Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Wayne Wallace: The Reckless Search for Beauty

Wayne Wallace: The Reckless Search for Beauty

By Dan McClenaghan
January 20, 2007
View read count

San Francisco-based trombonist Wayne Wallace's first professional musician jobs were in a Top Forty group and a James Brown cover band. From there, he attended San Francisco State University, graduating with a degree in Performance. Then he traveled to Havana, Cuba to study Afro-Cuban music at the National School of Arts. His search seems more steeped in dedication than recklessness, though he's titled this release The Reckless Search for Beauty.

Wallace brings his wide-ranging experience to a vibrant set that mixes Afro-Cuban music with funk and a myriad of Latin dance styles, plus R&B shadings, a dash of pop sensibility, and, always, a superb polyrhythmic drive.

The opener, "El Duende Africano," sets the tone: insistent and brassy over multiple percussion that bubbles and pops with an infectious, danceable vibrancy. "Paso a Paso" brings Dizzy Gillespie's Latin Big Band work to mind; and Bill Withers' rhythm and blues hit "Use Me" features a saucy, picante vocal by Alexa Weber Morales, mixing English and Spanish lyrics.

Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" gets modernized with a deep bass groove and some soaring synth work in front of a multiple-bata rhythm section and a passionate, smooth-toned lead vocal by Alexa Weber Morales again, flying over some lush vocal harmonies. Duke Ellington's "Chromatic Love Affair" is done in a more mainstream mode; Murray Lowe provides a sparkling Duke-like piano behind Wallace's beautifully laid-back trombone solo and whispering flute.

This is a "put on your dancing shoes affair" for the most part, and Wayne Wallace displays a method behind his reckless search for musical beauty.

Track Listing

El Duende Africano; Paso a Paso; Use Me; Tune Up; Rhythm & Rhyme; Chromatic Love Affair; Nadie; Obatala/AfroBlue; La Encantadora; Esta Noche; El Rio de Oro.

Personnel

Wayne Wallace

trombone

Wayne Wallace: tombone, spoken word (1); Alexa Weber Morales: vocals (1,3,5,7,8,11); John Santos: timbales bongo, bata, percussion; Michael Spiro: congas, bata, percussion; Paul Van Wageningen: trap drums; David Belove: bass; Murray Lowe: piano (1-6,8,9,10); Frank Martin: electric piano, synthesizer; David Yamasaki: guitar; Louis Fasman, John Worley: trumpet, flugelhorn; Melicio Magdaluya: saxes, flute; Ron Stallings: tenor sax. Special Guests: Ron Rollins: vocals: (3,5,8); Dave Martell: trombone (2,10); Kat Parra: vocals (1,3,5,8); Orlando Torriente: vocals (1,3,5,8); Sheryl Lynne-Wallace: vocals (1,3,8).

Album information

Title: The Reckless Search for Beauty | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Patois Records

About Wayne Wallace

Follow

Profile | Articles | Concerts | Albums | Photos | Similar To | Orbit

Tags

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Become a Sustaining Member

Since 1995, All About Jazz has championed jazz as an art form and supported the musicians who create it. Over three decades, it has grown into one of the world's leading jazz resources, serving hundreds of thousands of readers, musicians, presenters and industry professionals each month.

Help Build the Future of All About Jazz

Your support helps us continue building All About Jazz for the next generation—expanding our editorial coverage, preserving jazz history, developing new community features and creating better ways to discover the music and the people behind it.

Become a sustaining member for as little as $20 per year and you'll immediately enjoy an ad-free experience along with access to subscriber features and future articles for a full year.

Together, we're not simply sustaining All About Jazz—we're building its future. Thank you for being part of the journey.