Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Jonathan Suazo: Extracts of a Desire

4

Jonathan Suazo: Extracts of a Desire

By

View read count
Jonathan Suazo: Extracts of a Desire
When it comes to currently-practicing Puerto Rican jazz icons, bassist Eddie Gomez and saxophonists Miguel Zenon and David Sanchez are the holy trinity. Each one of those men carved out their own respective path(s) through jazz country while retaining the essence of their homeland in their sound. For a young musician following in their footsteps to get an endorsement from any one of them is surely a good thing; when that individual gets two thumbs up from all three of them, it's a sign that greatness awaits.

Saxophonist Jonathan Suazo had the chance to hobnob with Sánchez and Gomez at the sessions for guitarist Gabriel Vicéns' Point In Time (Self Produced, 2012), on which they all play, while Zenon signed on to co-produce this debut recording. They all recognize the promise and passion that Suazo exudes, and those qualities are captured for all to hear on Extracts Of A Desire.

Three vastly different ideals—rhythmic agility, soaring grace, and barbed blowing—all merge under Suazo's mouthpiece. He's just as likely to knock a listener over with fearsome lines as he is to lull them into submission. Suazo's music exhibits episodic tendencies that engender surprise at every turn. Grooves come and go, rubato passages give way to strict time, and passive-aggressive tendencies surface at will. A free-firm duality exists in Suazo's work, but "free" shouldn't be mistaken for "out." Nothing is fully lacking in structural support or direction.

It could be said that Suazo was the lucky recipient of such praise from Zenon, Sánchez, and Gomez, but luck really has little to do with it. Suazo put in the time and continues to pay his dues as he climbs up the jazz ladder one rung at a time. His story may not be fully written yet, but those endorsements and this album serve as the preface for what could turn out to be a real page-turner.

Track Listing

Pace of Life; Forgive Me; Un futuro inevitable; What Is This Thing Called Love?; La ira de una flor (Nacer, Furia, Reposo y regreso); Lucharemos juntos; The Joy Of You.

Personnel

Jonathan Suazo
saxophone

Jonathan Suazo: alto saxophone; Bienvenido Dinzey: piano; Gabriel Vicéns: guitar; Alex Gasser: bass; Leonardo Osuna: drums; Paoli Mejías: percussion, djembe drum, batá drums (4); Amarilys Ríos: barril de bomba (5); Jhan Lee Aponteporo: congas, barril de bomba, timbal, surdos (5, 7); Tanicha López: vocals (7).

Album information

Title: Extracts of a Desire | Year Released: 2013 | Record Label: Self Produced

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

Tramonto
John Taylor
Ki
Natsuki Tamura / Satoko Fujii
Duality Pt: 02
Dom Franks' Strayhorn
The Sound of Raspberry
Tatsuya Yoshida / Martín Escalante

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.