Miguel Zenón (alto sax); Luis Perdomo (piano); Hans Glawischnig (bass); Henry Cole (drums).
The CD came out in 2019 and, somehow or other, got shuffled to the bottom of the pile - an unforgivable oversight for which I apologise. However, it has now been released on limited edition vinyl which gives me the opportunity to correct the error of my ways and seek out the Grammy nominated CD which is every bit as good as the critics over at DownBeat, Jazziz, Jazz Times and others rated it to be.
My problem I think was the fact that, to my eternal shame, I'd never actually heard the late Puerto Rican singer Ismael 'Maelo' Rivera (1931 - 1987) who was the inspiration for the album plus a glance at the Spanish titles suggested a bland Latin affair.
Latin - yes, bland - emphatically not! Zenon blows some wild alto over pulsating Latin rhythms with not a bossa nova in sight.
Rivera was a salsa king, his vocal improvisations in the genre absolutely the best as I found out for myself when I checked him out.
Zenón has the same approach on alto taking the listener on a Caribbean cruise over some stormy waters and some tranquil seas. An eclectic mix that never fails to excite.
Perdomo, Glawischnig and Cole slot in to the manner born combining with the leader to make this an album and a band to reckon with.
Lance
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