en la Fusa Vinicius

The Pièces de clavecin en concerts are a kind of link between the Italian trio sonatas and Bach’s polyphonic trios. An example of the latter would be the trio sonata which concludes the Musical Offering. Another example would be the keyboard sonatas – for harpsichord or pianoforte – with violin or ad libitum accompaniment which were developed considerably at the end of the XVIII century, especially in France.

Catalan folk singer Sílvia Pérez Cruz and the Javier Colina Trío (Colina on bass, Albert Sanz on piano, and Marc Miralta on the drums), plus guest saxophonist Perico Sambeat, revisit the Cuban songbook in the gorgeous En la Imaginación. Four years in the making, this genuine labor of love reimagines classics of the bolero, filin, and son, such as "Debí Llorar" and "Ella y Yo" in a jazz trio-and-voice setting.

The Spanish tinge referred to by pianist Jelly Roll Morton has never been far from jazz, though serious attempts to fuse flamenco and jazz only began with saxophonist Pedro Iturralde and guitarist Paco de Lucia's collaboration Flamenco-Jazz (SABA, 1968). Tenor saxophonist Carlos Villoslada continues this tradition by bringing together jazz melodies and harmonies with flamenco rhythms and voice. For the most part, the music on this recording has a relaxed vibe, with the Cadiz-based quintet visiting soleas, bulerias, tientos and tanguilos with a quietly smoldering passion, led from the front by Villoslada's strong playing. Despite the absence of guitar the flavor of flamenco permeates these compositions, with vocalist Raul Gálvez supported by Diego Moatoya and Pedro de Chana on palmas, Dani Dominguez' striking, hybrid jazz-flamenco drumming, and veteran Brazilian percussionist, Rubem Dantas.

Amazing unreleased stuff recorded back in '78 by this former guitarist of Materia Gris in collaboration with Carlos Cutaia (formerly with Pescado Rabioso, La Máquina, etc.) and his former band mate Carlos Riganti (ex Alas). An album crammed with delicate melodies (most of them instrumental) quite reminiscent of outfits such as Kerrs Pink, Camel and Mike Oldfield. Without losing track of his roots, yet a bit left field from the classic South American Prog sound of the era.

The Pièces de clavecin en concerts are a kind of link between the Italian trio sonatas and Bach’s polyphonic trios. An example of the latter would be the trio sonata which concludes the Musical Offering. Another example would be the keyboard sonatas – for harpsichord or pianoforte – with violin or ad libitum accompaniment which were developed considerably at the end of the XVIII century, especially in France.

Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre is one of the most remarkable female musical figures in history. Rarely has a woman composer garnered such esteem in her own time, and her success, rather than provoking resentment in the hearts of her contemporaries, inspired the utmost admiration. One has to give credit to the Grand Siècle, a unique period in this regard, for granting Élisabeth the respect she truly deserved. This recording features works seldom heard but nonetheless of exceptional quality, exemplifying two genres in which Jacquet de La Guerre excelled: the French cantata and the suite for harpsichord. In these, we can discover the intrinsic and timeless value of her artistry, regardless of the anecdotal aspects of the historical and social conditions in which they were created.

Issued just after his landmark two-week June 1998 gig at the Village Vanguard and subsequent U.S./Canada tour, Chucho Valdйs' first album for Blue Note bears out a lot of the hype surrounding this hugely gifted Cuban pianist. Unlike many of today's younger Cuban keyboard hotshots, Valdйs not only has great technical chops and musical erudition, he manages to stay closely tied to his Cuban rhythmic roots. Thus, he employs a Cuban percussionist Roberto Vizcaino Guillot along with the standard bass (Alain Pйrez Rodriguez) and drums (Raъl Pнсeda Roque), which dramatically increases the possibilities for rhythmic experiments. Valdes more often than not is all over the keyboard, comfortable with everything from Ravel-ian classical complexity to Bill Evans' introspection to Cecil Taylor-like crunches.