Juanjo López: Above, Beyond, Within

In our troubling national moment of intensified nativism and ethnic fearmongering, it can be edifying to encounter the stories of people whose lives are directly affected by the current climate. One of them is Juanjo López, a guitarist now well-established in the Chicago scene but who came years ago to the United States with his family from Mexico. His story, reflected in his second release, Above, Beyond, Within, is about much more than geographic relocation, however. There is a strong spiritual awareness that permeates the album, allowing López to bear witness not only to the importance of his familial resilience but also, just as importantly, the faith tradition that sustained it.

López has some fine colleagues here, essentially three-fourths of the band Entre Amigos, one of the standout ensembles in contemporary Chicago jazz: pianist Hana Fujisaki, bassist Kitt Lyles, and drummer Gustavo Cortiñas. They have an intuitive rapport that is instantly recognizable, and they draw on their shared experience to maneuver through López's sophisticated compositions, which merge a Latin-based sensibility with jazz and fusion in creative ways. The album is organized as a three-movement suite, with two pieces in each movement to highlight different aspects of the sacred.

The first movement, "Above," begins with a delicate rumination, "Grace," in which Fujisaki and López first trace the gentle melody before the rest of the group enters, with López providing oblique support as the piece takes shape, with Lyles delivering a lovely, understated solo. "Retorno," by contrast, has a much more forceful impact, with López out front in a piece with an animated, odd-meter groove. A gritty solo from the leader rides the infectious energy provided by the band.

One can hear López's Latin influences a bit more on "Retreat," the first part of "Beyond," the second movement. A supple 6/8 rhythmic foundation gives the piece a danceable liveliness before "Inner Realm" goes into fusion mode, with an assertive energy that is only temporarily tempered by a winding arco bass solo from Lyles before López elevates the intensity with another tenacious solo statement.

The final movement, "Within," exudes a passionate spirit, as "Dwell" and "La Nueva Jersulalén" allow the band to open up López's engaging melodies. Fujisaki's lyrical solo is ideal for "Dwell," one López builds upon with his own tuneful exploration, while "La Nueva Jersulalén" closes the album with an anthemic finish. López's soaring guitar embodies the album's quest to imagine a better, divinely-infused reality—one hopefully just on the horizon.