Some of the best jazz being done today is Latin jazz and sometimes I worry that too much of the best jazz being done today is Latin jazz. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but I don't want to hear jazz become dominated by the Latin sound anymore than I'd like jazz to be dominated by the New Orleans sound, bebop, etc. Jazz is a music of diversity and should always be so.
Which is why I am enamored of Miguel Zenon's "Jibaro," which is based on, but not dominated by, traditional music of his native Puerto Rico. Somewhere, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, craftsmen at complimenting their music with Latin sounds, are saying, "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about."
Guy's got major chops on the 'phone and big-time composition skills, too. Luis Perdomo on piano, Antonio Sanchez on drums and Hans Glawischnig on bass are memorable in the bargain. CD-of-the-year material.
2 comments:
I agree with your statement that some of the best jazz today is latin jazz. However, I don't think it's a problem. I think it's just a reaction to the fact that it's a relatively fertile area for musical development (the genre) and it hasn't been explored nearly enough.
Agreed, and I hope jazz musicians continue exploring it, and all the other great stuff there is to explore.
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