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Birds
of a Feather
Caribbean
Jazz Project
Released: August 26, 2003
Label: Concord Jazz
Listening Samples Available: yes
I thought
CJC's last disc, The Gatherting,
was something special.
This one continues their arc of
greatness and even tops it.
Customer Review: Don't overlook
these guys! Dave Samuels,
one of the original founders
of The Caribbean Jazz Project
(with Andy Narell and Paquito
D'Rivera), has emerged as
the sole survivor of a band
that has always been a brilliant
idea but has not always lived
up to its conceptual genius:
He's the only one pictured
on the jewel box insert; he's
the producer; half the tunes
are his; and his name appears
under the band's name on the
cover of the jewel box insert.
I came to this disc with
a good deal of skepticism...
it is missing most of the
players that made the previous
CJP discs work: Paquito, Andy,
and, more recently, Dave Valentin
and Steve Kuhn. Moreover,
it contains no woodwinds--nary
a flute or sax to be heard.
Instead, it is billed as an
investigation into the role
of the trumpet in Afro-Cuban
jazz music. Well, I'm not
the world's biggest trumpet
fan; I've had my fill of retro-maestros,
upper-register pyrotechnic
practitioners, and brass bad
boys. Plus, my own feeling
is that the piercing sonics
of the trumpet generally need
to be balanced by the earthiness
of a sax.
However The CJP seems to
have come together very nicely,
thank you, despite the departure
of its most heavyweight players.
Those remaining--Dario Eskenazi
on piano, Rueben Gonzales
on e-bass, Dafnis Prieto on
drums, and Roberto Quintero
on congas and percussion--
work together seemlessly as
an ensemble, and each is becoming
a very fine soloist. Eskenazi,
especially, strikes me as
an emerging piano giant in
Latin jazz. And Prieto really
knows how to make things cook.
You know how a good deal of
Latin jazz comes across as
a lot of fast notes without
much soul? Well, these guys
can burn when they need to,
but they they're also awfully
tuned in and conversational.
Also, the inclusion of some
very tasty guest appearances
by Randy Brecker (trumpet),
Romero Lubambo (guitar), Mark
Walker (surely one of the
very finest Latin drummers
on the scene), and Cafe on
percussion notch things up
to a higher level. -Reviewer:
Jan P. Dennis from Monument,
CO USA, September 13, 2003
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