Cuban Music

Wow. I've owned this CD for five years and just keep coming back to it over and over. I have a rather large collection of 50s & 60s Jazz and 60s bossa nova, including all of the essential canon of bossa: gilberto, jobim, getz, bonfa, baden powell, sergio mendes, et al. This album is somehow overlooked among bossa lovers. And jazz lovers. Tjader here shows the perfectly "sad beautiful" character that always characterized bossa nova from "Chega Saudade" on. Particularly with "Vai Querer" and "Se E Tarde, Me Perdoa," that lilting, joyful melancholy is at its most poignant. I can't imagine a bossa lover not resonating with Tjader's earnest take on 60s bossa nova in these tracks.

I found this magnificent record at a russian market a couple of years ago. I had no idea what it was, and thought that it would be "just another" jazz or bebop record by this great musician but I was totally blown away when I played it. Certainly not what you would expect from Dizzy. It might be perceived as a little 'pretentious' at first because of it's owerwhelming grave and somewhat depressive sound. In my opinion this is a very introvert recording which requires full attention from the listener and is definitely not for all kinds of moods. I must say that I'm very proud to own it now that I know that it came in a very limited edition -even if I'm not sure my copy is an original considering the place of purchase ;-)

This CD was a limited edition of 5,000 that sold out quickly, so expect to pay a premium for it now. If you can get a deal, don't hesitate. The music was a special commissioned work by JJ Johnson for large orchestra. Dizzy had been impressed by the Miles Davis & Gil Evans collaborations and JJ's work with Gunther Schuller, and so he asked for something along those lines.

It's not the sort of sound that one usually associates with Dizzy, which may be why Verve chose it for the limited-edition series, but then that's also why the session should be so especially interesting. If there is justice, Verve will give the music another press run someday soon.

Poncho Sanchez recorded this gem of an album and put himself on the musical map for keeps. This, his second release for Concord Picante is non-stop Latin Jazz. The West Coast has long been a hotbed for Latin music and this album brings a lot of that together. Poncho's understanding of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and jazz compositional structure is evident here. The cat has done his homework and it shows.

At the time, Poncho was a relative newcomer to the latin music scene and yet here he rises not only to the challenge but grabs the 1984 Grammy to boot. The band covers guaracha, cha cha cha, guaguanco, descarga in the classic tradition while at the same time weaving those jazz horns thru the musical fabric with taste. Poncho Sanchez, keeping the Latin jazz flame alive and throwing in some Chicano heat to the mix. Bien Sabroso!!! Recommended.

1. Ahora
2. Bien Sabroso
3. Nancy
4. Keeper Of The Flame
5. Brisa
6. Sin Timbal
7. Una Mas
8. Half & Half
9. Ican
Musicians

Poncho Sanchez - congas
Charlie Otwell - piano
Ramon Banda - timbales
Tony Banda - bass
David Romero - bongos
Mark Levine - trombone
Dick Mitchell - tenor saxophone, flute
Steve Huffsteter - trumpet, flugelhorn

Poncho Sanchez makes the best latin jazz ever. If you even have the slightest interest in this exciting genre of music, then you must have this! Here Poncho is at his peak, following his incredible debut album "Sonando" - also a five-star album. Poncho mixes the danceable intensity of salsa with the polyrhythms of jazz with ease and dexterity. As you listen to this, you may even ask yourself, can it really be this good? Then listen again, and you will agree that it can, and it is.

I lost this one to theft about 7 years ago and it was one of the handful of really essential discs that I was unable to replace at the time. Absolutely superb covers of Ellington by Dizzy's late 50's big band. The version of Caravan in particular is priceless; the mute on the trumpet in the opening intro tiptoes around the harem, then the mute comes off as the sultan swaggers in. It's wonderful -- flashier than Ellington might have done, perhaps, but very nice; I'm sure Ellington approved as he has put together some strange versions of Caravan himself (look for Money Jungle, a trio setting with Ellington, Mingus and Max Roach, for a particularly spare version).

The only regret is that the copy I lost was a cheap reissue in a jewel case, not the expensive import version here which comes in a carboard sleeve mimicking the original LP jacket. It's a matter of taste but I prefer jewel cases where I can see the title on the spine when I'm scanning through my shelf.

Seldom have I heard a CD and immediately thereafter just had to own it. It took me weeks to find this CD. (Thank heavens for the internet). Cuban music is, of course, in short supply not based on quality but rather based on availability. Another casualty of our less than perfect international political skills (which Washington brain said ... lets get rid of Batista and get a new government into Cuba that we can work with...). But this is not about politics, this is about artistic brilliance.

I first heard this CD at a club in Miami. I was blown away. If you have even the most remote interest in jazz, in latin music, or piano this is a must have! If you have a passing interest in Cuban music start here. And if you are a expert you'll love the absolute brilliance as you are offered up latin jazz by piano in an extraordinary range.

Roberto Fonseca can simply be described as an undiscovered master with remarkable talent. Undiscovered only if you do not realize he is the new piano giant of the Buena Vista Social Club. At age thirty, he towers over the BVSC seniors. Fonseca plays, he composes, he overwhelms. This CD illustrates his propensity for musical innovation. He has a unique latin style. A piano master, be assured he is destined to be the next superstar in latino music. This is an insight into true cuban music magic (and I don't speak a word of spanish)!. If Fonseca was born in Hartford instead of Havana you'd be hearing terms like "prodigy" and you'd be reading about him on the Billboard charts instead of Amazon Reviews. Our loss in not trading with the Castro "commies" is more than those great cigars. If Fonseca toured the US he'd play to sell out crowds. This is a special musical genre delivered by a special musical genius.

I've only started listening to mainstream Jazz in earnest since Christmas, and this is one of the first albums I bought. I was led to it by a longtime love of Bossa Nova, in which Stan Getz plays a significant part. Much has been made in other reviews about a kind of pugilistic tone to this album, but I don't hear it. Though Diz certainly dominates the album (perhaps because the trumpet is simply a louder instrument), Getz's performance is equally wonderful in a different way. While Diz's exuberance and playfulness are certainly prominent, Getz is more precise, more seasoned, more polished. Other reviewers have noted that Getz delicately mimics Diz in a few of the riffs, which makes for some light musical comedy if you're a Jazz nerd. Every track on this album shines, from the fast-paced first and fifth tracks to the mellow and rhythmic third track, "Exactly Like You." Love Diz? Love Getz? Take it from the Neophyte: buy this album.

Excellent record, among Diz's finest outings on Verve. The song selection is classic and leaves plenty of blowing room, the best workout being the Ellington tune "It Don't Mean a Thing...", in which Diz lights a fire so hot it seems like the rest of the band is playing out of sheer terror. On this track you'll hear what may well be Getz's most frenetic solo, along with one of Oscar Peterson's best. But there are a number of ballads as well, more conducive to Getz's cool, cooing tone, to relax things a bit.

In the liner notes OP recounts how Diz came into this session wanting "a piece of Stan Getz, bad... he wanted to take advantage of someone, and i decided it wasn't going to be me." Diz again succeeds in drawing incredible performances out of his band, getting them to play beyond themselves. Top shelf stuff.

Also, if you like this one, get "Sonny Side of the Street" with Diz, Sony Rollins and Sonny Stitt. It's another case of the bandleader challenging his band, and evoking incredible performances.

This early meeting between Diz and Getz may be more satisfying than the duets with Rollins and Stitt, the meeting with both ("Sonny Side Up"), or the three-way interaction of Diz, Getz and Stitt on "For Musicians Only." On this Diz-Getz '54 recording, the presence of Oscar Peterson is a definite plus, providing the session with a bit more firepower than the aforementioned dates. This is relatively early Diz--before the bent upswept bell--but he's in peak form, and the fidelity isn't wanting. Getz sounds relaxed and ready to play Dizzy's own game, even mimicking some of the master player's licks. (The tone that the saxophonist gets when he tries to play "hard" has always sounded "roosterish" to me. Here we get the inimitable "cool" sound of Getz carrying a man's load.)

Some listeners may recoil at a program (no doubt Granz-inspired) that includes "Girl of My Dreams" and two parts of Lecuona's "Siboney." I say good riddance to so much of the current fare that passes for "original" songwriting.

There are also some listeners who will complain that these Granz Verve sessions lack the rhythmic thrust of Van Gelder's many Blue Note dates. The difference is partly due to the music idiom and its practitioners (these are musicians more interested in the "language" of bebop than the "groove" of hard bop) but also to recording engineers. Van Gelder "enhances" the horns, boosts bass, drums, and alters the piano sound to a degree than would simply be unacceptable to an Oscar Peterson.

The Blue Notes have their place, but suffice it say that the musicians on this more "natural-sounding" Verve recording would be done a disservice by any tampering with the sound. Finally, this is relaxed but still stunning Gillespie, even down to his "funky" solo on the quirky inclusion of a Gillespie original ("One Alone") that features an entirely different rhythm section along with tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley! (Far too little--likely to make any listener with ears go crazy looking for a complete session featuring this pair.)

[Some previous reviews have recently led me to discover "Bop Session," a Swedish-produced meeting between Diz and Stitt that is somewhat of a revelation: who among us realized just how much horn the then-iconic Gillespie was playing as late as 1975 ? Max Roach insisted that the album not be under Gillespie's name, but no Diz fan should let this one go by unnoticed. Stitt's sound is also beautifully captured.]

This is a classic recording. One that should be heard by all jazz fans. The ignorant notion that Stan Getz got wiped out by Dizzy is preposterous. Both musicians play their hearts out. Of course Dizzy plays great here - he was at the top of his game. But Stan TOTALLY keeps up with Diz. One wishes that the producers/engineers hadn't made Diz play with the cup mute so much. Listen to Stan's amazing facility, clean articulation, and fleet fingers on the incredibly up-tempo "Don't Mean A Thing." Stan also plays beautifully on the ballad "Talk of the Town". For top musicians like these two, it was all about furthering the music. The game of "who won the jazz boxing match" is left to half informed non-musicians who don't know how difficult it is to play on the level of these two superb gentlemen.

Inexplicably this disc has two different entries and on the other one I gave it 5 stars without much comment, but referring to the other reviewer for this entry who gave it 3 stars. Sure, everybody is entitled to his opinion, but these reviews are not screened and a review from someone totally ignorant (which I believe is the case here) may affect the sales of a very good product and therefore correction is needed. I can hardly resist the temptation to make more fun of the reviewer; in my other review I wondered where he had his (or her) ears (I now believe he is a male); this time I would like to suggest he wears lighter pants. Once again, this is top level music. Importantly, it joined a black and a white musical giant made at a time when the white and black sounds (and to a certain extent musical ideas) were clearly distinct. Stan must have been something like "the great white hope" in those days and Diz (an avid boxing fan) according to the booklet felt in a fighting mood. Yet Gillespie's charm must have been such that even the extremely volatile Getz was subdued and the result was a competitive camaraderie.
Like all great records, this one gets better everytime one listens to it. (If it doesn't, question your first judgment.) With regard to the sidemen, substantial praise goes to the superb Max Roach and the indomitable Oscar Peterson, who was termed by Getz to a common Danish friend as "a big music machine". But the machine turns out a real quality product.

anyone who has listened to his music.

Bobby Enriquez earned the title "Wildman" because of the aggression and passion and sometimes impossibly fast tempos he played. Also he was known for the number of quotes from other songs that he included in his solos while displaying his technique and an ability to think incredibly fast. He was truly a virtuoso, self taught at the age of four and turning professional at age fourteen. His reputation was made in the eight albums he cut from 1981 through 1985.

In my opinion this is his best album because he showed a little more restraint, allowing strong piano work and exquisite taste to be fully displayed. His ability to quote still is apparent but the pyrotechnics are only hinted at in "Groovin' High".

"The Pink Panther Theme" is the best that I have heard other than the original as played by Plas Johnson. the rest of the program consists of standards with a few well known jazz standards. "Blue Hawaii" is an exception, by the title, seeming out of place. It turns out amazingly well reminding me of Erroll Garner, not by style, but the ability to take something not related to jazz and transform it into an interesting jazz rendition.

An added attraction of this cd is the work of the late bassist Ray Brown who is prominently featured.

This cd will appeal to anyone who appreciates great piano trio jazz.

This album has the most swingin' version of the Pink Panther theme I've ever heard, complete with a little James Bond quote at the end. It came on the car radio the other day, and even though I had just arrived, I had to stay in my (now parked) car to hear the whole thing, and then wait another three minutes for the DJ to tell me who it was. Needless to say, I got online and one-clicked it right away! What a happy discovery!

I first heard Bobby Enriquez play with Richie Cole at Fat Tuesday's in NYC about 10 years ago. I was a long time fan of Richie Cole, but Bobby stole the show. His selections begin in a soft beautiful, melodic style, which quickly develops into a swinging, aggressive, full arm play (gotta see it to believe), which earns him the appropriate title the "Wildman." But one night at Fat Tuesday, he played a slow, solo, bluesy rendition of "America, the Beautiful." The room fell into a hushed silence, totally entranced. At the end of the song, there was not a dry eye in the room. Although Bobby Enriquez is known as the Wildman, he had the sensitivity and quiet beauty surpassing that of Bill Evans in my opinion. Come back, Bobby. Heaven can wait.