Inspired by Julio Cortáza's sweeping and influential novel, Rayuela (Pantheon, 1963), pianist Laurent Coq and saxophonist Miguel Zenón transform parts of the Argentinean writer's famous work into a memorable jazz release. Written in Spanish, and published in 1963, the title literally means "Hopscotch." The text has been described as an "introspective stream-of-consciousness" and a "masterpiece of ingenuity and originality," with an astounding 155 chapters that can be read linearly, or without chronological order, leading to multiple thought-provoking conclusions.
Likewise, the project is fascinating as it envisions varied characters and episodes from the novel into ten compositions steeped in detailed imagery. Zenón describes the project as a "French-Latin American" connection, with the book's narrative taking place in both Paris and Buenos Aires, and juxtaposed against the musician's backgrounds: Coq was born in Marseille, France and Zenón's birthplace is Puerto Rico. The project draws upon Cortáza's stories where relationships, philosophy, politics, spirituality and music are intricately woven.
In addition to Coq and Zenón's fervent ideas, are stellar performances from an ensemble that includes Dana Leong, alternating instrument duties between cello and trombone, and Dan Weiss' consummate rhythms on drums, tabla, and percussion. Together, the bass-less quartet creates an expansive portrait that imbues the disciplines and freedoms of diverse music. Avant-gardism, modern classical elements and stirring improvisations, as witnessed in Leong's explosive cello solo in "La Muerte de Rocamadour" (The death of Rocamadour), highlights a chapter centered on the death of protagonist La Maga's infant son. Complex syncopations spotlight Weiss' jaw-dropping playing on "Morelliana"—a multifaceted chapter reference to "Morelli," a ghost character, frequently mentioned in conversations throughout the novel.
Thankfully, the literary complexities do not detract from appreciating and enjoying the music. There are rapturous moments such as "Talita's" bohemian quality, as the instruments navigate rhapsodic channels. Or, the brightness of "Oliveira," filled with Coq and Zenon's playful exuberance. Coq is wonderful pianist and writer, and he brings the intriguing character, named "Traveler," to life with Leong's stunning, circuitous patterns. Zenón's interpretation of the carefree lifestyle in "El Club de la Serpiente"(The Serpent Club), is a nod to Cortáza's appreciation of jazz artists such as saxophonist Charlie Parker. Multilayered, profound and cerebral, Rayuela is an outstanding work. It is also evidence of what can happen when masterful artists think outside of the box and even outside of a literary masterpiece. |
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- All About Jazz
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Miguel Zenón & Laurent Coq, Rayuela (Sunnyside) I’ve always felt that the best jazz records have a great back-story. Upon reading the story behind Rayuela, the new album by saxophonist Miguel Zenón and pianist Laurent Coq, I was intrigued. After hearing the music, I’m flat-out hooked. Rayuela is a quartet record with Zenón, Coq, Dana Leong on cello and trombone, and Dan Weiss on drums, tabla and percussion. It is based on the novel Rayuela (which translates to “Hopscotch”) by Argentine writer Julio Cortázar (1914–’84). Considered a literary masterpiece, the novel is structured as 155 chapters that can be read in sequence, or by following a map the author provided, or by simply jumping around from chapter to chapter. So, how does this translate into music? For starters, Zenón and Coq were looking for a project to work on together. The saxophonist felt that expressing Cortázar’s novel (one of Zenón’s favorite books) through music would be perfect for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the narrative is set in Buenos Aires and Paris. Zenón, who is Puerto Rican, brings the Latin flair. Coq, a Parisian, offers the French connection. Then, in the spirit of hopscotch, the two decided to switch roles. Zenón composed all the tunes that are based in Paris, while Coq wrote the Buenos Aires-related work, even though he’d never been there. While this setup could fall into gimmickry in the hands of lesser artists, Zenón, Coq & Co. make it shine with powerful material inspired by the words, characters and settings of Cortázar’s prose. They stretch the boundaries of their composing skills, with Zenón directly translating the cadence of text into musical passages, and Coq finding textures and themes in the writing, then organizing them into five “baskets,” one for each character. These are truly gifted composers challenging, inspiring and feeding off one another—two minds working to create a singular, seamless piece of art. With empathetic contributions by Leong and Weiss, the overall performance is thrilling. It’s heady music, for sure, yet honest and earthy enough to pull you in. I haven’t read Rayuela yet, but I will after listening to this lovely album. And I certainly hope to hear these wonderful musicians play this music live. The itinerary on Zenón’s website lists Downbeat.com ( Editor's Pick) ]] |
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- Downbeat
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Alto saxophonist Zenon and pianist Laurent Coq took inspiration for their new recording, "Rayuela" (Sunnyside), from the Argentine writer Julio Cortazar's novel of the same name. You don't have to know the book, however, to appreciate the achievements of this music. For starters, the combination of Zenon's plaintive alto saxophone, Coq's glistening pianism, Dana Leong's urgent lyricism on cello and trombone and Dan Weiss' evocative colors on percussion resembles no other quartet in jazz today. Their spacious, translucent ensemble sound suggests the work of a larger group, while Zenon's profoundly expressive solos and Coq's glistening pianism further distinguish this music. The recording rewards repeated listening, its musical content too rich to begin to absorb in just a few hearings. |
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- Chicago Tribune
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“The pure-toned alto saxophonist captures the romance of his Puerto Rican heritage with clean cadenzas and the sway of a 10-piece wind ensemble… The core pulse is contemporary modern, fuelled by a cracking rhythm section, but the swirl of flutes, woodwind and horns adds authenticity as well as textures, and is impressively integrated into the whole…” |
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- Financial Times
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“The alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón is identifiable by his tone, which is floaty and bright and ornate…But he’s also become identifiable by the quality of ideas, his particular kind of intellectual ambition...This is a sumptuous record that isn’t particularly relaxing to hear; its dead seriousness is hard to miss. It connotes modern mainstream jazz more than Mr. Zenón’s others, and yet it’s harder to define. It contains sequences that sound admirable but ordinary — an able, flexible new jazz quartet, doing things we’ve possibly heard before — and then pockets of real brilliance.” |
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- New York Times
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“Having devoted previous albums to modern jazz interpretations of the jibaro and plena folk-music forms of his native Puerto Rico, the brilliant alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón is now doing the same for the island’s popular music. On “Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook,’’ Zenón’s longstanding quartet…offers boldly virtuosic reworkings of two tunes apiece from five of Puerto Rico’s most beloved songwriters.“ |
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- Boston Globe
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“Conductor Guillermo Klein brings rich orchestral arrangements and players alongside the saxophonist’s working quartet. It all adds up to a wonderful combination of sophisticated arrangements and classic compositions, while still making room for the sort of gentle dances depicted on the album cover art.” |
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- Down Beat
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"The big to-do about this saxophonist’s new nod to Puerto Rican composers is the way his alto sounds, its effervescent lines carrying the kind of warmth that generates more emotional candor than I previously thought possible. Serving such romantic melodies, it also helps reveal another side of Zenon. He’s truly got his heart on his sleeve here. His group is an apex of relentless interplay. Expect a deep rerouting of the obvious this week.”
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- Village Voice
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“The achy precision in alto saxist Miguel Zenón's tone was apparent from the moment he arrived in New York from Boston in the late ’90s. But as Zenón has taken on starring roles in the SFJazz Collective, Guillermo Klein’s Los Guachos and other units, his playing has become more rapturously direct. His latest CD, Alma Adentro, features rich orchestrations by Klein.” |
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- Time Out
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“Coursing with rich, powerful music, it’s a definite contender for the best Latin jazz disc of 2011, and perhaps for the year’s best jazz disc, period...Alma Adentro mixes old-fashioned, sultry romance and contemporary, rhythmically charged exhilaration, often in the course of the same track. Every piece benefits from sumptuous arrangements by Zenón for his quartet and deft orchestrations for the woodwind ensemble by Guillermo Klein, the outstanding Argentinian composer and arranger...Zenón’s far from the first jazz musician from Latin America to winningly unite jazz and the folkloric and popular musics of his homeland…But with Alma Adentro, Zenón has set a superb standard for this kind of endeavour, and fashioned something beautiful, important and lasting.” |
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- Ottawa Citizen
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“Miguel Zenon has become the de facto spokesman for the jazz possibilities inherent in the musical DNA of Puerto Rico, and Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook is another conceptual landmark and musical milestone in his already-impressive discography.” |
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- Allaboutjazz.com
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“There is perhaps no alto saxophonist working today, with the exception of Ornette Coleman, who has a more voice-like, human sound on his horn. It is the sound of the trials and exaltation of our temporal condition: happiness and sorrow, verve and sadness, and dignity, expressed though beautiful music.” |
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- Allaboutjazz.com
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Alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón played th Dakota two days ago, two extraordinary sets, and I’m still thinking about them. (The house wasn’t full and some of us stayed for both. That’s a long night at the Dakota—the first set starts around 7, the second usually ends after 11.) The music was so intriguing, the rhythms so beguiling that I find myself returning to the evening—and to the CD, Esta Plena (Marsalis Music), for which Zenón and his group are currently touring. Its official release date is October 20; Zenón brought a box of 30 to sell at the Dakota. (Until Oct. 20 or shortly before, you can listen to the full album at NPR.)
For Esta Plena (This Is Plena), Zenón went home to his native Puerto Rico, from whose indigenous music he also drew for Jibaro (2005), the album believed to have gotten the MacArthur Foundation’s attention. (Zenón was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2008, shortly after winning a Guggenheim.) Jibaro is string-based music from the Puerto Rican countryside. Plena is vocal music associated with the coastal regions. Both are folk styles.
Except for maybe the encore after the last set, none of the tunes we heard was straight plena. All were plena wrapped in and shot through with modern jazz, which Zenón first heard as a teenager growing up in Puerto Rico, then studied at the Berklee and Manhattan schools of music. In 2004, just three years after earning his Masters in Saxophone Performance, he was invited to become a founding member of the SF Jazz Collective, one of the most prestigious jazz organizations in the USA. Current members include Stefon Harris, Joe Lovano, Robin Eubanks, Matt Penman, Dave Douglas, Renee Rosnes, and Eric Harland. Good company.
So Esta Plena is not folkie folk music—and yet, as another admirer seated beside us remarked, “Miguel, your roots are showing.” Somehow the music seemed rooted, grounded, traditional, yet brought forward into this moment, especially when heard live.
Zenón brought his working quartet, the fine musicians he has worked with for years: Venezuelan pianist Luis Perdomo, also a member of the Ravi Coltrane Quartet (can Perdomo pick saxophonists or what?), Austrian bassist Hans Glawischnig, formerly a member of Kenny Werner’s trio and quintet, now heading his own quartet (with Perdomo, Dave Binney, and Eric Doob), and Puerto Rican drummer Henry Cole (say koh-lay, not cole). For the new CD and the tour, he added vocalist and percussionist Hector “Tito” Matos, also from Puerto Rico. When he wasn’t singing (and usually when he was), Matos played one or more panderos (hand-held Puerto Rican drums). Zenón also sang.
For the first set, we heard individual tunes, most of which Zenón introed or outroed: “Esta Plena,” “Oyola,” “Pandero y Pagoda,” maybe “Residencial Llorens Tarres” (something that began with a lot of percussion, then moved into a speedy section with Zenón and Perdomo in unison). The second set become one continuous piece of many rhythms linked together, during which Zenón played with such fire and fierceness that I thought his head would explode, or maybe everyone’s. He had been more than warmed up for the first set; for the second, he was nuclear.
I found the music challenging, but in a good way; these are thick, thorny rhythms I can't separate into tidy sections. Every so often I clung to the bass line, hoping that Glawischnig would just keep time for a minute or two, but he was as crazy as the others. Whenever I thought I had figured out a rhythm, I was one or two beats off. I later read at NPR that “variations of three, six, and nine are recurrent motifs in the form, phrasing, and intervals of Zenón ’s compositions.” No wonder I was a helpless cork bobbing in the water.
The music was also melodic and beautiful. Sometimes it was amusing. For the encore, “El Canto del Gallo,” which Zenón described as a traditional plena song, Matos clucked like a chicken and crowed like a rooster. (“El Canto del Gallo” = “The Song of the Rooster.”) In “Despidida,” Zenón quoted “Auld Lang Syne.” Before then, we heard sweetness and warmth from Perdomo’s piano, tenderness and depth from Glawischnig’s bass, and delicacy in Cole’s drums.
At the shining center of it all: Zenón ’s saxophone. His tone is clear and clean-edged, never fuzzy or blurry; it’s as if each note is carved by a knife. No matter how many notes he plays—and often he plays a lot of notes, in torrential runs filled with unexpected intervals, and he’s not afraid to rear back and wail (so far back he seems to be blowing himself backward, or doing the limbo)—each one sounds pure and fully-formed. His technical proficiency is undeniable; so is his passion. He wants us to know the music of his homeland. First jibaro, now plena; what next, Miguel? |
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-Bebopified |
Alto saxophonist Zenon won a MacArthur "genius grant" in 2008 for his efforts in bringing musical idioms of his native Puerto Rico to jazz. With "Esta Plena" ("This Is Plena"), he underscores the promise of that campaign. The instrumental prowess of Zenon's playing, the vigor of his compositions and the sensitivity of his band to Puerto Rican song forms point to new possibilities in jazz. |
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-Howard Reich, Chicago Tribune |
MIGUEL ZENON "Esta Plena" (Marsalis Music, 3 1/2 stars)
Alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon sets out to meld modern jazz with the music of the Puerto Rican countryside, called La Plena. (The title translates as "This Is Plena.") The CD mirrors the creation of jazz itself from disparate European and African roots. La Plena, too, shares that lineage, but with shots of Haitian, Cuban, Dominican, and other Puerto Rican folk music thrown in.
A Puerto Rican native and 2008 MacArthur and Guggenheim award-winner, Zenon, 32, shapes this ambitious effort a bit like a point-counterpoint between cultures. For much of the time, his longtime jazz quartet with pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Henry Cole predominates in virtuoso jazz mode. At other times, it's a Puerto Rican folkfest, as Zenon and vocalist Hector "Tito" Matos, among others, chant in unison while playing traditional drums called panderos.
Zenon creates the cultural mix by writing all 10 compositions and often keeping the style
of La Plena drumming as a base. But the result often seems a bit schizophrenic. The jazz sections can be cold and seem to bear little relation to the warmer folkloric cousin. Still, there's genuine fire here. The voices in the Plena style really juice the proceedings. The country music scores. |
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-Karl Stark, Chicago Tribune |
Following the release of his previous album, 2008's Awake, Miguel Zenón was awarded both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a MacArthur Fellowship "genius grant," the latter alone putting half a million bucks in his pocket with which he could do anything he wanted. He used at least some of that cash to create Esta Plena, an album that expands on 2005's roots-conscious Jíbaro by linking traditional Puerto Rican plena music with modern jazz technique. In the album's liner notes, Zenón provides an in-depth explanation of the history and musical properties of plena, a folkloric style born of the poor class in a barrio in southern Puerto Rico. Its lyrics, he explains, tell of the lives and struggles of those people, and while the music has continually evolved since its inception, it still pays its respects to its roots. Here it evolves yet again as Zenón marries the time-tested form to his modern jazz sensibilities. He is a superb, dynamic alto saxophonist and a visionary bandleader, and working with a cast of ace contemporary players -- pianist Luis Perdomo, acoustic bassist Hans Glawischnig, drummer Henry Cole (all three of whom appeared on Awake), lead vocalist/percussionist Héctor "Tito" Matos, and background vocalists/percussionists Obanilú Allende and Juan Gutiérrez -- Zenón finds the place where the traditional plena and contemporary jazz, both of which share African roots, meet up and become something new together. From the fiery opening instrumental, "Villa Palmeras," through the vocal numbers, Zenón melds his well-defined melodicism with intricate rhythms and harmonies, allowing plenty of space for his fellow musicians and vocalists to contribute to the story. Perdomo, particularly, is a major factor: a masterful pianist, he virtually serves as a second leader here by co-crafting the melodic direction with Zenón. On tracks like the midtempo "Pandero y Pagode," the swinging "Oyelo," the sizzling "¿Qué Será de Puerto Rico?" (spotlighting drummer Cole), and the epic instrumentals "Progreso" and "Villa Coope," Zenón and his crew create music that is full of life, history, richness, and realness. |
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-Jeff Tamarkin, All Music Guide |
Earlier this month, a crowd of jazz and plena enthusiasts packed the tight confines of the Jazz Gallery in TriBeCa to witness a new kind of fusion. Led by saxophonist and recent MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant winner Miguel Zenón, a band of four jazz instrumentalists and three plena percussionistsvocalists transported the audience into a different world.
"Esta Plena," a kind of jazz-plena symphony in 10 movements, fused stirring improvisational jazz with the choral lyricism of percussion-driven plenas, telling the story of a 21st century island bridge between New York and Puerto Rico. Zenon's emotional but technically proficient wailing would give way to the steady thumping of Tito Matos, who wielded his requinto, a tambourine-like instrument, like it was a magic wand. "He wrote all the music, but I realized after a while that he was using me as a vehicle to tell the story," said Matos, who met Zenón several years ago through a mutual friend, saxophonist David Sánchez. "But everything was a challenge. I'm a street-corner singer and I don't know how to read music or reach a perfect pitch with such complex arrangements." Zenón's conceptual approach was mathematical: Although the typical plena rhythm is 4/4, he wrote rhythms, harmonies and melodies based on 3 (coincidentally, that's the number of percussionists, or panderos, accompanying the jazz band). But the subtle structure of "Esta Plena" is no clue to the sense of elation created by the songs.
Backed by some of his longtime jazz collaborators, Luis Perdomo on piano, Hans Glawischnig on bass and Henry Cole on drums, Zenón mesmerized the audience with such instrumentals as "Villa Palmeras" and "Residencial Llorens Torres," tributes to the neighborhoods where plena is practiced. The songs with vocals, like "Óyelo," "Pandero y Pagode" (which was actually played as a Brazilian samba) and the moving "Que Será de Puerto Rico," filled the room with the exuberant tones of island Miguel Zenón's plena-jazz fusion -- Newsday.com Spanish, transcending the language barrier. "He kept very faithful to the rhythmic format of plena," Matos said, "and he let me sing about how I play my instrument and the joy it brings to me." The final song, "Despedida," is an ebullient celebration of the Christmas parties held for a two-week period in Puerto Rico. It mentions guests that would typically appear at the houses of Matos' and Zenon's extended families.
For a moment, it seemed a real parranda, or traveling musical party had formed, and TriBeCa had been transported to the Caribbean. |
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-Ed Morales, Newsday |
What a great and totally refreshing Latin jazz project. Keeping the traditional Puerto Rican 4/4 plena structure intact, saxophonist Miguel Zenón steers this ship in all kinds of directions. While it's a full-blown jazz project, Zenón has managed to maintain the plena-like spontaneity, drive and street quality. He's joined by pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig, vocalist and percussionist Héctor "Tito" Matos, drummer Henry Cole and others. This is plena like you've never heard it.
Highly Recommended |
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-Descarga Peter Watrous
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Fresh off of garnering his mantelpiece-polishing Guggenheim and MacArthur awards, alto saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenón gets back down to the business of making some serious music. No, what we hear on Zenón’s impressive new project isn’t steeped in the stuff of music of a capital “S”-serious nature, but music with integrity, energy, poise and a fresh vision of how the Afro-Caribbean jazz aesthetic can evolve without losing its deep roots.
More specifically, with Esta Plena, Zenón has construed a compelling merger of both his jazz persona with investigations into the folkloric plena music of his native Puerto Rico, both in composition and performance, via the blending of bands from each tradition. Zenón, the player, works in plenty of evidence for the defense of his status in the upper ranks of living alto saxophonists.
After “Villa Palmeras,” the album’s adrenaline-fueled opener, the conceptual stitching begins in earnest with the title track. Plena percussionist-vocalist Héctor “Tito” Matos lays out a simple minor melody, an island motif which then becomes the basis of more harmonically sophisticated variations and extensions in jazz mode. Other highlights include the brisk Cuban-bop melody of “Residencial Llorens Torres” and “Calle Calma,” on which the melody slithers loosely over a bass-drums pulse, to beguiling effect.
The commanding jewel of the album may well be “Qué Será de Puerto Rico?,” in which another simple, four-measure chant of a melody is spun and reconfigured in feisty, high-energy ensemble patterns and simmering vamping (with a vim-and-vigorous solo from drummer Henry Cole). Especially with this piece, Zenón achieves his ambitious intention, working a kind of folk-roots-meets-art-music gambit, with an intelligent and felt musicality coursing below. |
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-Josef Woodward Jazz Times
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Like a nimble jet aircraft, Miguel Zenón's Esta Plena leaps into flight from its very first notes. The album arrives not long after Awake (Marsalis Music, 2008), Zenón's jazz quartet/string quartet outing of 2008, but it follows more logically on the heels of 2005's Jíbaro (Marsalis Music), a jazz meditation on the rural music of Zenón's native Puerto Rico. Esta Plena, different but related, finds the alto saxophonist melding authentic plena music with the forward-thinking jazz aesthetic he's developed as a New Yorker. The result is adrenaline-fueled and percussion-centric, even if the key to executing this riotously difficult music is Zenón's working quartet with pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Henry Cole. On vocals, and fulfilling the standard plena percussion roles of requinto, segundo and seguidor, are Héctor "Tito" Matos, Obanilú Allende and Juan Gutiérrez, respectively.
Of the 10 pieces, five are vocal and five are instrumental. (Zenón named each instrumental after a specific neighborhood in Puerto Rico.) The title track, "Despedida" and "¿Que Será de Puerto Rico?" have the irresistible ring of old street songs, but they are Zenón originals - such is the depth of his immersion in the plena idiom. Zenón explains in his notes that the goal was "to keep the basic plena rhythm unaltered: all in 4/4 time and with all the traditional accents." Given this, the compositional detail and variety he achieves is all the more striking. At times the insistently simple meter is clear, as in the solo sections and main vocal themes of "Oyelo" or "Pandero y Pagode" or the opening groove of "Villa Coope." Elsewhere, during parts of "Villa Palmeras" and "Residencial Llorens Torres," the plena beat is blurred beyond recognition as the quartet flexes its muscles. Throughout, there's a natural balance of roughness and romance, plainspoken melody and deftly orchestrated, through-composed form. |
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-David Adler All About Jazz
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Let me preface this by saying my No. 1 desert island jazz album is Stan Getz’s Focus. I’m a pushover for sax or piano with strings or orchestra, and I find this new effort from Puerto Rican saxist/composer Miguel Zenón to be right up there with the Getz’s effort, though quite different. This is the saxist’s third album for Marsalis Music, and I’m not soft-pedaling the mentoring of Branford Marsalis in producing this terrific album. All ten tracks were composed and arranged by Zenón over the past two or three years. He reports that the period he went thru while writing these works was one about personal growth - trying to find himself as a musician and understanding what it means to have a career in music. Zenón wanted to get new colors into this new album, and brought in Luis Perdomo on four tracks playing the Fender Rhodes plus stretching into new territories to write string quartet parts and a three-piece horn section on some of the tracks. The gestation of the entire suite is the opening track, Awakening, which serves as the prelude to the suite to follow. In the middle of the suite it returns in an arrangement for the horns, as an interlude. And the final track of the album is Zenón playing unaccompanied solo alto sax in the same Awakening theme. In addition to the striking Awakening theme, I was struck by the track Santo - which includes chanting voices of the ensemble supporting the spiritual theme of the selection. Zenón credits Branford Marsalis and his audio engineer as aiding him in making the sound as good as it coul be. And it’s terrific - this is an album far beyond the usual sax & string outing and revealing unique statement that communicates passion, intellect and spirit to the the listener. |
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John Henry, Audition Audiophile
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Alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, a member of the SFJAZZ Collective and Charlie Haden’s
Liberation Orchestra, reveals more layers of his wide-ranging musicality on his third
outing for Marsalis Music. In a striking departure from 2006’s Jibaro, his interpretation of
rural music of Puerto Rico, Zenón effectively incorporates a string quartet on two pieces
while showcasing with a three-piece horn section on another. The strings are especially
well integrated into the fabric of the opening “AwakeningPrelude,” providing intricate counter melodies and intriguing harmonies for the alto saxophonist to fluently sail over with his big, bold tone. The addition of his Liberation Orchestra bandmates Tony Malaby on tenor sax and Michael Rodriguez on trumpet, along with trombonist Ben Gerstein on the furious blast of free-jazz titled “AwakeningInterlude,” lends an intense, avant-gardish quality to the proceedings.
Zenón’s working band of pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Henry Cole functions as a tightly knit unit throughout, engaging in some highly interactive, rhythmically charged playing on dynamic pieces like the “Third Dimension” and “Penta,” while expertly underscoring the alto player’s sensitive instincts and most impassioned wailing on the stirring “The Missing Piece.” Perdomo’s use of Fender Rhodes provides a different color and rhythmic texture on Zenón’s “Camaron,” “Ulysses in Slow Motion” and
“Lamamilla,” recalling the earliest incarnation of Chick Corea’s Return to Forever. Bassist Glawischnig also plays an effective foil to the alto saxophonist with his virtuosic arco work on the dynamic, suitelike “Santo,” one of the highpoints of this stellar outing. |
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Bill Milkowski, Jazz Times
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From its very first notes (played by a string quartet), Awake is identifiably Miguel Zenon: lyrical, spiritual and original. For his fourth date as a leader Zenon reunites his go-to posseLuis Perdomo (piano) and Hans Glawischnig (bass)but with a key change in the drum chair, Henry Cole replacing Antonio Sanchez.
The strings are artfully employed on the opener as a contrapuntal foil for Zenon's featherlight interweavings and on "Lamamilla" as a trilling texture evoking birdcalls; Tony Malaby, Michael Rodriguez and Ben Gerstein (on tenor, trumpet and trombone, respectively) make a brief cameo as a free jazz "choir' on "AwakeningInterlude." The compositions are first-rate, especially the anthemic "Camaron" (named for the great flamenco cantaor), the haunting "The Missing Piece," the Middle-Eastern-flavored "Santo" and the dense and off-kiltered "Third Dimension." Zenon's alto work is scintillating and effervescent; with a full, unforced tone he facilely negotiates the horn's total register, delivering up tightly constructed, rapid-fire lines containing chain-linked motifs and complex inner motion that, for all their logic and density, nonetheless retain a certain levity and grace.
In person at New York's Jazz Standard Apr. 30th, 2008, Zenon's group opened with a rousing rendition of "Camaron," capped by a no-holds-barred alto cadenza. Next was the hyperdriven "Residencial Llorens Torres," followed by a bittersweet "Amor," featuring a solo sax interlude in which Zenon slowly worked a minimalist melody into passages of lyric poetry, the room falling quiet in appreciation. Finally, a fast and funky "Third Dimension" found Zenon bobbing and weaving like a boxer as his improvisation intensified, Perdomo and Glawischnig providing support with rolling climaxes, and Cole launching salvos of bass drum bombs.
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Tom Greenland All About Jazz
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The alto saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenon, a 2008 Guggenheim Fellowship recipient for Music Composition, here delivers a stirring series of open-minded originals. Most tracks boast his A-1 quartet -- pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Henry Cole. On two cuts, a string quartet adds color; on one other, a three-piece horn section enlivens a free jazz firestorm. The playful, lively-themed "Penta," with its percolating beat, showcases Zenon's robust sound and capacity to play song-like as well as with modern angularity. The subsequent "The Missing Link" goes from soft, sighing alto notes to those increasingly ardent, like passionate cries. The free-for-all "Awakening - Interlude" leads to the initially lyrical "Santo," where Glawischnig's solo is packed with melody. Then the tempo picks up and the altoist scores with long, note-rich garlands along with punchy, shorter bursts. "Lamamilla" incorporates the strings deftly, and again reveals the leader's melodic depth.
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Zan Stewart, Star Ledger |
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Zenón’s second disc for Cambridge-based Marsalis Music, Jíbaro, and his third as a leader overall, has the alto saxophonist bringing jazz instrumentation, rhythms, and harmonies to the music of the Puerto Rican countryside. It’s very much a jazz set, but one with a Latin accent that we haven't heard before, more Spanish in its origin than African. It’s also more thoroughly composed than a lot of jazz albums, with Zenón having worked hard to retain the integrity of the island’s rural music. Joining him on the CD are his usual quartet mates: Luis Perdomo, piano; Hans Glawischnig, bass; Antonio Sánchez, drums. The disc’s title cut is particularly infectious, but the whole CD is soulful, swinging, charming, and accessible. |
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Bill Beuttler, The Boston Globe |
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Altoist Miguel Zenón, a talented player with a tone almost as light as Paul Desmond’s who first gained recognition for his work while with David Sanchez’s group, pays tribute to the musical culture of Puerto Rico on Jíbaro. Although he wrote all ten of the selections and does not use traditional Puerto Rican instrumentation (which would be cuatro, guiro, bongo and vocals), Zenón brings back the spirit of his heritage. With its polyrhythms and Zenón’s wide-ranging improvisations, one could call this new music avant-Latin though it not as outside as some of Sanchez’s work, but the rich themes and tight communication by the members of Zenón’s quartet show that the modernized style has a logic and charm all its own. This is an impressive effort, one that grows in interest with each listen. |
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Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
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Jíbaro, alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s second album for Marsalis Music, has all the makings of an instant classic. Zenón has a mercurial sound that glistens like water flowing over bright pebbles, and his three collaborators dance through his intricate pieces with casually breathtaking chops and pure joy. Together they seem to have crossed a threshold in the ever evolving relationship between jazz and Latin music. Inspired by jibaro, the string-based rural music of his native Puerto Rico, Zenón wrote new jazz compositions based on the style’s rhythms and melodies, coming up not so much with a blend as a striking new entity. The result bristles with excitement—Zenón’s sax astonishingly agile, drummer Antonio Sanchez darting through angular shifts and the blistering Latin-funk of “Chorreao,” bassist Hans Glawischnig rumbling warm and witty, and pianist Luis Perdomo issuing flowing glissandos and intoxicating splashes of color. |
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Rick Mason, CityPages: A-List Picks, Minneapolis/St. Paul |
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Jíbaro, alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s second album for Marsalis Music, has all the makings of an instant classic. Zenón has a mercurial sound that glistens like water flowing over bright pebbles, and his three collaborators dance through his intricate pieces with casually breathtaking chops and pure joy. Together they seem to have crossed a threshold in the ever evolving relationship between jazz and Latin music. Inspired by jibaro, the string-based rural music of his native Puerto Rico, Zenón wrote new jazz compositions based on the style’s rhythms and melodies, coming up not so much with a blend as a striking new entity. The result bristles with excitement—Zenón’s sax astonishingly agile, drummer Antonio Sanchez darting through angular shifts and the blistering Latin-funk of “Chorreao,” bassist Hans Glawischnig rumbling warm and witty, and pianist Luis Perdomo issuing flowing glissandos and intoxicating splashes of color. |
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Rick Mason, CityPages: A-List Picks, Minneapolis/St. Paul |
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Jíbaro is Zenón’s first entirely original set. These ten tracks speak the music of his native Puerto Rican mountains. Joining him on this project are pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Antonio Sánchez...
Zenón expanded his resume with the compositional magic created on this album. Structurally held together by rhythmic but limber spanish flavored pulses, the tracks breath with engaging character.. Zenón explains "Jíbaro music is very different. it comes more from the spanish side; there is less call and response, less percussion, and greater use of stringed instruments...especially the cuatro" (the cuatro is a small five double stringed guitar)...
MY opinion? This album is incredible. Due to the complexity of the rhythms and the organization of the chord structures it took me more than one listen to fully appreciate the depth and intricacy portrayed... (See full review.) |
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Radioiojazz.com |
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Alto-saxophonist Miguel Zenón captivated audiences as a member of the SF Jazz Collective and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra in 2004 but is remembered more for his Marsalis Music debut Ceremonial. Joined by long time collaborators pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Antonio Sánchez, Zenón makes his most deeply rooted statement to date with Jíbaro. The music here comes from the rural Spanish themes and rhythms commonly overlooked in the urban sounds of Puerto Rican music. Another dynamic of Zenón’s compositions, which set them apart from the complexities of jibaro music, is his experimental use of different instrumentation. Usually heard played with strings, it is very rare to hear jibaro music played with a horn and is almost never heard on saxophone. This unique collection of compositions will not only entertain you, but is sure to launch an exciting new inquisition into the Jíbaro aesthetic. |
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Soundsoftimelessjazz.com |
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Producer/saxophonist Branford Marsalis has a gem on his hands — not literally referring to a precious stone or, for that matter, his last disc, Eternal. Yes, Eternal is a solid production and contribution to the field, but we are referring to saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s latest disc, Jíbaro (which Marsalis produced on the Marsalis Music label). (See full review.) |
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Eddie Becton, TheLamp.ca |
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Saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s Jíbaro (Marsalis Music/Rounder) features Zenón’s homage to the musical form called “Jíbaro,” a blend of African and Caribbean rhythms and influences that emerged in Puerto Rico. Interestingly, Zenón hasn’t tried to copy the Jíbaro instrumental model, and instead features a conventional piano/bass/drums rhythm section contrasting his alto sax solos. But drummer Antonio Sánchez still adapts to the differently accented and structured foundations on such numbers as “Punto Cubano,” “Villar·n,” “Fajardeño” and “Jíbaro,” while Zenón’s flowing, furious solos also ably navigate the gap between jazz and Jíbaro. Pianist Luis Perdomo and bassist Hans Glawischnig operate somewhere midway, with Perdomo’s whirling piano serving as the second solo voice and Glawischnig helping lock down the grooves and keep the beats swaying. While not exactly being a textbook example of this Puerto Rican form, the music on Jíbaro does show how jazz can be adjusted and tweaked to fit into other, seemingly incompatible musical situations by a gifted composer and bandleader. |
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Ron Wynn, NashvilleCityPaper.com |
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Zenón is a sleek and savvy soloist whose gleaming sound and slippery rhythms give his improvisations a zigzagging brilliance. He’s reinventing Latin jazz in his own image, eschewing familiar blends of Afro-Cuban and Brazilian music with bebop for a more integrated and sophisticated fusion of musical ideas from his native Puerto Rico and up-to-the-minute post-bop. On Jíbaro, Zenón and his finely tuned quartet — pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Antonio Sanchez — take their inspiration from a style of rural folk music called Jíbaro. (See full review.) |
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Mark Stryker, Freepress |
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Miguel Zenón / Marsalis Music / 4 stars
Young Puerto Rican alto saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenón has made quite a name for himself over the last year in progressive jazz. Writing and performing with the SF Jazz Collective this past spring, Zenón combined a structured formalism in his compositions with loose, free-wheeling playing in both his solos and ensemble work. His tight, biting sound and mercurial solos heighten the ensembles he plays with (which also include Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra) while standing out with particular clarity.
On Jíbaro, playing with the same sympathetic quartet from last year’s Ceremonial album, Zenón investigates traditional music form his homeland. The music comes from rural Puerto Rico and has its basis more in the Spanish influences on the culture than the African.
Though there are strict structures in jíbaro music, Zenón only used these as starting points for his 10 original compositions. Tunes such as “Seis Cinco,” “Llanera” and “Punto Cubano” continue the blending of jazz and organic Latin sources Zenón first learned in the band of his countryman David Sanchez. Played by pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Antonio Sánchez, the music has a natural thematic unity that echoes the folkloric roots but sounds truly contemporary and modern in its performance.
Drummer Sanchez drives the band with his muscular polyrhythms and Perdomo’s elegantly nuanced support give Zenón a stable platform for complex but spirited ideas. Producer Branford Marsalis gives the recording a warm, present live sound that benefits the animated music.
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Marcus Crowder, Sacramento Bee |
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Back on the 2004 release of his Marsalis Music debut, Ceremonial, Miguel Zenón was already being hailed as a next big jazz thing for his command of alto sax and Afro-Latin fusions. Even so, his new Jíbaro (also on Marsalis) is a giant leap forward — an ambitious exploration of the jíbaro folk music of his native Puerto Rico mined for its rich melodies and rhythms and adapted to a modern jazz quartet. The music straddles the thump of dance/roots music and abstract jazz — not unlike Thelonious Monk’s funky, brainy compositions. |
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Boston Phoenix |
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With its many prescribed definitions - Jazz music is about having roots. The second release by saxophonist Miguel Zenón explores Jíbaro (pronounced He-bar-ro) the music roots of his rural homeland in Puerto Rico with new sounds that are extracted and infused with his own ideas in this most captivating recording. Continuing on the heels of 2004’s promising Ceremonial; Jíbaro shows that Miguel is one of the many shining lights in jazz music today with fresh concepts, and fluid angularity from his slightly acidic-toned alto. Zenón’s “dream band” returns with Luis Perdomo on acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes, Hans Glawischnig on bass and Antonio Sánchez on drums. They have gelled to a consistency of consummate musicianship and the ten compositions incorporate traditional Jíbaro music and modern jazz with stunning results. The almost tribal-like cadence of “Seis Cinco,” the festive atmosphere of “Punto Cubano,” or the majestic beauty of “Aguinaldo;” each piece is imbued with complex patterns, colorful rhythms, and Zenón’s fresh perspective. Superb contributions from the band abound with pianist Perdomo who is also a key member in Ravi Coltrane’s quartet providing some if his most elegant and gutsy work to date backed by the taut and dynamic rhythm section of Glawischnig and S·nchez on “Villaran” and “Llanera” as Zenón’s alto burns brightly. His soloing on “Marianda” is spacious, free, and as the recording concludes with the infectious title piece “Jibaro” it simply leaves the listener wanting more. |
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Mark Turner, Allaboutjazz.com |
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With his new album, Jibaro (Marsalis Music/Rounder), saxophonist Miguel Zenón has taken on an intriguing challenge. In each of the 10 tracks, he meditates on several forms of Puerto Rican traditional music and transforms their folkloric intent into coherent jazz pieces. In only his second solo CD, Zenón has established himself as a strong force in both contemporary jazz and Latin music. (See full article.) |
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Ed Morales, Newsday |
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Consisting of much more difficult compositions than Zenón’s previous Marsalis Music album, Ceremonial, his newest CD offers two major discoveries: (1) the originality of the music that continues to surprise and delight the listener with sinuous intertwining lines, sudden stops and starts and polyrhythmic intensity; and (2) the impressive talent of the 28-year-old Zenón, whose playing is not only a powerful technical achievement but also attains a feel for the music and an obvious affection for the culture from which it arose. Shrewdly enough, Branford Marsalis signed a rising star who is likely to grow, quickly enough, to become one of jazz’s leading saxophonists. Jíbaro certainly confirms that. (See full review.) |
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Don Williamson, JazzReview.com |
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The young alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón has shown a ferocious sense of organization in the past. His first album, Looking Forward, from 2001, was more evolved than most first albums: he already had a saxophone sound, strong and light, and his composing exhibited a broad intellect busily chewing up new jazz harmony and folkloric music of his native Puerto Rico.
Recently, he was awarded a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, administered by the Jazz Gallery, to write new music and present it at that space. And where many bandleaders benefit from grants simply by doing more of what they're already doing and giving it a collective title, Mr. Zenón conceived a discrete, research-intensive project that has resulted in his best music yet.
Jíbaro Journeys: Music From the Mountains of Puerto Rico, which had its first performance on Thursday night at the Jazz Gallery, needs some more bandstand exercise. A greater sense of intuition and casual play will eventually seep in. But I’ve rarely seen a jazz composer step forward with a project so impressively organized, intellectually powerful and well played from the start. (See full article.) |
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Ben Ratliff, New York Times |
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Jíbaro is Miguel Zenón’s first entirely original set, his second Branford Marsalis-produced effort and his third disc with pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Antonio Sánchez. Inspired by the rural, working-class folk music of the Puerto Rican mountains, these 10 compositions fit together with a novelistic integrity, a coherence that marks a new high for this young altoist. During “Punto Cubano” and “Villarán” the folkloric elements leap out, but for the most part they’re thoroughly enveloped in a searing modern-jazz sound, a quartet sensibility that Zenón and his mates have spent years developing. The result is profound yet joyful, as rhythmically precise as it is lyrical and limber.
Zenón may have consciously introduced an element of breath—temporal pauses, literally—into his otherwise dense music. Examples include the brief rest before the concluding head of “Seis Cinco” and the thematic use of space in the tightly composed “Aguinaldo.” The latter is a study in delayed gratification, with Glawischnig’s meditative solo laying the groundwork for Zenón’s urgent, impassioned flight. “Chorreao” is an ideal vehicle for Sánchez—an almost James Brown-like throwdown, complicated by faint traces of Jíbaro roots music. On “Fajardeno,” Zenón’s legato melody and Perdomo’s high voicings yield one of the album’s most striking colors. And Perdomo’s burning solos, particularly on “Villarán” and “Llanera,” remind us that he is an emerging power in his own right.
Every piece on Jíbaro merits much closer analysis, but what recommends this music most is its bountiful and beautiful soul. |
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David Adler, Jazz Times |
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