Jazz Articles about Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez

Esperanza Spalding: Esperanza

by Jeff Winbush
May 17, 2008

For the purist who wants to know what all the excitement is about Esperanza Spalding, they can skip directly to track 11--"If That's True"--of her sophomore album Esperanza, where she works out on the acoustic bass in an all-out jam with Donald Harrison on alto saxophone and Ambrose Akinmusire on trumpet. It flat-out smokes, and showcases the Berklee-trained bassist as potentially one of the more promising young talents in jazz. First though, she's going to have to ...

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez & Robby Ameen: Robby & Negro At The Third World War (La Timba No es Como Ayer)

by Jerry D'Souza
December 17, 2005

Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez and Robby Ameen pack a whole lot into this collaboration. The prime beat comes from Latin music, but there is hip-hop, classical, and jazz as well. How does it all fit in? Just perfectly, thank you!

The different strands go to make a compact body which the players get into and bring alive, with the arrangements adding to the potency. On “The Moon Shows Red (Tzuki...) Jerry Gonzalez sits in on trumpet and Ameen ...

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez/Robby Ameen: Robby & Negro At The Third World War (La Timba No es Como Ayer)

by Michael McCaw
November 3, 2005

Have you ever heard a salsa version of “Sympathy for the Devil ? With the piano carrying the melody and a myriad of percussion instruments forming the swaggering beat? No matter what preconceptions or feelings you have towards the original, it's hard not to find yourself moving with the opening track on Robby & Negro at the Third World War. And if you weren't swaying, as the song transitions into “el Cielo, the second part of the medley, there is ...

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez: Live at the Modern Drummer Festival

by John Kelman
September 8, 2004

With a breadth of ability, drummer Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez still maintains strong roots in the traditional music of his native Cuba. Despite playing in a variety of contexts since relocating to New York City a few years ago, and recording with artists including Victor Mendoza, David Samuels, Steve Turre and, most notably, on Carlos Santana's mega-hit Supernatural , the clave has never been far from the surface. No more evident is this fact than on Live at the Modern ...

Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez: Italuba

by Dan McClenaghan
July 1, 2004

Drummer Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez arrived in New York from his native Cuba (via Italy) and slipped into the percussion driver's seat on recordings by pianists Michael Camilo and Chucho Valdes, trumpeter Roy Hargrove and guitar legend Carlos Santana, helping those artists snag a bunch of Grammy Awards. Italuba “"the title a melding of the names of his native land and that of the country that welcomed him on his initial expatriation""marks his overdue debut as a leader.

Horacio 'El Negro' Hernandez : One Size Fits All

by R.J. DeLuke
February 23, 2004

Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez is a drummer for all seasons. One size fits all. A consummate pro with broad musical tastes, he graces the bands and recordings of a wide variety of performers, not just those in the jazz realm. He's a drummer. Period. Don't mistake that for “any ol' drummer," because he is far from that. He is determined. He worked hard to become a percussionist extraordinaire. He's passionate about his art, devoted to creating music.Simply stated, ...

Joanne Brackeen: Pink Elephant Magic

by Glenn Astarita
May 1, 1999

One of the great pianist’s and unsung heroes in Modern Jazz returns in incendiary and dynamic fashion. Joanne Brackeen’s Pink Elephant Magic is stunning, articulate and easily one of the premier jazz recordings of 1999.

The title track and opener, “Pink Elephant Magic” is simply an outstanding composition! The complex and seemingly difficult to perform arrangement is multifaceted, cleverly orchestrated and superior in scope and altogether artfully constructed. Brackeen, with the assistance of Nicholas Payton (trumpet), Chris Potter (soprano sax) ...