Back Home (MAMA Records MAA1050) is Socrates Garcia’s debut album and it filled with the “Latin Jazz with a Dominican tinge” that one would hope to find on this great Dominican composer’s album. It has been called “a musical journey back to his roots” and that description is spot-on with the bachata and merengue styles so evident here. Every piece on the album was composed, arranged, conducted and produced by Garcia.
This is a fine big band with over 20 musicians contributing to the grand sound. The rhythm section is at the core with Manuel Tejada (piano), Pengbian Snag (bass), Helen De La Rosa (drums) and guitarists Steve Kovalcheck (on Celebration of the Butterflies) and Socrates Garcia ( on Back Home). Percussionists include Felix “Abuelo” Garcia (tambura, congas, atabales), Rafael Alemgod (atabales, tambu), Josue Reynoso (guira) and Otoniel Nicolas (timbales). The woodwinds list Wil Swindler (alto and soprano saxophones and flute), Briana Harris (alto sax and flute), Kenyon Brennier (tenor sax, flute and clarinet) and Ryan Middagh (baritone and bass clarinet). The trumpets and flugelhorns include Brad Goode, Dave Rajewski, Jordan Skomal, and Miles Roth. Trombones are Joe Chisholm, Frank Cook, Jonathan Zimny, Guillermo Rivera, and Gary Mayne (bass trombone). Quite a corps!
Garcia calls the album “in a way autobiographical and…a ‘dream come true’ to record it.” Garcia said of the album that it was “an arrival and a departure.” He was arriving at a place where he “could combine my heritage and the aesthetics of Jazz; departure, towards a promising future for this symbiotic relationship.” All of that is evident from the opening bars.
The album opens with Vantage Point, based on the merengue style. Once considered the music of the poor, it was elevated to national music during the dictatorship of Trujillo. Now Garcia has deepened the music with Jazz arrangements and rhythms.
It is those rhythms that are encountered first followed by the woodwinds and horns. The motif is a cool hook and the horns and winds expand it masterfully. The brilliance of the composition and arrangement is clearly seen at every stage of the whole album.
Ryan Middagh on the baritone sax has great lines and Manuel Tejada is a fine choice on the piano. The first track alone will turn you into a Tejada fan. The whole rhythm section and percussionists are extraordinary. In front of it all is Socrates Garcia, composer and conductor. This is a beautifully written piece. Merengue never sounded so good.
Calle El Conde a Las 8:00 is a remembrance of the street where Garcia grew up in the Dominican Republic. It is the street where Garcia would fall in love with Afro-Caribbean music. Wil Swindler’s soprano sax is sweet and Jordan Skomal gets a warm trumpet solo. The whole winds and horns section are stunningly precise and the delivery is phenomenal. Pay special attention to Helen De La Rosa’s drums.
Celebration of the Butterflies is rooted in the resistance movement against Trujillo. The three Mirabal Sisters were murdered by Trujillo’s assassins on November 25, 1960. The sisters were called “The Butterflies.” The United Nations chose this day as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It also represents Garcia’s “own voice on violence against women.”
Sometimes it takes a rallying song to make things happen. In 1981, Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday rallied people in support of making the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. In 1987, Hugh Masakela released Bring Him Back Home to speak out for the release of Nelson Mandela. And, of course, who could ever forget We Shall Overcome as the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.
The song opens with a cool three-note motif that creates a perfect groove line. The saxes and horns push the aggressive line with the rhythm section. Kenyon Brenner’s tenor sax solo is excellent bouncing above Tejada’s piano backing. Steve Kovalcheck’s guitar is lively.
It is a beautiful choice—to celebrate them with upbeat and lively measures—and to rejoice in what the resistance created. It is not, therefore, a remembrance to the hatred and ferocity of Trujillo but is, rather, a celebration of life, liberty and love. So well-done.
Back Home is founded on the bachata style which was created in 1960s Dominican Republic. Pianist Manuel Tejada was one of the true developers of the style into something orchestrated and refined. Garcia builds on Tejada’s innovations from the 1990s and merges bachata and Jazz.
The opening Tejada piano lines are fluid and beautiful. Kenyon Brenner again is featured on the tenor sax to lush and lyrical effect. The woodwinds create a swirling, eddying imagery that must remind Garcia of the beaches and breezes of home. The dancing, dreaming, delicious life of the Caribbean is summed up so well, with the promise of something more to come.
The future is declared in the tightly knit big band Jazz that Garcia has written and arranged. At some points, near-Fusion/Rock erupts until the traditional bachata themes reappear, reminding us that the future always has a past that is often rich and always inescapable.
The last three pieces collectively comprise Dominican Suite for Jazz Orchestra. The first movement is called Homage to Tavito in tribute to Tavito Vasquez, the man called the “Charlie Parker of the Caribbean.”
The quick percussion sets up the trumpet of Brad Goode and Tejada on piano. The Bebop mixes coolly with the merengue and this thing just smokes. Goode’s muted trumpet is a hit and Tejada works the piano splendidly. It is no wonder that Garcia, in the liner notes, thanks Don Fortner “for keeping the piano in top shape So manual could destroy it over those two days.”
Helen De La Rosa is masterful on the drums and steals a good bit of the spotlight. Still, the whole band turns in a fantastic performance of a terrifically-written song.
The second movement is Bachata for Two and is dedicated to his wife of over 13 years, Wanda. It is a much more emotional piece than Neil Young’s Kinda fond o’ Wanda. [I don’t know why I included that except that it made me laugh.]
The gorgeous piano introduction is joined by the winds and horns with percussion. The dance imagery speaks of their dance through life and music—although Garcia admits that he is not a good dancer! The big band horns and winds are electrifying and Brad Goode’s trumpet solo takes on a sweeter tone in fine phrasing.
The final movement is also the only vocal piece on the album. From Across the Street is sung by Hovernys Santana, Felix Garcia, Lia Nova and Rafael Almengod.
Contained in the liner notes is Garcia’s remembrance of the subject of the piece. It bears repeating for your pleasure. He writes, “When I was 3 or 4, there was a woman, Martina, who lived across the street from my house. On certain holidays she used to play a genre of Dominican folk music called Palos or Atabales. It includes heavy drumming, singing, and usually large amounts of alcohol. The rhythms and the singing always fascinated me but at the same time it always seemed to scare me to see this big woman playing those gigantic drums (at least that’s what I remember being probably 2 feet tall). All of those memories gave me the idea to include this genre and intertwine it with Jazz.” The lyrics agree with that impression.
Del otro lado de la calle From across the street
Yo puedo oir I can hear
Del otro lado de la calle From across the street
Puedo sentir I can feel
Como suenan los tambores The way the drums sound
Como suenan to’ los cueros The way the skin drumheads sound
Como suenan toa’ las voces The way the voices sound
Como suenan los panderos The way the panderos sound
Como suenan, Como suenan The way (all of it) sounds
Como suenan, Como suenan The way (all of it) sounds
This finale opens with the heavy drumming joined by the voices. Gorgeous. The big band takes over from the voices and it is glorious. The percussion is riveting even into the soprano sax solo of Wil Swindler who creates a fine melodic line that is quick and alive. Rafael Almengod is featured on the tambu and what fun it is! The vocals begin again, singing “Del otro lado de la calle, Del otro lado de la calle…” The full band takes the song out. What an ending!
Back Home is an energetic, charming, sensory, and revealing album. It is all from the imagination and memory, the life and love, of Socrates Garcia as portrayed by the Latin Jazz Orchestra. From his childhood, from his doctoral studies, from his marriage, Garcia shows us what home is for him. And it is sweet.
This is a fine big band with over 20 musicians contributing to the grand sound. The rhythm section is at the core with Manuel Tejada (piano), Pengbian Snag (bass), Helen De La Rosa (drums) and guitarists Steve Kovalcheck (on Celebration of the Butterflies) and Socrates Garcia ( on Back Home). Percussionists include Felix “Abuelo” Garcia (tambura, congas, atabales), Rafael Alemgod (atabales, tambu), Josue Reynoso (guira) and Otoniel Nicolas (timbales). The woodwinds list Wil Swindler (alto and soprano saxophones and flute), Briana Harris (alto sax and flute), Kenyon Brennier (tenor sax, flute and clarinet) and Ryan Middagh (baritone and bass clarinet). The trumpets and flugelhorns include Brad Goode, Dave Rajewski, Jordan Skomal, and Miles Roth. Trombones are Joe Chisholm, Frank Cook, Jonathan Zimny, Guillermo Rivera, and Gary Mayne (bass trombone). Quite a corps!
Garcia calls the album “in a way autobiographical and…a ‘dream come true’ to record it.” Garcia said of the album that it was “an arrival and a departure.” He was arriving at a place where he “could combine my heritage and the aesthetics of Jazz; departure, towards a promising future for this symbiotic relationship.” All of that is evident from the opening bars.
The album opens with Vantage Point, based on the merengue style. Once considered the music of the poor, it was elevated to national music during the dictatorship of Trujillo. Now Garcia has deepened the music with Jazz arrangements and rhythms.
It is those rhythms that are encountered first followed by the woodwinds and horns. The motif is a cool hook and the horns and winds expand it masterfully. The brilliance of the composition and arrangement is clearly seen at every stage of the whole album.
Ryan Middagh on the baritone sax has great lines and Manuel Tejada is a fine choice on the piano. The first track alone will turn you into a Tejada fan. The whole rhythm section and percussionists are extraordinary. In front of it all is Socrates Garcia, composer and conductor. This is a beautifully written piece. Merengue never sounded so good.
Calle El Conde a Las 8:00 is a remembrance of the street where Garcia grew up in the Dominican Republic. It is the street where Garcia would fall in love with Afro-Caribbean music. Wil Swindler’s soprano sax is sweet and Jordan Skomal gets a warm trumpet solo. The whole winds and horns section are stunningly precise and the delivery is phenomenal. Pay special attention to Helen De La Rosa’s drums.
Celebration of the Butterflies is rooted in the resistance movement against Trujillo. The three Mirabal Sisters were murdered by Trujillo’s assassins on November 25, 1960. The sisters were called “The Butterflies.” The United Nations chose this day as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. It also represents Garcia’s “own voice on violence against women.”
Sometimes it takes a rallying song to make things happen. In 1981, Stevie Wonder’s Happy Birthday rallied people in support of making the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday a national holiday. In 1987, Hugh Masakela released Bring Him Back Home to speak out for the release of Nelson Mandela. And, of course, who could ever forget We Shall Overcome as the anthem of the Civil Rights Movement.
The song opens with a cool three-note motif that creates a perfect groove line. The saxes and horns push the aggressive line with the rhythm section. Kenyon Brenner’s tenor sax solo is excellent bouncing above Tejada’s piano backing. Steve Kovalcheck’s guitar is lively.
It is a beautiful choice—to celebrate them with upbeat and lively measures—and to rejoice in what the resistance created. It is not, therefore, a remembrance to the hatred and ferocity of Trujillo but is, rather, a celebration of life, liberty and love. So well-done.
Back Home is founded on the bachata style which was created in 1960s Dominican Republic. Pianist Manuel Tejada was one of the true developers of the style into something orchestrated and refined. Garcia builds on Tejada’s innovations from the 1990s and merges bachata and Jazz.
The opening Tejada piano lines are fluid and beautiful. Kenyon Brenner again is featured on the tenor sax to lush and lyrical effect. The woodwinds create a swirling, eddying imagery that must remind Garcia of the beaches and breezes of home. The dancing, dreaming, delicious life of the Caribbean is summed up so well, with the promise of something more to come.
The future is declared in the tightly knit big band Jazz that Garcia has written and arranged. At some points, near-Fusion/Rock erupts until the traditional bachata themes reappear, reminding us that the future always has a past that is often rich and always inescapable.
The last three pieces collectively comprise Dominican Suite for Jazz Orchestra. The first movement is called Homage to Tavito in tribute to Tavito Vasquez, the man called the “Charlie Parker of the Caribbean.”
The quick percussion sets up the trumpet of Brad Goode and Tejada on piano. The Bebop mixes coolly with the merengue and this thing just smokes. Goode’s muted trumpet is a hit and Tejada works the piano splendidly. It is no wonder that Garcia, in the liner notes, thanks Don Fortner “for keeping the piano in top shape So manual could destroy it over those two days.”
Helen De La Rosa is masterful on the drums and steals a good bit of the spotlight. Still, the whole band turns in a fantastic performance of a terrifically-written song.
The second movement is Bachata for Two and is dedicated to his wife of over 13 years, Wanda. It is a much more emotional piece than Neil Young’s Kinda fond o’ Wanda. [I don’t know why I included that except that it made me laugh.]
The gorgeous piano introduction is joined by the winds and horns with percussion. The dance imagery speaks of their dance through life and music—although Garcia admits that he is not a good dancer! The big band horns and winds are electrifying and Brad Goode’s trumpet solo takes on a sweeter tone in fine phrasing.
The final movement is also the only vocal piece on the album. From Across the Street is sung by Hovernys Santana, Felix Garcia, Lia Nova and Rafael Almengod.
Contained in the liner notes is Garcia’s remembrance of the subject of the piece. It bears repeating for your pleasure. He writes, “When I was 3 or 4, there was a woman, Martina, who lived across the street from my house. On certain holidays she used to play a genre of Dominican folk music called Palos or Atabales. It includes heavy drumming, singing, and usually large amounts of alcohol. The rhythms and the singing always fascinated me but at the same time it always seemed to scare me to see this big woman playing those gigantic drums (at least that’s what I remember being probably 2 feet tall). All of those memories gave me the idea to include this genre and intertwine it with Jazz.” The lyrics agree with that impression.
Del otro lado de la calle From across the street
Yo puedo oir I can hear
Del otro lado de la calle From across the street
Puedo sentir I can feel
Como suenan los tambores The way the drums sound
Como suenan to’ los cueros The way the skin drumheads sound
Como suenan toa’ las voces The way the voices sound
Como suenan los panderos The way the panderos sound
Como suenan, Como suenan The way (all of it) sounds
Como suenan, Como suenan The way (all of it) sounds
This finale opens with the heavy drumming joined by the voices. Gorgeous. The big band takes over from the voices and it is glorious. The percussion is riveting even into the soprano sax solo of Wil Swindler who creates a fine melodic line that is quick and alive. Rafael Almengod is featured on the tambu and what fun it is! The vocals begin again, singing “Del otro lado de la calle, Del otro lado de la calle…” The full band takes the song out. What an ending!
Back Home is an energetic, charming, sensory, and revealing album. It is all from the imagination and memory, the life and love, of Socrates Garcia as portrayed by the Latin Jazz Orchestra. From his childhood, from his doctoral studies, from his marriage, Garcia shows us what home is for him. And it is sweet.
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