Raul da Gama
Canadian writer. Based in Milton, Ontario, Canada, Raul is a musician and an accomplished writer whose profound analysis is reinforced by his deep understanding of music, technically as well as historically.
Armando Romeu: 1er Concierto de la Orq Cubana de Música Moderna
The Orquesta Cubana de Música Moderna was one of the early swing bands that rocked Cuba and it’s hardly surprising why. The big band...
Mike Freeman ZonaVibe: Venetian Blinds
Mike Freeman and ZonaVibe pay wonderful homage to two of great vibraphone masters of musicians on Venetian Blinds; Tito Puente and Bobby Hutcherson. Tongue...
Omar Sosa, Yilian Cañizares: Aguas
Omar Sosa and Yilian Cañizares are both astonishingly gifted musicians whose reputations have been somewhat eclipsed (grossly unfairly, one might add) by those instrumentalists...
Ark Ovrutski: Journey Moments
Although by its suggestion of relative fragmentation the structural plan of Journey Moments by the contrabassist Ark Ovrutski follows a familiar enough trajectory encompassing...
Sergio Pereira: Nu Brasil
For the carioca, Sergio Pereira, playing on the Portuguese word “Nu” as the title of his album Nu Brasil and then following it up...
Harold López-Nussa: Un Día Cualquiera
Harold López-Nussa is a dynasty not only in Cuba, and ever since Ninety Miles (Concord, 2011), a recording that was facilitated by vibraphonist Stefon...
Charlie Sepúlveda and The Turnaround: Songs For Nat
This is not a tribute to Nat Adderley, but if it were, it would be a better one than any trumpeter has done. As...
Maria Cangiano: Renaceré (Piazzolla X Cangiano)
It has been some time since we have heard from Maria Cangiano. But the sultry-voiced Argentinean contralto has returned with a new recording of...
Dongfeng Liu: China Caribe
We are very familiar with the slew of prodigiously gifted Chinese pianists (and other instrumentalists) who have become renowned all over the world for...
Carlos Averhoff Jr: iQba – Jazz Meets Cuban Timba
Carlos Averhoff Jr. has lineage. The son of the incomparable Carlos Averhoff Sr. better known as “Carlos Averhoff Sax”, Mr Averhoff Jr. is also...
Hendrik Meurkens | Bill Cunliffe: Cabin in the Sky
The most striking aspect of the music of Hendrik Meurkens has always been the refined elegance of its melodies. This has always been carried...
Itai Kriss and Telavana: Telavana
Itai Kriss together with Hadar Noiberg is one of New York’s worst-kept secrets. Both flutists wear their Middle Eastern heritage just as well as...
Bobby Ramirez: Yo Soy Ritmo! Danzón – Homenaje a Miguel Faílde
The celebrated Spanish composer Manuel de Falla posited that “in popular song the spirit is more important than the letter”, but sometimes –especially in...
Duende Libre: Drift
All but two of the songs heard on Drift have been composed by Alex Chadsey. They are attractive, alluring miniatures, often written in a...
Sebastian Schunke | Diego Pinera: Elusive Beauty
The album Elusive Beauty by Sebastian Schunke and Diego Pinera – together with reedsmeister Benjamin Weidekamp, violist Yodfat Miron and cellist Boram Lie –...
Cabanijazz Project: Infrasonic
With heat from the blue part of the flame – suggesting fire and, at times, ice – in ensemble and solo passages of Infrasonic...
Dave Chamberlain’s Band of Bones: Picadillo? Yes, Madly!
Of all the myriad ensembles out there few sound as powerfully alluring as the trombone-driven ensemble, Dave Chamberlain’s Band of Bones. Part of the...
Alex Conde: Origins
When Alex Conde turns up the power at any given time, he’s like an orchestra all by himself. Now magnify that several times on...
Alfredo Chacón: Caliente Corner
Everything about Caliente Corner suggests that the multi-instrumentalist Alfredo Chacón is on his way to the pinnacle of his powers – both as a...
Adrien Brandeis: Euforia
Of course you can learn to keep “clave” time, but if you don’t “feel “ it the way Adrien Brandeis does then you cannot...