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Conrad Herwig: The Latin Side of Horace Silver
by Jack Bowers
New York-based trombonist Conrad Herwig began exploring the “Latin side" of various jazz musicians in 1996, with The Latin Side of John Coltrane, which earned him the first of four Latin Grammy Award nominations. Since then, Herwig has done the same for Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Joe Henderson and, now, pianist Horace Silver. The formula is trim and solid; choose several of an artist's more notable compositions and recast them in a rhythmic Latin framework. For The Latin ...
read moreMichel Camilo: Essence
by Chris Mosey
Michel Camilo is a virtuoso pianist who mixes jazz, Latin and classical. Playing as part of a trio, he is famous for hitting the listener with a constant barrage of technique as dazzling as it is tiring. Fortunately, the big band format of Essence puts the lid on such displays. The album forms a retrospective on Camilo's career. It opens with “And Sammy Walked In" from the maestro's 1989 album On Fire. It is dedicated to Sammy ...
read moreMichel Camilo: Essence
by Dan Bilawsky
In numerology, the number 25 is connected to wisdom and an air of curiosity. Both traits, not surprisingly, speak directly to this pianist at the moment he delivers a dynamic big band album--his 25th release to date--a full quarter century after his first leader effort to explore this format. Essence's playlist spans decades, with all new Michael Philip Mossman arrangements on Camilo classics from as far back as his debut, Why Not? (Evidence, 1985); the band is ...
read moreMichel Camilo: Live In London
by Dan Bilawsky
While he may be best known for fronting dynamic trios, piano titan Michel Camilo does just fine by himself. There's tremendous propulsion, clarity, and strength in play when Camilo takes to the bench, and there's truly no place better to hear that than in a solo setting. Camilo has explored this format on record before--first on Solo (Telarc, 2005), later on What's Up? (Okeh, 2013)--but those efforts spoke to his work in the studio. Live In London ...
read moreTribute to Ernesto Lecuona: Michel Camilo, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Chucho Valdés
by Harry S. Pariser
Tribute to Ernesto Lecuona: Michel Camilo, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Chucho Valdés Symphony Hall San Francisco, California June 21, 2015 Individuals hearing of a tribute concert to be held commemorating the work of legendary musician Ernesto Lecuona might be forgiven for furrowing their brows. For Lecuona--despite his status as an extraordinary pianist, composer and bandleader--is known to but a relative few. One reason for his lack of notoriety is that he came from a different era: ...
read moreMichel Camilo: From Dominica to Spain and Back Again
by Derrick A. Smith
This interview was first published at All About Jazz in July 2000. After performing more than 40 concerts together, longtime friends Michel Camilo and Tomatito recorded Spain, an album that fuses their respective backgrounds of Latin Jazz and flamenco. Spain was released in the country of its title in 1999 to wide critical acclaim and strong sales. At its best, the disc incorporates both broad styles into a third stream that belongs solely to Camilo/Tomatito. Their backgrounds provide ...
read moreMichel Camilo: What's Up
by Larry Taylor
Jazz piano virtuoso Michel Camilo is known for his bombastic technique. For example, after a set at the Monterey Jazz Festival a couple of years ago, I stuck around and talked to the piano-tuner hired to rejuvenate the strings. He stood shaking his head in dismay after Camilo's hard driving workout, which had been a crowd-pleaser. Camilo's What's Up takes, however, a different approach. This is his second solo effort in his nearly 30-year career, his first ...
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