Jazz Articles about Hector Martignon

Hector Martignon: Second Chance

by Jerry D'Souza
August 26, 2010

In his notes to Second Chance, pianist Hector Martignon reflects on second chances and the wide ranging impact they can have on a person. On another plane, he muses on the second chance he has given to some of the compositions he had played with other bands, or to which he had given a different interpretation. Martignon's compositions sing eloquently, as they embrace a wide framework of styles. As a pianist, he essays a fine skill that is ...

Hector Martignon: Second Chance

by Edward Blanco
May 22, 2010

Columbian-born jazz pianist Hector Martignon firmly believes in second chances in life; whether as a form of redemption or renewal, they serve as important new opportunities. On his second ZOHO release, Second Chance presents an exciting blend of Latin-flavored music, drawing on influences ranging from Brazilian and Colombian idioms to elements of Afro-Cuban rhythms, in a vibrant frame of Latin jazz. Penned for wife Amparo, Second Chance has many meanings, the from personal to the second chances we all have ...

Hector Martignon: Refugee

by Ralph A. Miriello
August 25, 2007

In listening to pianist/vocalist Hector Martignon's Refugee, I was immediately attracted to his notable sidemen, including Richard Bona, Kenny Baron, Eddie Gomez and Jeff “Tain Watts. Martignon obviously has the chops, and so the only question is if his music is compelling enough to carry off an album as a leader. He has done so admirably.The title song is a hard-driving tour de force, with a deeply grounded bass line from accomplished Cameroonian virtuoso Bona. With the bottom ...

Hector Martignon: Refugee

by C. Michael Bailey
May 26, 2007

Native Columbian Pianist Hector Martignon closes his liner notes to Refugee thusly:

“Although I play the acoustic and electric pianos in all tunes...I prefer the role I almost instinctively adopted, paraphrasing Auguste Rodin: provide boulders of marble of distinctive shapes and sizes to a group of sculptors and then collectively carve out the most beautiful shapes imprisoned inside those rocks.

Not having read these words before listening to the disc, the thought struck me that Martignon, like Ellington with “Concertos ...

Hector Martignon: Refugee

by Jerry D'Souza
May 25, 2007

Pianist Hector Martignon gathers together the musicians who played as Foreign Affair for this, his third recording as leader. The group began as an acoustic trio before going the electric route in 1998. Besides the two recordings, Portrait in Black and White (Candid, 1996) and The Foreign Affair (Candid, 2000), there were tours and concerts. Martignon thus collected a wealth of musicians over the years.

Martignon wrote the music with one or more of the featured musicians in mind. Two ...

Hector Martignon: Refugee

by Mark F. Turner
May 20, 2007

Like the great Latin jazz pianists Eddie Palmieri and Hilton Ruiz, Hector Martignon is one hot player (un pianist caliente). The musician, composer, and band leader has performed with Celia Cruz and Ray Barretto, and has created a body of work which includes orchestral music, jingles, and other formats. On Refugee, his third release as a leader, he assembles an impressive and huge list of top musicians, with new material recorded with four groups on four different sessions. The tunes ...