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Hilario Durán and his Latin Jazz Big Band: Cry Me A River

By John Chacona
December 20, 2023
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Believe it or not, people were writing kiss-off songs long before Taylor Swift and Justin Timberlake. This one was made famous by the unjustly neglected Julie London in 1955, but you've never heard it done like this before. Havana-born pianist Hilario Duran arranged this title song from a 2023 recording on his own Alma Records label as a roaring son montuno for big band. Thanks to a fervent lead vocal and searing violin solo from Elizabeth Rodriguez, this venerable torch song never blazed quite so hot. It might come as a surprise to learn that the session was recorded in Toronto, but that city is home to a large and growing Afro-Caribbean community and a bubbling music scene. The great Canadian saxophonist Jane Bunnett who has brought many Cuban musicians to Canada—including Durán—told this writer, "Once you get the clavé in you, it never leaves you and you hear the whole world in clavé." After hearing "Cry Me A River" in clavé, you might never again be able to hear it any other way.

Contact John Chacona on All About Jazz.
John Chacona is a freelance journalist, content writer and producer in Cleveland.

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About Hilario Duran

Instrument: Piano

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