Home » Jazz Articles » Joel Mateo
Jazz Articles about Joel Mateo
About Joel Mateo
Dave Schumacher & Cubeye: Agua con Gas
by Jack Bowers
As the name Agua Con Gas suggests, Chicago-born, New York-based baritone saxophonist Dave Schumacher and his Cubeye ensemble favor jazz with an unmistakable Latin accent. Schumacher's fourth album with the ensemble leans south of the border all the way, harbored in a sharp and buoyant rhythmic groove that suits them like the proverbial glove. Schumacher's brusque and brawny baritone leads the way on most numbers, kindling memories of such masters of the horn as Ronnie Cuber, Gary Smulyan, ...
Continue ReadingMike Freeman's ZonaVibe: Circles In A Yellow Room
by Jack Bowers
Circles in a Yellow Room, New York-based vibraphonist Mike Freeman's eighth recording as leader of his own ensembles, has a Latin flavor reminiscent of classic albums by West Coast maestro Cal Tjader. Stylistically, Freeman parallels Tjader and a host of others from Milt Jackson, Terry Gibbs and Gary McFarland to Bobby Hutcherson, Gary Burton, Joe Locke and Steve Nelson. Which is another way of saying that when it comes to the vibraphone, there is not much that separates the best ...
Continue ReadingDave Schumacher & Cubeye: Smoke in the Sky
by Jack Bowers
Chicago-bred, New York-based baritone saxophonist Dave Schumacher leans heavily toward Latin melodies and rhythms on Smoke in the Sky, his recording of an able septet he has dubbed Cubeye. Contemporary jazz lies at the core of Schumacher's cross- cultural endeavor, one that his like-minded teammates take readily to heart while lending their insight and expertise to the largely warm and engaging enterprise. While Schumacher's burly baritone, reminiscent of Pepper Adams, Ronnie Cuber, Nick Brignola, Gary Smulyan, Cecil ...
Continue ReadingMichael Eckroth Group: Human Geography
by Edward Blanco
Grammy-nominated pianist/composer Micael Eckroth follows up his highly acclaimed Plena (Truth Revolution Records, 2021) with the vibrant and robust Human Geography, melding the sounds of contemporary jazz with elements of Afro-Caribbean music while exploring his affinity for the Latin sound and “paying homage to the culture of Cuba, Puerto Rico and the vast amalgam that comprise jazz." An Assistant Professor of music, jazz piano at Florida International University, Eckroth's geographical location in the diverse Anglo and mixed Hispanic community of ...
Continue ReadingMichael Eckroth Group: Plena
by Dan Bilawsky
Michael Eckroth had clear goals in mind for this project--"to create music that was lyrical, modern, true to its Afro-Latin roots, but never purist in its approach"--and he's accomplished his mission with gusto. Through Plena, this Grammy-nominated pianist/composer delivers a program of original music that, while acknowledging folkloric traditions, doesn't buy into their formal strictures and structures. Instead, Eckroth deals in forward-thinking offshoots and branch realities that beautifully extend on--and past--those points. Essentially working with two different ...
Continue ReadingAlbum Showcase
Trending
Interview
Lou Marini: A Solo Career Starting At The Age Of 80
Jazz Raconteurs
Julius Hemphill: Marty Ehrlich and Tim Berne Remember a...
History of Jazz
John Coltrane in Detroit: A Brief History
In Tribute To...
John Coltrane At 100: A Global Perspective
Live Review
Detroit Jazz Festival 2026: A Gathering in a Great Jazz City
Interview
Jasur Khalilov: From Falak to Fusion
Profile
Sequoia Snyder: Growing in the Light of the Masters
Premium
VOTE!
