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Jason Forsythe: It's About Time
by Pierre Giroux
Trombonist and composer Jason Forsythe's debut recording as a composer, It's About Time, acts as both a declaration and a reflection: a declaration that his extensive apprenticeship with New York's jazz and Latin bands has cultivated a distinctive compositional voice, and a reflection of the various stylistic influences that have shaped his artistry. The nine-track album, performed by a top-tier sextet featuring trumpeter Brian Lynch, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf, trombonist Steve Davis, pianist Michael Weiss, bassist Ugonna Okegwo and drummer ...
Continue ReadingJason Charos: Opening Statement
by Jack Bowers
Trumpeter Jason Charos was a student at the University of Miami's Frost School of Music, as were alto saxophonist David Mason and pianist Connor Rohrer, while tenor Kendric McAllister was a recent graduate when Charos' impressive Opening Statement was recorded in March 2022. Since then, the “four amigos," as they are sometimes known, have headed to New York City to broaden their horizons and pursue their budding careers. The amigos are ably supported on the studio date ...
Continue ReadingJason Forsythe: It's About Time
by Jack Bowers
It's About Time likely refers to the fact that although Jason Forsythe has been a jazz composer of note for decades, this is the first-ever recording he has released as leader of his own ensemble, in this case a world-class sextet whose heavyweight front line is manned by trumpeter Brian Lynch, tenor saxophonist Walt Weiskopf and trombonist Steve Davis. While Forsythe wrote eight of the album's nine songs--every one of which houses much to admire and commend--the ...
Continue ReadingIrving Flores: Armando Mi Conga
by Bridget A. Arnwine
Every now and again an artist releases an album that is so striking, so stellar, that it cements their legacy forever, not in a way that the artist can never grow beyond the album's greatness, but in a way that propels them beyond it. Pianist Irving Flores and his all-star Afro- Cuban Jazz Sextet have created such an album. Armando Mi Conga (Amor de Flores) consists of eight breathtakingly beautiful original compositions plus a bonus track (a solo piano version ...
Continue ReadingKiki Valera: Vacilón Santiaguero
by Richard J Salvucci
In Cuban Spanish (and, for sure, there is no generic Spanish in Latin America), vacilón means, well, one hell of a good time. And that is what you can expect from this punchy collection, a great time a la Santiago de Cuba, the capital of one of Cuba's southeastern provinces. It is the land of Bacardí rum and the origins of the 1959 Revolution. A Cuban patriot will tell you about the naval battle of Santiago de Cuba, which more ...
Continue ReadingBrian Lynch: 7X7BY7
by Jack Bowers
The number seven, which for reasons shrouded in mystery, has long been considered a symbol of good luck, lies at the core of trumpeter Brian Lynch's latest album, 7X7BY7, which consists of seven themes performed by seven musicians with each number clocking in at precisely six seconds past seven minutes. Furthermore, it is said, “the...process [of creating the album] was designed to facilitate the smooth reassembly of elements...into new pieces. Shaped by these attributes along with their constraints, the music ...
Continue ReadingKiki Valera: Vacilón Santiaguero
by Paul Rauch
Son Cubano, the music and dance from the hill country of eastern Cuba, may be a mystery to some readers of these pages. Though the form is rooted in both Spanish and Bantu traditions, its modern day practitioners, embodied and popularized by the music of Buena Vista Social Club, have broadened the music's view. In the United States, particularly in this case, the Pacific Northwest, there are pockets of enthusiasm for Latin music of all sorts. Yet upon attending a ...
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