victor Emmanuelli. The slippery, pronounced rhythms and labyrinthine melody are articulated by the saxophonist and the pianist. They reflect a dance brought to the Americas by African slaves; the same rhythm, called habanera , is used in much of today's Latin American music. Closer "Antillano" is titled after residents of the Antilles. Zenón merges past and present with a distinctively celebratory Latin-Caribbean groove. Guest conguero Daniel Diaz assists the quartet in navigating shifting tempos and complex meters even as the band flows with lyric joy. Música de las Américas is Zenón's crowning achievement as a composer and bandleader. While the ambition of the project could easily have filled several albums and derailed a lesser talent, in his hands it is a commanding statement on history, tragedy, revolution, evolution, and the continued struggle for self-determination and dignity. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi
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