Gabriel Espinosa Songs of Bacharach and Manzanero

Gabriel Espinosa
Songs of Bacharach and Manzanero
Zoho Music

Growing up as a youth in Merida, in the Yucatan, Mexico, bassist, composer and arranger Gabriel Espinosa, first was exposed to the music of American composer Burt Bacharach and Mexican composer Armando Manzanero in the mid-60's when both came to prominence in their respective countries. Growing up at that time he was member of a band that played both Beatles songs and bossa novas and at the time also getting introduced to jazz. Hearing both Bacharach and Manzanero at that time affected him greatly as they both "wrote beautiful, highly memorable melodies with sophisticated harmonies … ." Espinosa, in fact, worked with Manzanero in the mid-90s helping produce two albums by him.

Exploring common ground between the two, and getting to fulfill his desire to do a vocal album with his favorite songs by the two, he selected five songs from each, and invited the wonderful Tierney Sutton to sing the five Bacharach numbers while he handled five from Manzanero. Among those accompanying Espinosa, a Professor of Jazz Studies at Central College in Pella, Iowa, are pianist Misha Tsiganov, drummer Mauricio Zottarelli, trumpeter Jim Seeley and chromatic harmonica virtuoso Hendrik Meurkens, who he has collaborated with as co-leader on various projects. Espinosa plays bass on three tracks, "Adoro," "Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head," and "Cuando Estoy Contingo," while his arranger’s touch is prevalent throughout. Songs from Bacharach and Manzanero. Joe Martin plays upright bass on three selections while Gustavo Amarante plays electric bass on four.

Espinosa's arrangements and leadership provide the unifying thread of the music which alternates between his Spanish vocals of Manzanero' songs and Sutton's English renditions of the Bacharach songs that will be much more familiar to most listeners. While Sutton has established herself as among the leading jazz vocalists of today, and has dueted with Espinosa before, this is his first album where he has presented himself as a vocalist and ably acquits himself throughout as on the driving rendition "Adoro" as well as "Come Yo Te Aime," with Meurkens contributing his wonderful harmonica here as well as on the poignant "Esta Tarde VI Llover." The most familiar Manzanero song is "Somos Novios" which will be familiar to Americans as "It's Impossible." Espinosa's romanticism is complemented by the warmth of Seeley's flugelhorn.

The Bacharach numbers should be familiar to most listeners. The Carpenters' classic "(They Long To Be) Close To You" opens with a dreamy romanticism before segueing into a lively samba groove with Itai Kriss contributes lovely flute, while "The Look Of Love" is rendered as a bossa nova with Sutton's soft vocal aided by Misha Tsiganov's electric piano and Seeley's melodic trumpet. Sutton provides a restrained "What The World Needs Now," backed by just a trio, with Zottarelli using brushes and Tsiganov's accompaniment a display of restraint and eloquence. Meurkens harmonica contributes to Sutton's melancholic take on "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head," as well as her wistful interpretation of "Alfie."

As Bill Milkowski observes in his liner notes, "Espinosa puts his own unique spin on these ten classics with subtle reharmonizations to inject new colors along with new intros, interludes and rhythmic twists that draw on his background in bossa nova, samba and jazz." With the vocals of him and Sutton's, and the fresh arrangements of these songs, one has a delightful album of vocal jazz, where the romance and melody lingers on long after one has finished listening.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is Hendrik Meurkens and Gabriel Espinosa in performance.

Anat Cohen and the Music of Brazil in Luminosa

 

While the music of Brazil has always been an inspiration for Anat Cohen, on her new Anzic Records release, "Luminosa" the focus is such music. Employing clarinet, bass clarinet and tenor saxophone, she is joined by her band of Jason Lindner (one of her co-producers) on keyboards; Joe Martin on bass and Daniel Friedman on drums. Special quests include percussionist Gilmar Gomes, guitarists Romero Lumbarbo and Gilad Hekselman and on two selections, and two selections feature Choro Advenuroso, composed of Vitor Gonçalves on accordion, Cesar Garabini on 7-string guitar and Sergio Krakowski on Pandeino. The selections include compositions by Milton Nascimento, Romero Lumbarbo, K-Ximbinho, Severino Araujo, Edu Lobo & Chico Buarque and Cohen who contributed four originals.

Cohen is one of the foremost clarinetists in contemporary jazz and her singing, lyrical playing contrasts with the dark chords of Lindner on the opening "Lilia" followed by a more playful attack on "Putty Boy Strut," with an intriguing rhythmic underpinning. "Ima" is a lovely ballad with some delicate playing from Cohen and Lindner. Romero Lubambo's acoustic guitar serves to help pace the lively "Bachiao" More of Cohen's playful side can be heard with her lilting playing on "Happy Song," while a more reflective tone characterizes "Ternura," one of the two choro selections with the accordion of Gonçalves providing a contrast as does Garabina's 7-string guitar. The other choro performance "Espinha De Bacalhau," is a terrific, spirited performance evocative of some classic choro recordings along with some recordings of New Orleans based pianist Tom McDermott, who has also delved into choro (a Brazilian music with parallels to ragtime and early New Orleans jazz).

Cohen takes up tenor saxophone for her composition, "The Wein Machine," dedicated to the legendary jazz impresario. Her robust playing here completes another recording marked by the mix of latin accents, lyricism and charm, and marvelous ensemble playing that is sure to enchant many.

I received my review copy from a publicist. I have made a few minor edits in the review that was originally published in the May-June 2015 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 360). Here is a video taken from The Pace Report for "Luminosa."
 

Clarinetist Anat Cohen's Joyful Claroscuro

The award-winning, Israeli born Clarinetist Anat Cohen’s latest release is Claroscuro (Anzic). Cohen and her clarinets and saxophones are joined on this recording by her quartet of pianist Jason Lindner, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Daniel Freedman. There are also appearances by Paquito D’Rivera on clarinet, Wycliffe Gordon on trombone and Gilmar Gomes on percussion.

The album takes it title from the Spanish word describing the play of light and shade (chiaroscuro in Italian) and was a title that Cohen believes most accurately describes “the contrasts within the sounds of the album mainly between light (buoyant and joyous) and dark (multi-layered and intense).” The music exhibits playfulness on Lindner’s Anat’s Dance, exhilaration in the duet with D’Rivera on Pixinuinha’s Um a Zero, as well as melancholy on another duet with D’Rivera on Artie Shaw’s Nightmare. There is an intensity manifested by the clarinets on that number that contrasts with the pensiveness Cohen, on tenor saxophone exhibits during Abdullah Ibrahim’s The Wedding. 

In addition to the variety of emotions expressed, Cohen transverses the traditional and the modern. La Vie En Rose, a song associated with Edith Piaf. H Wycliffe Gordon adds trombone (with some nice growling mute playing) and a Louis Armstrong-inspired vocal in addition to Cohen’s lovely clarinet that would bring a smile to Barney Bigard. A favorite selection is the contemporary rendition of Pixinuinha’s classic choro Um a Zero, with the dazzling clarinet duets between Cohen and D’Rivera. On this, percussionist Gomes and drummer Freedman also get some of the spotlight. Cohen, on tenor saxophone, plays more contemplatively in her interpretation of the afore-mentioned rendition of Abdullah Ibrahim’s The Wedding. This is the final selection in another outstanding recording from one of today's most significant jazz voice. 

My review copy was provided by a publicist for the release. Here is Anat Cohen and her quartet in performance. 

Joel Frahm Quartet’s Live at Smalls

Small’s Live, the label associated with the Greenwich Village Jazz venue Small’s has issued several new CDs, one of which is Joel Frahm Quartet’s Live at Smalls. Tenor saxophonist Frahm is joined by guitarist Kurt Rosenwinkel, bassist Joe Martin and drummer Otis Brown III (although the cover lists him as playing piano, he is pictured behind his drum set.

Recorded the weekend of February 28 and March 1, 2011, the album consists of five Frahm originals and interpretations of Billy Strayhorn’s Chelsea Bridge and Charlie Parker’s Steeplechase. I have been impressed by what I have heard by him in the past and was not surprised by the blues-drenched opener Short Rack that is in the spirit of some of the great instrumentals by the likes of Hal ‘Cornbread’ Singer and King Curtis with Rosenwinkel a nice solo foil for Frahm’s strong blues tenor.

It was some varied music at Smalls that weekend with interesting compositions such as A Little Extra with an unusual time signature followed by the groove inflected What’s You Beat? that includes some surprising twists and turns as the performance unfolds with Rosenwinkel’s guitar outstanding on this. Chelsea Bridge features some lovely playing from Frahm and the closing rendition of Steeplechase gives it a imaginative arrangement with Rosenwinkel opening up with an discursive solo followed by the leader’s spirited exploration of the theme.

As typical with Smalls Live recordings, sound in quite good and enhanced by the simple presentation with the black and white photography of Michelle Watt who also designed the cover in the attractive format of recordings on the label. This is another excellent album of contemporary jazz performances. Like other recordings in this series, it likely will have some look forward to visiting Small’s when in New York City.

This was a purchase. Here is Joel Frahm among a group performing at Small's.