(Reprinted from the November 2020 issue of New York City Jazz Record)
Heroes honor heroes. So writes music journalist Michael Ambrosino in the liner notes for The John Santos Quartet: The Art of Descarga (Smithsonian Folkways). Here he’s talking about percussionist John Santos’ furthering of the legacy of Cuban bongocero Francisco “Chino” Pozo, whose irresistible rhythms found their way into the masterworks of innovative American jazz bandleaders like Dizzy Gillespie and Tito Puente. The new release digs deep into Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Latin beat traditions, centering on the music of descargas—Cuban jam sessions full of exhilarating rhythmic possibilities.
In descargas, singers like Orlando Torriente sing backup (coro) and will solo at times, though the focus of the improvisation is always the movement of the groove. On The Art of Descarga, Torriente—who’s been singing with the Bay Area-based Santos for more than 15 years—contributes lead vocals to two tracks, the sultry mambo, “Bernal Heights”, and the spinning bomba “Lo Tuyo No Va”. Placed right at the upper edge of his range, Torriente’s spontaneous vocal lines ring with barely restrained fervor—they’re an invitation to join in the excitement.
Los Angeles disc jockey Jose Rizo leads his nonet Mongorama on Mariposas Cantan (Saungú), a 12-track collection featuring the esteemed timbale player Ramon Banda on what would be his final recording. The group’s regular lead singer James Zavaleta displays striking rhythmic acuity on tunes like the playful “Quindimbia” and “Descarga Ramon Banda”, the ensemble’s lengthy ode to the late percussionist, only to wax disarmingly romantic on the title cut (translated, “Butterflies Sing”). Guest vocal soloists also share in the album’s success: Darynn Dean’s jazz-textured solo work grounds “Helen of Jazz”, a flute showcase in honor of late disc jockey Helen Berger, and lends a bluesy-funk vibe to the group’s Latin run-down of Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man”. Band member Alfredo Ortiz, who plays percussion (bongos, bells, chekere) throughout the album, provides an irrepressibly upbeat vocal line on “Fiesta de Charangueros”, and Yoshigei Rizo, the bandleader’s daughter-in-law, stands out for her heated performance of Ernesto Duarte Brito’s ever-popular bolero, “Como Fue.”
The notion behind the Jazz Is Dead record series—the brainchild of hip-hop composer Adrian Younge and A Tribe Called Quest DJ-producer Ali Shaheed Muhammed—is to re-contextualize the sound of celebrated jazz artists within a contemporary framework, using electric guitars and keyboards, recorded in an analog environment. Their third such collaboration, Marcos Valle, highlights the prolific Brazilian singer-songwriter’s silken bossa voice, sometimes in duo with his wife, singer Patricia Alvi, or gospel singer Loren Oden.
This eponymous album comes as a surprise—not just because it’s the Brazilian icon’s first stateside recording in 50 years, but also because he manages to condense these five decades of musical excellence into a mere eight tunes. Check out his unhurried vocalese against the smoldering pulse on “Queira Bem”. His tight repartee in Portuguese with Alvi on the whirling bossa nova, “Viajando Por Ai (Traveling Around)”. The R&B-tinged wordless duet with Oden on “Gotta Love Again”. And his intuitive phrasing against the raucous synth lines on “A Gente Volta Amanhã (The People Return Tomorrow).” Timeless.
Singer/composer Eva Cortés fronts an impressive roster on Todas Las Voces (TRRC), her second album with producer Doug Beavers. Besides Beavers on trombone, the flamenco-suffused tunes on the record feature bassists Christian McBride and Luques Curtis, pianist Elio Villafranca, drummer Eric Harland, saxophonist Román Filiú and percussionist Luisito Quintero. Most of these expertly crafted songs are originals— Cortés’ plaintive modern jazz anthem “Canción con Todos”, her coolly sophisticated “Hills of Silver”, and the smart, laid-back “Out Of Words”, co-written with Villafranca, for example. But she also includes a smooth jazz version of the popular Latin tune “Gracias a la Vida”, by influential Chilean composer Violeta Parra, and an alluring rendition of Horace Silver/ Bobby McFerrin’s beseeching ballad, “Peace”.
Toggling between English and Spanish, Cortés, who earned a degree in linguistics from the University of Seville, handles shifts in the album’s differing musical sensibilities with grace. Such cultural ambidexterity seems to be part of her nature: Born in Honduras and raised in Spain, Cortés now splits her time between Madrid and New York. And with the album’s title she offers a clue to her humanistic motivations as a singer-songwriter; translated as All Voices, it can allude not only to her skills behind the microphone but to her wish for the world.