The Jazz Owl
  • Travis Rogers, Jr. -- The Jazz Owl
  • A Love of Music
  • Music Reviews
  • Reviews on Travis Rogers Jr.
  • Meetings with Remarkable People
  • SoulMates by Candlelight
  • Music in Portland
  • Toshi Onizuka
  • The Arts: Film, Literature and More
  • A Love of History
  • Baseball Stories
  • Personal Reflections

Spanish Harlem Orchestra brings The Latin Jazz Project

6/3/2020

1 Comment

 
Picture
The Latin Jazz Project is what we have been waiting for from Spanish Harlem Orchestra. With six previous recordings, they have given us glimpses and splashes of Latin jazz. Thanks to Artistshare, a fan-funded project program, SHO have given us a full length recording of pure Latin jazz. Their last album, Anniversary, was the Grammy winner for Best Tropical Latin Album. A wonderful album.

But Musical director Oscar Hernandez, with two brilliant Latin Jazz albums under his belt, has brought his full creative force to bear with SHO for another album of wonder. The Latin Jazz Project will certainly be a Grammy contender.

On this album, with seven of the eleven tracks composed by Hernandez, a veritable all-star guest cast adds their remarkable contributions. Hernandez produced the album.

The members of SHO certainly deserve to be recognized. Oscar Hernandez is on piano. Hector Colon plays trumpet and flugelhorn as does Manuel Ruiz on five tracks and Jonathan Powell on alternate five tracks. Doug Beavers, the coproducer and in charge of mixing the album is on trombone with Noah Bless. Jorge Castro plays baritone sax with Mitch Frohman on one track with him. Luisito Quintero is on timbales, shakere, shakers and chimes. George Delgado is on congas and Jorge Gonzalez is on bongos. Gerardo Madera is on base with Jeremy Bosch on flute. Bosch, Marco Bermudez, and Carlos Cascante all contribute vocals on track 11.

The album opens with a Hernandez original, Ritmo De Mi Gente. Jeremy Bosch is featured on flute along with Hernandez on piano. The alternating horns and percussion highlights are so hot. Wait for the last note with the baritone sax adding the exclamation point.

Bobo is a Marty Sheller composition and features the fantastic Bob Mintzer who makes every phrase, every note, count. Hernandez and the percussion are so tight. Colon and Powell with Beavers and Bless and Castro just cook the horn passages. Pay attention to Luisito Quinetero’s percussion work.

Invitation (Kaper and Webster, composers) brings along Kurt Elling’s vocals and Miguel Zenon’s sax work. Elling, of course, is world-famous and Zenon is world-class. Zenon’s sax is a vocal as Elling and the two of them together is like watching Zeus and Thor trading thunderbolts. But again, Hernandez with those horns and percussion…

Angel Fernandez’ Acid Rain features Bob Franceschini on sax and Jonathan Powell on trumpet in this instrumental piece with its fascinating horn runs atop the cool rhythmically rainy beat. A smoking groove.

Trumpeter extraordinaire Tom Harrell is featured on the Oscar Hernandez original Las Palmas. Cool and beautiful piano solo from Hernandez. George Delgado’s congas are a cool treat.

Hernandez brings together two of the baddest cats in the business on his Silent Prayers. A sweet piano introduction is joined by saxman Dave Liebman who slides into an equally tasty solo. In the background for the first 1:44 of the track, bassist Jimmy Haslip comes aboard with that incredible bass solo before Bosch adds his flute. The loveliest song on the album, Silent Prayers is enough to make you say a prayer of thanks for the incredible artistry of the composer, soloists, and the whole band. Liebman returns to give wing to the prayers before piano, horns, and percussion take us home.

Thelonious Monk’s Round Midnight is one of my favorite pieces of all-time. Hernandez takes the Gene Amato arrangement to a Latin paradise. The piano melodic line holds true with that great percussion and horn treatment. Powell is featured on trumpet and the whole song sounds like Monk in San Juan or Havana. Hernandez, of course, steals the show.

Hernandez’ Fort Apache features trumpeter Michael Rodriguez who joins the horns in a raw and aggressive foray against Hernandez’ steady piano with a spot-on percussion section. Powerful stuff.

Vibraphonist Joe Locke takes the lead on Latin Perspective with time given for Bosch’s flute. Locke is a master artist and always lights up the proceedings wherever he appears. Bosch fits like hand in glove with Locke and Hernandez. The solos of Bosch and Locke are worth the wait. They depart the track en corps before fading into the 36-second improv between Locke and Hernandez, titled Joe and Oscar.

Descarga De Jazz wraps up the album with chorus vocals from Bosch, Marco Bermudez, and Carlos Cascante. Mitch Frohman’s tough and tight baritone sax gets the feature but it’s Hernandez and the percussion that keep setting up the horn passes. You gotta love the vocals and that baritone sax just rattles your spine.
​
Oscar Hernandez and Spanish Harlem Orchestra have created an album of raw energy, tight grooves, beautiful melodies, and compositions to thrill and amaze any listener. The Latin Jazz Project was wroth the wait.
 
                                         ~Travis Rogers, Jr. is The Jazz Owl


1 Comment
Gene Amato
6/8/2020 10:56:53 am

Thank you so much for the kind words! I can tell you are a true lover of great music.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    March 2021
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    August 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2017
    February 2017
    October 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    Aaron Parks
    Akira Ishiguro
    Ches Smith
    Chuck Van Haecke
    Dewa Budjana
    George Colligan
    Goh Kurosawa
    Helen Sung
    Jack Dejohnette
    Kai Kurosawa
    Keith Jarrett
    Matt Mitchell
    Oscar Noriega
    Osmany Paredes
    Peter Erskine
    Pseudocidal
    Ruben Rodriguez
    Sharp Three
    Simakdialog
    Steven Kroon
    Susan Clynes
    Thierry Maillard
    Tim Berne
    Tim Berne's Snakeoil
    Tom Guarna

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.