Jazz Articles about Miguel Zenon

About Miguel Zenon

Catching Up With

Miguel Zenon Celebrates Sonero!

by Corey Hall
November 21, 2019

As the song's lyrics about freedom were sung, the child's conscience consumed them whole. This child, ten years young at the time, had never heard the singer, Ismael Rivera, or the song, “Las Tumbas," before, but, three decades later, this initial impression remains in Miguel Zenon's memory. “I was taken by the song's overall structure and the way his voice worked within the song," said Zenon, an alto saxophonist, composer, and band leader, whose music has earned him ...

Album Review

Miguel Zenon: Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera

Read "Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
September 1, 2019

It is not possible to listen to Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera by alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón without triggering thoughts of another altoist, Charlie Parker. Like Parker, Zenón has that quicksilver processing of thought and expression, but more relevant is that both artists can render any style of music into the jazz idiom. Where Parker dealt with Latin music in a macro sense, Zenón gets down to a micro level. It's only natural for the San Juan born, Guggenheim ...

Album Review

Miguel Zenon: Yo soy la tradicion

Read "Yo soy la tradicion" reviewed by Maurizio Zerbo

by Maurizio Zerbo
March 26, 2019

I più creativi jazzisti di estrazione latino-americana sono da qualche anno impegnati nel ripensamento delle proprie radici musicali, facendole interagire con altri mondi espressivi. Oltre naturalmente al jazz, le risorse timbriche della musica eurocolta sono qui il trait d'union di un progetto ambizioso, rivolto a sottolineare l'evangelizzazione cristiana degli spagnoli in terra caraibica. Estendendo a tutti i pezzi di questo album la tessitura musicale esplorata in qualche brano del precedente Awake (2008), Miguel Zenon recupera il mirabile esempio ...

Album Review

Miguel Zenon: Yo Soy La Tradicion

Read "Yo Soy La Tradicion" reviewed by Jerome Wilson

by Jerome Wilson
November 23, 2018

Alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon has undertaken several projects over the years exploring the folk music traditions of Puerto Rico, but he takes that to a new level with this work featuring the string playing of Chicago's Spektral Quartet. The interplay of saxophone and strings here sometimes recalls the lush conversations of the classic Stan Getz / Eddie Sauter project, Focus (Verve, 1961) or Charlie Parker's recordings with strings, but this feels more like an equal musical partnership. The quartet interacts ...

Album Review

Miguel Zenon: Yo Soy La Tradicion

Read "Yo Soy La Tradicion" reviewed by Mark Corroto

by Mark Corroto
September 13, 2018

As a rule, it is best to encounter a piece of music with an appreciation of its provenance. For jazz listeners, even though the act of listening is an exercise in discovery, roots are rarely an issue. That is, until an artist delivers something novel. Such is the case with Yo Soy La Tradicion by saxophonist Miguel Zenón. The Guggenheim and MacArthur Foundation Fellowships recipient was commissioned in 2016 by the Hyde Park Jazz Festival to compose a suite for ...

Album Review

Miguel Zenon: Yo Soy La Tradicion

Read "Yo Soy La Tradicion" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan

by Dan McClenaghan
September 11, 2018

With You Soy La Tradicion, alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon digs deep into his Puerto Rican roots with an exploration of his take on the “jazz with strings" genre. This is his eleventh CD release as a leader. He dabbled in the approach with Awake (Marsalis Music, 2008), adding a string quartet to his jazz quartet on a handful of the disc's tunes. Yo Soy La Tradition is a purer string/horn experience--just Zenon's golden-toned alto sax joining forces with the Spektral ...

In Pictures

Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival 2017

by Gregory Savage
July 4, 2017

The phrase, “the festival will go on come rain or shine," never rang more true than at the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival. Even with on and off showers, the streets were packed with jazz lovers every night. The lineup, from top to bottom, was impressive. There was a great mixture of seasoned and emerging artists. With over 300 events including several free shows, the Xerox Rochester International Jazz Festival has built a strong reputation as a world class jazz ...