Jazz Articles about Carli Muñoz

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Carli Mu: Maverick

by Ernest Barteldes
January 29, 2006

Carli Muñoz is a self-taught pianist who began his career in dance bands in Puerto Rico in the early '60s, then left for the mainland. He returned home in 1986 and founded his own club, the Carli Cafe Concierto. Muñoz came to town recently to perform at Jazz Standard on November 30 for the release of Maverick. On the album Muñoz reveals various influences, going from swingers such as “Three Little Steps to Heaven into more improvisational ...

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Carli Mu: Maverick

by Jerry D'Souza
November 26, 2005

A thunderous chord, flattened notes, and a rollicking melody turn out to be the calling cards for Carli Muñoz. He gets off to a fine start with “Maverick, underlining his prowess as a pianist with some delightful runs and heady harmonics. But saxophonist David Sanchez cuts to the chase, dissecting the melody and spiriting it in to some high energy invention with a wealth of ideas.

The opening title tune casts the perfect shadow for Muñoz, who has been active ...

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Carli Mu: Maverick

by David Miller
November 22, 2005

The best jazz always comes from kindred spirits. When artists share a vision and a thirst for innovation, they can always come together and make a great record. It doesn't matter if they've ever played together, or if they've been gigging together. The best bands can just rip right into a tune without missing a beat. Sometimes, when artists share a heritage or nationality, they can be kindred spirits without ever meeting. Chick Corea and Gonzalo Rubalcaba ...

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Carli Mu: Maverick

by John Kelman
November 19, 2005

Some feel the only way to remain true to the jazz tradition is to focus one's energies exclusively within that domain. Others believe that all experience is valuable, and that a stylistically broad career needn't tarnish an ability to remain truthful to a jazz aesthetic.

Carli Muñoz clearly fits into the latter camp. The Puerto Rican pianist has been involved in the music industry for over forty years, both in PR and on both coasts of the United States. Over ...

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Carli Mu: Maverick

by Dan McClenaghan
November 14, 2005

Somebody, low in the mix, says, “Yeah!" as bass and drums shuffle and throb into “A Cool Night in the City," the fourth tune into Maverick. “Yeah!"--like this sounds so good. And indeed it does. The tune serves as something of a centerpiece on pianist Carli Muñoz's excellent new disc, and it's not alone in the “yeah!" factor among these nine tunes, which include three standards and six Muñoz-penned compositions.Muñoz has worked with Wilson Pickett and George Benson, ...