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Kat Parra: Las Aventuras de Pasion!
BySalsa sounds, Middle Eastern music, Sephardic traditions, Afro-Peruvian passion, Puerto Rican grooves, chamber ideals, classical influences, jazz standards and countless other styles merge into one cohesive whole when Parra opens her mouth and unleashes her confident voice. The graphic designer-turned-singer has been turning heads since releasing her debutBirds In Flight (Patois Records, 2007)and she continues to develop, expand on and refine her omni-Latin sound.
Las Aventuras de Pasion!, Parra's fourth album to date, features a large and talented cast of characters that assist Parra on her world travels. Riffing horns, rumbling percussion and mannered strings are all utilized at different times, in a successful effort to paint different pictures behind Parra's pipes. As many as a dozen musicians appear at once, as on the Puerto Rico-meets-New Orleans "Iko Iko" which gets the ball rolling, but Parra also knows how to scale things back and bring intimacy into her music; her album-ending performance of "Man On A Wire/Gymnopedie No.1," with pianist Murray Low as her only company, is the evidence.
Parra fills the space between these tracks with nine other numbers that show off her skills as composer, interpreter and world music conceptualist. Her tender and beautiful "Call Your Name" conjures feelings of longing, sadness and happiness all at once, "Morenika" takes on a mournful tone, thanks in part to Masaru Koga's soprano saxophone work and "Oye Papi," which features a short but winning trombone solo from arranger/producer Wayne Wallace, sizzles.
Las Aventuras De Pasion! isn't a radical departure from Parra's previous albums; it simply confirms that she's one of the most well-informed, astute and creative vocalists operating in the Latin jazz orbit today.
Track Listing
Iko Iko; Dieziocho Anyos; Call Your Name; La Comida de la Manyana; Morenika; Lo Siento Mi Vida; Yo M'Enamori d'un Aire; Oye Papi; Durme, Durme; Nature Boy; Man on a Wire/Gymnopédie No. 1.
Personnel
Kat Parra
vocalsKat Parra: vocals, arrangements; John Worley: trumpet (1,8); Wayne Wallace: trombone (1, 8), arrangments (1-3,7, 8, 10) coro singer (1, 4); Masaru Koga: alto sax (1, 8), soprano sax (5), shakuhachi (7), flute (10); Murray Low: piano (1, 3, 5, 8, 11), arrangements (5); José Roberto Hernández: guitar (2, 9); Sam Bevan: acoustic bass (2); Chris Lopes: acoustic bass (3, 5); David Belove: electric bass (1, 8); David Pinto: baby bass (9), arrangements (9); Mads Tolling: violin I (3, 6), arrangements (6); Lila Sklar: violin II (3, 6); Emily Onderdonk: violas I & II (3, 6); Renata Bratt: cello (6, 7, 10); Paul van Wageningen: drums (1, 3, 8); Curt Moore: drums (5); Michaelle Goerlitz: congas, percussion (1, 3, 8); Michael Spiro: congas, percussion (2), arrangements (4); Michael Hatfield: marimba (2, 6); Colin Douglas: batá, percussion (4); Matt Lucas: batá, percussion (4); Katja Cooper: darbuka, riq (5); Dana Pandey: tabla (7); Raúl Ramírez: cajón, cheko, quijada (9); Pat Parra; coro singer (1); Wendy Waller: coro singer (1); Rafael Castro: coro singer (1, 4); Mochi Parra: vocals, coro singer (4).
Album information
Title: Las Aventuras de Pasion! | Year Released: 2012 | Record Label: JazzMa Records
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