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Alejandro Vargas: AMa AZa LaNdO
ByThe prime free-jazz streak means it's not an album for everyone, but his in-the-moment excitement generally makes for sprightly melodies more than ponderous self-indulgence. Any meandering and vamping is spiced up with either a steady pulse or jittery restlessness; in either case it's usually lively and energetic enough to carry things along. Whenever his main keyboard line tends toward drifting, Vargas is likely to overdub an extra part or two to add a different flavorairy fluttering flute, occasional percussive knocks or perhaps offhandedly vocalizing low enough that you'd have to listen closely to hear it.
It's hard to tell how much of this music is composed or improvised. From jaunty melodies to quiet meditations or crashing cascades, the piano motifs are abstract enough that they could be either onewhich probably tells us it doesn't matter anyway and the results are what's important. Often that means a pretty skewed approach to chording, but then it's interspersed with spots like the pretty harmonic "NOodA" or the very Monk-esque "OdO" that don't require any particular taste for the avant-garde. In both cases it comes from a willingness to wander over the canvas without worrying about any rules, and the results are always straight from the hands and heart.
Track Listing
MaLaZa; JOcOSIDAdes; CaNtOs ALegóricOs; áMe; COincidenCias; AleGRíaS; AMefriKa; NOdaa; BLUe; MANsoro; AGUaceROs; OdO.
Personnel
Alejandro Vargas: piano, flute, bells, voice.
Album information
Title: AMa AZa LaNdO | Year Released: 2016 | Record Label: Self Produced
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About Alejandro Vargas Rodriguez
Instrument: Piano
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AMa AZa LaNdO