Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Pete Rodriguez: El Alquimista (The Alchemist)

284

Pete Rodriguez: El Alquimista (The Alchemist)

By

View read count
Pete Rodriguez: El Alquimista (The Alchemist)
"Jive State Suite" sure is an attention getter. The introduction to the first track of Pete Rodriguez's El Alquimista (The Alchemist) makes clear this is an album with a difference.

Rodriguez, a trumpeter, vocalist and composer, has performed with a virtual who's who of Latin music, as well as other styles. Among his many associates are Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri and Chico O'Farrill.

"Jive State Suite" is a set of five songs inspired by Rodriguez's dealings with academia. Drummer Henry Cole starts things off with a workout on the toms, followed by a startling piano chord from Luis Perdomo, and Ricardo Rodriguez's bass line. David Sanchez's tenor saxophone starts the dramatic melody, joined by the trumpet. The song shifts gears when Perdomo leads into a straight-ahead jazz approach, then back to the brooding mood set by the intro. What follows is a free-form journey, with trumpet and saxophone engaging in dialogue, often overlapping each other.

The mellow "My Patience" ends the suite with Perdomo making his first appearance on Fender Rhodes. Trumpet and tenor sax share the melody, with Rodriguez exploring the lower range of his instrument during his solo, followed by Sanchez. Perdomo then scores with a sound that brings to mind Tom Schuman or Earth, Wind & Fire's Larry Dunn.

After Roberto Quintero goes solo on the congas with "Por Si las Moscas, Roberto," the full band comes back on "Scorpion," inspired by an actual Texas scorpion attack on Rodriguez. It's a high-energy piece in which the trumpet and tenor playing several rapid-fire riffs. While the congas, bass and drums keep up a high pace in the background, Sanchez slows down the lead during his solo—for a moment. When he accelerates, the piano becomes more active, and the others play with more fervor. Rodriguez follows suit, starting off subtly before jumping into high gear.

The title song begins with Quintero's congas, followed by bass, drums and piano entering to set up another rapid-fire trumpet and tenor duet. The two instruments sound as one, with a blend that occasionally sounds as if a trombone is in the mix. A series of solos by tenor, piano and trumpet follows, ending abruptly with the piano.

By definition, an alchemist is one who practices the ancient art of converting base metals into gold or, symbolically, one who changes a common item into something precious. Rodriguez turns common notes into a special mix of Latin, jazz and even symphonic music.

Track Listing

Jive State Suite: Who Do I Trust, Not Good Enough, Reflection, The Truth Will Always Surface, My Patience; Por Si las Moscas, Roberto; Scorpion; El Indio; Shambala; El Alquimista.

Personnel

Pete Rodriguez
trumpet and vocals

Pete Rodriguez: trumpet; David Sanchez: tenor saxophone; Luis Perdomo: piano, Fender Rhodes; Henry Cole: drums; Ricardo Rodriguez: bass; Roberto Quintero: percussion.

Album information

Title: El Alquimista (The Alchemist) | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Conde Records

Tags

Comments


PREVIOUS / NEXT




Support All About Jazz

Get the Jazz Near You newsletter All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.

More

Eternal Moments
Yoko Yates
From "The Hellhole"
Marshall Crenshaw
Tramonto
John Taylor

Popular

Old Home/New Home
The Brian Martin Big Band
My Ideal
Sam Dillon
Ecliptic
Shifa شفاء - Rachel Musson, Pat Thomas, Mark Sanders
Lado B Brazilian Project 2
Catina DeLuna & Otmaro Ruíz

Get more of a good thing!

Our weekly newsletter highlights our top stories, our special offers, and upcoming jazz events near you.

Install All About Jazz

iOS Instructions:

To install this app, follow these steps:

All About Jazz would like to send you notifications

Notifications include timely alerts to content of interest, such as articles, reviews, new features, and more. These can be configured in Settings.