| Luis Bonilla was born in Costa Rica and raised in California. Besides being an incredible trombonist he is a composer and arranger and has worked with some exceptional talent including Dizzy Gillespie, Lester Bowie and the Gerald Wilson Orchestra. Bonilla is currently a member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra and Dave Douglas & Brass Ecstasy. His latest offering features the ensemble playing of Ivan Renta (tenor saxophone), Bruce Barth (acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, Hammond C3), Andy McKee (acoustic bass), John Riley (drums, percussion) and guest musician Vincent Chancey who provides French horn on track 7. Upon listening to Bonilla's latest entitled Twilight, it was clear right from the get go just how comfortable these musicians are working together. The compositions allow each musician the space needed to produce some truly memorable playing and none more so than Bonilla's trombone. He is a fabulous player; his shimmering notes and fabulous bursts of pure joy engulf these eight tracks without suffocating the other musicians. This is not a one man show as all these players are encouraged to show their stuff. Indeed, this is a virtuoso performance by all involved. Many of these songs begin with the trombone as in the melodic title track with snappy Fender Rhodes and some ripping trombone with a discordant bent and the classy "Double Trouble" where drums set the slower pace and trombone leads the way amidst an undercurrent of condensed flurries of Barth's Fender Rhodes. Some other favourites include the lovely "Let It Be Said" with relaxing Hammond in the background as McKee's bass slowly pulsates across the musical soundscape and Riley's gentle brush strokes invoke relaxation and the album closing "Cork Grease" with sultry trombone and swirling Hammond. This album is a real treat for the senses. This is a fully realized recording that all ensemble jazz players should strive to achieve. My only conclusion is that all jazz fans should absolutely love this. Released on Planet Arts Records. |
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—Jon Neudorf, Sea of Tranquility |
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Trombonist Luis Bonilla is accustomed to a power approach when playing jazz as his previous 2009 recording, “I Talking Now” demonstrates, but with “Twilight,” Bonilla is a tad less aggressive—though the power playing remains. The title track serves as the template for the album, opening up lightly on a simple lullaby featuring Bruce Barth on a supple Fender Rhodes as Andy McKee's bass lines draws in the trombonist. The horn work continues with Ivan Renta's strong tenor showing highlighting some of the power shift that will be exhibited throughout.
A non-traditional piece of music for sure, the music is pure modern jazz with plenty of intricate tunes like the direction-changing “The Moon and The Sun,” almost free style in texture. “Double Trouble” probably refers to Bonilla and Renta who both come out loud and clear playing in tandem before their eventual solos mark the number. “Vertigo” presents one of the highlights of the disc colored with a dash of the Brazilian style generating plenty of fire. The mood turns soft on the humble “Let It Be Said,” a slow delicate song that is so different from the previous tracks and one where Bonilla plays with emotion.
The horns take center stage on the frisky “Visions” where the trombonist and saxophonist are joined here by guest Vincent Chancey on the French Horn as the group blows up a storm. Concluding with the bluesy “Cork Grease,” Bonilla saves some of his best trombone work here and Renta is not far behind with yet another burnished solo. Another special element to this track is piano man Barth tackling the Hammond C 3 organ ably accompanied by drummer John Riley.
Presenting a challenging and sophisticated repertoire, “Twilight”—Luis Bonilla's fifth recording as leader—builds upon the trombonist's previous successes with a brilliant session of new music worth exploring. |
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— Edward Blanco, EJazz News |
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I Talking Now! (Planet Arts, 2009) presented a brazen bonanza of trombone playing from Luis Bonilla. That high energy outing—filled with intense, outspoken instrumental wonders—contained great music that was, to some extent, one-sided in the way that it portrayed Bonilla and his quintet.
Twilight, on the other hand, is a well-balanced feast for the aural senses. The majority of the personnel from his prior recording is kept intact—the only major roster shift coming at piano, with Bruce Barth taking on the role that Arturo O'Farrill formerly held—and fans of Bonilla's raunchy and aggressive side will still find much to love. "The Moon And The Sun" features some wildly fluttered fare from Bonilla and tenor saxophonist Ivan Renta, though the song initially presents itself as a relaxed, wandering piece. Once the initial episode ends, a bass riff joins with drummer John Riley's modernized Mozambique-like groove, in seven, and all bets are off as the horn players dig in. The title track is another example of misdirection, with sleepy Barth-based work and beautifully textured horn lines leading the way before a more outwardly aggressive section of music takes hold.
The other material is a mixed bag of styles, with different intentions and ideas at play. The dramatic, momentary tempo shifts on "Vertigo" are seamless and impressive. Riley's stripper shuffle on "Cork Grease," along with Barth's organ sounds, give the music a barroom blues tint. The drummer's slow swing gait, shifting between measures of four and five, is a treat on "Double Trouble," and Barth slips some blues-drenched licks in between horn statements. Reverence and soul meet head-to-head on "Let It Be Said," with Barth providing a gentle, church-inspired bed of sounds beneath some trombone playing that defines grace and gentility. Renta's work is sleek and soulful, without being clichéd. "Visions" might begin with an eerie, foreign presence and chilling wind, but the horn players heat things up, with guest French Hornist Vincent Chancey <http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/musician.php?id=5636> joining the group.
Twililight is the dawn of a new day for trombonist Luis Bonilla. |
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—All About Jazz |
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TROMBONILLA
Terminal Clarity
Luis Bonilla (tb); Donny McCaslin (ts, ss, alto fl); Peter Brainin (ts, ss); Ricardo Rodriguez (b); Patrick Forero (d); Pernell Saturnino (perc). Rec: 2005
Now in his early ’40s, Bonilla comes from Costa Rican parents living in California. Frank Rosolino, along with Jay Jay and Curtis Fuller, was one of his earliest heroes and in the ’80s, he worked with Gerald Wilson. I well remember his 1991 Candid debut as a leader on an exciting Latin jazz album called Pasos Gigantes (“Giant Steps”). A consistently busy sessioneer since then, he’s also a member of virtually all the NY-based big bands and was most recently featured on tenorist McCaslin’s terrific CD called “Soar”. On this new Bonilla album, recorded ‘live’ at The Jazz Gallery two years ago, his main influence in the arrangements and the freedom they leave for the soloists seems to be his erstwhile boss, Lester Bowie, of whose Brass Fantasy he was a key member. All the compositions are loose, but with tight colouring and exciting rhythmic grooves, each featuring different sidemen.
McCaslin and Brainin are remarkably similar in conception at times on tenor, especially on “Where’s Sepia?”, after Brainin takes the first half on intense, out-of-tempo soprano. The longest track, “That’s How They Get You” is over 16 minutes long and ends up with the percussion-driven feel of a joyous Rio Carnival celebration. Rodriguez is totally in control on bass throughout (especially on his feature, the final track “Home”, with its dissonant free-style sombre African mood), locking in with Forero and Saturnino. But it’s Bonilla’s record. Fine compositions and arrangements, a big majestic rounded tone (the Rosolino effect?), playing bristling robust solos. The clarity of recorded sound is superb and enhances the contagious exuberance of the music. |
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— Tony Hall, New Jazz Consortium |
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| A trombonist who has played in jazz and Latin groups, Luis Bonilla is interested in exploding the usual structures of both kinds of music. So Terminal Clarity (Now Jazz Consortium), a live CD by his sextet TromBonilla, opens up each piece for fresh, exploratory improvising by the musicians, including Mr. Bonilla and the saxophonists Donny McCaslin and Peter Brainin. Sometimes the songs become raw and skeletal; sometimes they accumulate a thick pile of melodic lines, while the rhythm section keeps each piece steady. |
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— Ben Ratliff, New York Times Jazz Critic |
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| Luis Bonilla’s third disc as a leader, recorded live at New York’s Jazz Gallery, draws extensively on the trombonist’s time with Lester Bowie’s Brass Fantasy to create an environment of loose-limbed improvisation and fertile harmonies, tempered with a large dollop of Latin soul. Along with saxophonists Donny McCaslin and Peter Brainin, Bonilla slips, slides and scurries around some mesmerizing patterns from the rhythm section, neatly balancing the cerebral and the down-and dirty. |
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— Forrest Dylan Bryant, Jazz Times |
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| Luis Bonilla, longtime collaborator with the Mingus Big Band and underacknowledged sideman for great jazz and salsa bandleaders alike, shows his remarkable creativity and versatility with his new album, Terminal Clarity (New Jazz Consortium). Recorded live more than two years ago at the Jazz Standard with his group TromBonilla (featuring Donny McCaslin, Peter Brainin, Ricardo Rodriguez, Patrick Forero and Pernell Saturnino), Terminal Clarity is an exhilarating exercise of free-spirited yet disciplined harmonic, melodic and rhythmic brilliance.
Bonilla’s exquisite work on the trombone is the lead voice of a multivocal chorus engaged in a long-winded conversation with the possibilities of jazz improvisation. McCaslin and Brainin take turns blurting out saxophone truths (listen to the interplay on “That’s How They Get You” and the ethereal “Up Easy”), pushing the rhythm section until Bonilla puts the often-elusive theme into perspective. For the purist Machito-ista in your crew, “Mambostinato” deconstructs the mambo break into a simple repeated melodic figure and allows the horns to flow rhythmically until your brain is dancing as hard as your feet. |
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— Ed Morales, New York Newsday |
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