Jazz Articles about Pete Rodriguez

Angel Roman & Mambo Blue: Festive Interplay

by Pierre Giroux
December 9, 2021

Latin Jazz as presented by guitarist Angel Roman, is a combination of Afro Latin rhythms from a variety of sources, but when blended with Brazilian, pop, and fusion the music results in a new stew which, while recognizable, has different flavours, fragrances and textures. Delivering this mélange is the band Mambo Blue, whose membership ebbs and flows depending on Roman's residency. This iteration is composed mainly of musicians from Austin, Texas, and they have delivered on their talents with a ...

Pete Rodriguez: El Conde Negro

by Angelo Leonardi
March 29, 2016

Le splendide doti di Pete Rodriguez evidenziate due anni fa nel debutto Caminando con Papi le ritroviamo in questo nuovo lavoro, registrato ancora in quintetto, dove ritroviamo il pianista Luis Perdomo e il percussionista Robert Quintero ma si aggiungono Rudy Royston alla batteria e Ricky Rodriguez al contrabbasso, rendendo jazzisticamente avvincente la dimensione ritmica. Il risultato è smagliante non solo per l'evidente virtuosismo del trombettista e l'elevata partnership, ma per la ricercata creatività con cui rilegge la tradizione musicale portoricana. ...

Pete Rodriguez: El Conde Negro

by Dan Bilawsky
May 18, 2015

Pete Rodriguez isn't a purist. He knows his salsa, as one would expect of the offspring of famed salsa vocal icon Pete “El Conde" Rodriguez, and he knows his jazz. But this trumpeter-vocalist sees no need to draw strong separation between the two. In creating El Conde Negro, Rodriguez mines Nuyorican musical veins and jazz lodes, ultimately mixing his finds together to create a form of music that's loyal to both camps yet highly original and completely mutable.

Pete Rodriguez: Caminando con papi

by Angelo Leonardi
June 27, 2014

Una questione antica e irrisolta della psicologia riguarda il peso che l'ambiente o la dimensione biologia hanno nel determinare ciò che siamo. Nella storia della disciplina si è dato preminenza all'uno o all'altro fattore, con posizioni talvolta radicali con innatisti e comportamentisti in aperto conflitto. Se poi andiamo nel campo artistico il discorso si complica ancor più: i figli dei grandi innovatori sono spesso figure mediocri magari schiacciate dal peso del confronto col padre (Freud insegna) ma talvolta arrivano a ...

Pete Rodriguez: El Alquimista (The Alchemist)

by Woodrow Wilkins
December 17, 2008

"Jive State Suite" sure is an attention getter. The introduction to the first track of Pete Rodriguez's El Alquimista (The Alchemist) makes clear this is an album with a difference. Rodriguez, a trumpeter, vocalist and composer, has performed with a virtual who's who of Latin music, as well as other styles. Among his many associates are Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri and Chico O'Farrill. “Jive State Suite" is a set of five songs ...

Pete Rodriguez: El Alquimista - The Alchemist

by Edward Blanco
October 19, 2008

Puerto Rican trumpet wonder Pete Rodriguez blends his style of Latin music with a modern jazz sound, forging an impressive musical statement on El Alquimista - The Alchemist, his third album as leader. Serving as a sideman on many other recordings, performing with some of the best Latin jazz artists in the business including Eddie Palmieri, Tito Puente, Chico O'Farrill and Carlos “Patato" Valdez, the trumpeter's developed chops draw comparisons to those of Clifford Brown and Freddie Hubbard.

While Rodriguez ...