Carlos Riz Safón

In this album, Five verses, there are five instrumental pieces inspired by texts of different authors that put in value the binomial music-poetry from the saxophone-piano or saxophone- electronic binomials. In his first album, Carlos Zaragoza wants to bring together a collection of “songs without words” from 20 th and 21 st century composers André Caplet, Paul Hindemith, Orlando Bass, Vincent David and Luis Naón. The velvety timbre of the alto and soprano saxophone, the presence of air in the sound, and the eminently lyrical writing of the five composers confer an aura of vocality.

This collection presents music released by eleven-time GRAMMY nominee R. Carlos Nakai over the second 20 years of a distinguished career which earned him a Platinum and two Gold Records. Nakai (Navajo-Ute) has explored the expressive range of the traditional Native American flute in a wide range of genres - jazz, new age, classical, Hawaiian, and EDM. “In Harmony, We Journey” is the companion album to Nakai’s first “best of” collection, the top-selling “In Beauty, We Return” (100,000+ sold).

In some ways, this is a strategic retreat for Antonio Carlos Jobim after the classical departures of the '70s – a retrospective of past triumphs, including some of the most trod-upon standards ("Ipanema," "Desafinado," "One-Note Samba," etc.), with Claus Ogerman again at hand. But these are thoughtful retoolings, some subtle, some radical, ranging in backing from a lonely piano to elaborate yet sensitive Ogerman orchestral flights that cram more complexity than ever into the spaces (listen to his beguilingly involved take on "Double Rainbow") with only a few overbearing faux pas. Jobim's own vocals sound increasingly casual in temperament as he serves them up in an unpredictable mixture of Portuguese, English and scat. And there is much unfamiliar material here, often dressed up in a brooding classical manner.

A beautiful live performance from the same trio that delivered the Third World Underground album for Trio Records in 1972 – a set done with a similar mix of earthy, global elements as that gem – delivered by Carlos Ward on alto and flute, Dollar Brand on piano and flute, and Don Cherry on flute, trumpet, and percussion! There's a style here that's almost an extension of the energy of the Art Ensemble Of Chicago – especially in the way the musicians mix up instruments – combined with some of the more globally-sensitive elements of Don Cherry's work in Sweden, which clearly brings out qualities in Brand and Ward that are different than their already-great work together on other albums. Titles include "African Session", "Air", "Berimbau", "Waya Wa Egoli", "Cherry", and "Bra Joe From Kilimanjaro".