The Mirror finds Raul Midón breaking new ground for himself, including two entrancing solo spoken-word pieces (“If I Could See” and “One Day Without War”). The album also features studio meetings with such veteran jazz colorists as vibraphonist Joe Locke (“A Certain Café”), as well as a songwriting collaboration with top pianist Gerald Clayton, “Deep Dry Ocean.” Another highlight is the road-weary jazz ballad “Cold Cuts and Coffee,” while title track “The Mirror” beguiles with its easy tropical groove, lyrical sophistication and Midón’s flowing electric guitar. As National Public Radio set the stage before his captivating edition of its “Tiny Desk Concert” broadcast: “Raul Midón lives in a world of sound.
Don’t Hesitate is a musical and personal milestone for Midуn, who took control of every aspect of the album’s recording process, despite being blind since birth. The artist cut all of the tracks in his home studio, playing most of the instruments himself and handling all of the project’s technical elements on his own, utilizing special computer software that enabled him to engineer the sessions.
Make a cover album is always a risky exercise. I would say more extreme: play with material already walking the recesses of the brain of the listener can pave the way or condemn a brainy game outright rejection revision. Over eighteen years ago, one of the greatest singers of all time was a machete forget to Cohen and raised the maximum voltage level one piece, coated vocals and layers, would rock the annals of the twentieth century: "Little Viennese waltz" became "Omega", thanks to the duo Enrique Morente and Largatija Nick, untouchable, sacred. Until now.