On his maiden voyage as a bandleader, playing wonderful repertoire [all] written and arranged by himself, Israel Tanenbaum has emerged as a consummate storyteller. It’s no...
After producing over 50 albums for other artists in Puerto Rico, Colombia and the U.S., participating as pianist-arranger in more than 100 recordings and writing music...
To call this album Entre Amigos by Günther Brück magnificent and brilliant – or using another superlative epithet to describe the repertoire on it would be...
It took a while for Marlon Simon to launch his celebrated career as a leader of his own ensembles. He took the plunge, however, in 1998,...
There are many reasons why it is a remarkable travesty of justice that the celebrated Venezuelan drummer and percussionist, Marlon Simon, has had to resort to...
Mike Freeman and ZonaVibe pay wonderful homage to two of great vibraphone masters of musicians on Venetian Blinds; Tito Puente and Bobby Hutcherson. Tongue firmly in...
We are very familiar with the slew of prodigiously gifted Chinese pianists (and other instrumentalists) who have become renowned all over the world for their interpretation...
Rare is the occasion when an artist arrives on the scene who fundamentally reawakens your understanding not just of music but world history, common cultures, and...
Richard Bona: Fans call him “The African Sting,” critics call him a pro, but it’s his unique and electrifying style of connecting with his audience that...
Editor’s Pick · Album of the Month · Big Bands are an endangered species. So it is with great excitement that one welcomes Hector Martignon’s Banda...
That Ralph Irizarry’s percussion has found numerous champions attests to the timbalero’s ability to play in a well-crafted, idiomatic manner in wide-ranging, accessible and passionate settings...
20TH ANNIVERSARY marks the highly anticipated return of master timbalero, Ralph Irizarry and his hard-hitting Latin jazz septet, Timbalaye, whose genesis dates back to 1996, when...
Jose Conde is a musician whom I have grown to admire recently. However, such repertoire, so close to traditional forms of Afro-Cuban music is not something...
On El Conde Negro Pete Rodríguez seems bask in the burnished glow of his horn as he stretches and relaxes his way through ten beautifully wrought...
This has to be the most hip album since “Low Ridin’” was first invented in the 50’s hydraulics and all. The fact that it has a...