The Latin Jazz wave is old hat. There are too many hangers-on; too many copy cats and not enough original thinking musicians. But in contrast, the...
The journey from Yucatan to Rio was a really smooth one. It was brimful with samba and bossa nova, with a little baroque thrown in probably...
Johnny Conga comes from a long line of illustrious tumbadores, too many to mention, but suffice it to say that from the musical evidence on Breaking...
Whatever music Bobby Matos chooses to inhabit is sure to be brimful – even overflowing – with energy. On this record, Unity, Matos attempts to take...
Imagine the time when much music was written and performed on the harpsichord. That was before the piano first cam into being. Now imagine the literature...
This record was released to coincide with the 50th Anniversary of the Bossa Nova. How appropriate that it should be a collection of songs (except for...
There are really only two truly innovative and unforgettable records made to honor Charlie Parker. One is the remarkably inventive Tribute to Monk and Bird (Tomato...
The title of this record – Bach in Havana – should not come as a surprise, after all there is a yet-to-be-fully-discovered European Baroque and Classical...
There is something in the music of Eva Scow that is so unique that the only two other musicians who come to mind when she is...
Geoffrey Keezer is a pianist of immense technical ability. As a musician and composer he is able to express himself in different idioms and settings. On...
The high art of this record, Bienvenida is no accident. This is because its principal performer is the miracle behind it all. Venissa Santi is one...
How many times has this happened before? A jazz musician - and a very good one, at that - becomes seduced by the music of Cuba...
It is a daunting task to play in the idioms of jazz, salsa and mambo in a big band setting without the spirit of El Rey,...
Of the many non-Brasilian ensembles in the United States besotted with "choro," the music of Brasil and, not simply drawn to it, but actually performing it,...
Fiesta Percusiva, the title of this album by master percussionist and multi-instrumentalist, Victor Rendón does not even begin to describe fully the depth of this project....