Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Juan-Carlos Formell: La Calles del Paraiso

184

Juan-Carlos Formell: La Calles del Paraiso

By

View read count
Juan-Carlos Formell: La Calles del Paraiso
If I were forced to categorize the music of Juan-Carlos Fromell I'd have to call it "Cuban-Lite." It has Spanish lyrics and the rhythms are latin-based, but it lacks the emotional intensity that we have come to expect from Cuban music. It is also overly produced, in much the same manner as so-called "smooth jazz." While it is pleasant and inoffensive, there also isn't much meat to the bone. One comes away from listening to this album wanting much more, like a meal in which only the appetizer course was served.

Fromell has a pleasant voice and he is a superb guitarist. While many have compared him to the Brazilian great Joao Gilberto, that comparison is not apt. Gilberto does sing softly and his famous "stuttering" style of guitar playing holds much in reserve, yet there is always in Gilberto's playing and singing an understated intensity that pushes forward as much as it holds back. With Fromell it is just understatement for understatement's sake. There is also very little music on this CD that can be construed as jazz-based. A possible exception is the bolero, "La Extrema Tristeza de la Tarde," in which there is a prominent improvised bass solo.

Fans of Cuban jazz will want to stick with Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval. And with a running time of only 46 minutes, Las Calles del Paraiso lacks much more than only rhythmic and musical intensity.

Track Listing

Las Calles del Para

Personnel

Juan-Carlos Formell, vocals, guitar; Tommy Moran, pedal steel guitar; David O'Quendo, coro; Dafnis Prieto, percussion; Yosvany Terry, tenor sax; Rick Faulkner, trombone; Lisandro Arias, piano; Horacio "El Negro" Hern

Album information

Title: La Calles del Paraiso | Year Released: 2002 | Record Label: EMI Music

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.