Maestro Dongfeng Liu is back. And this time he brought a friend, mentor, and genius collaborator in Gonzalo Rubalcaba. In his 2018 ZOHO release China Caribe, Liu explored the music of the China and the Caribbean, a remarkable opus that awakened many not only to a new sound but fresh way of thinking. There is an often-overlooked history of Chinese immigrants coming to the Americas, including Cuba, stretching back to the nineteenth century. Liu's musical initiatives are vintage and at the vanguard. China Afro Cuba is indeed music at the frontline of composition and harmony but also interchange and friendship. There is an ancient Chinese saying, "Lofty mountains and flowing water meet a kindred spirit - and colorful clouds chasing the moon meet a bosom friend." It comes from a philosophical text written some 2,000 years ago. Liu believes the symbolism of this line represents his musical friendship with Rubalcaba. Indeed, Rubalcaba is one the greatest artists of his generation. What may seem like an unusual pairing - Cuban and Chinese musicians - is anything but. They flow together as kindred spirits. "We are two pianists having an exploratory and innovative musical conversation. We've made a non-traditional interpretation of traditional music," says Liu. Jasmine is a Chinese folk song which originates from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1736 - 1795). It's well-known and interpreted widely in China. In this rendition, Liu invokes two versions to play the high and low parts simultaneously with slightly differing melodies, incorporating Bach-style polyphony. Rubalcaba enters with a well-performed Cuban son which may seem jarring, as if cultures colliding. Both artists rely on their significant jazz vocabulary to navigate as they would in a live performance, eventually returning to the main melody, which ends with gentle and lingering lines. Kangding Love Song is a veritable funk with alacrity. The groove sounds as if Jaco Pastorious is part of the session.
The Santiago Big Band & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra - Santiago Brooklyn Santiago. O'Farrill, the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra pair up with Cuban pianist Marcos Fernandez and Cuba's Santiago Big Band in a historic collaboaration. Santiago, Cuba, is a place where folks know their local culture, lore, and history. A place where buildings have etched brick detailing and names like "Casa Lescay". A place where the arts are beloved, and the Corneta China leads throngs of revelers. A place where young filmmakers, dancers, musicians, writers also begin their careers. A place where your soul is fed by knowledge, community and maduros. Santiago is where I met the Master musician Marcos Fernandez (also known as El Brujo Del Tumbao), at his home. He had a piano and we immediately started playing for each other, together and in a round robin frenzy of pure music bonding. He also gave me a reading with the shells and told me stuff about myself that you could not possibly know unless you were me. Often Santiago is called "the real Cuba". This is probably because it is closer to Cuba's African roots than Havana. The music here is profound and profoundly loved. This is the home of Son, and the practitioners are the originators. La Familia Varela, El Quarteto de Saxofon de Juan Chacon, La Conga de Los Hoyas, these are profoundly gifted, deeply rooted musicians with a command of the most authentic of Cuban musical languages. Rumba, Guaganco, Comparsa, Son, Cha Cha, Mambo, Timba, it's all here and in it's greatest expression. These are the waters in which Marcos swims and in which he excels even beyond what one could expect from a people that excel in all things artistic. This record began as a phone conversation between Marcos and I in which we were looking for ways to collaborate, not an easy thing for two people who play the same instrument. Marcos and I shared musicians from of each of our groups and a true collaboration was given birth. Marcos and his musicians recorded in Santiago and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra recorded in their homes. Guest soloists from each group played on each other's recordings and finally after many months a unique recording was produced. Arturo O'Farrill
All In Good Time is the latest step in Monika Herzig's ongoing mission to elevate women composers, players and bandleaders. This fourth outing under the banner Sheroes, an all-female band spearheaded by pianist, prolific composer and arranger Herzig, is simultaneously a celebration of the group's 10th anniversary and a salute to their perseverance. "This group has pushed quite a few boundaries and inspired similar formations and initiatives," said Herzig. "However, change takes time and we're seeing small steps forward in those 10 years, but we remain patient." - Back in 2014, her idea was to bring together fellow women jazz musicians with the goal of presenting powerful role models on stage as a way of breaking some lingering stereotypes; a path initially paved by Sherri Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra in the '90s. That groups like Artemis and others have followed the trail that Sheroes helped blaze is proof of efforts paying off. On All In Good Time, Herzig is once again joined by Sheroes charter members Jamie Baum on flute, Reut Regev on trombone and Leni Stern on guitar. Drummer Rosa Avila returns from her appearances on 2018's Sheroes and 2020's Eternal Dance, while newcomers Camille Thurman on tenor sax and vocals (a former member of the DIVA Jazz Orchestra and Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra) and bassist-composer Gina Schwarz fill out this current potent lineup. Together their chemistry is undeniable, as they skillfully navigate the demanding originals by Herzig and Schwarz - and one surprising cover - while delivering impassioned improvisations along the way. They open with the elaborate title track, full of intricate counterpoint between flute and trombone and fueled by drummer Avila's grooving backbeat and indelible hookup with Schwarz's deep, syncopated bass lines. Composed by Herzig shortly after Chick Corea's passing in February 2021, it finds the leader outlining the moving harmony on Fender Rhodes electric piano.
