Jazz Articles about Alejandro Vargas Rodriguez

Alejandro Vargas: AMa AZa LaNdO

by Geno Thackara
August 23, 2016

Music seems to be a matter of play as much as craft for Alejandro Vargas Rodríguez. The Cuban (now Spain-based) pianist shows plenty of chops throughout this whole recording, but they're often equalled or surpassed by the spirit of almost childlike joy that runs through it, as evidenced by the freeform playfulness of the track titles. (The title AMa AZa LaNdO, for example, is itself a playful anagram of “A Mano Alzada"--meaning something that's done freehand.) The piano work is ...