Roger Davidson: Pensando En Ti

The bare-shouldered, dark-haired beauty leaning on the balcony in a pensive posture on the cover of pianist/composer/arranger Roger Davidson's latest Latin music exploration, Pensando En Ti, appears to be "thinking of you," with romance on her mind.

Of late, Davidson has explored various Latin genres: the tango, on Amor Por El Tango, and the bossa nova with his treatment of Richard Rodgers' music on Rodgers in Rio (both Soundbrush Records, '04). With Pensando En Ti, Rogers immerses himself in the bolero, perhaps the gentlest, dreamiest and most romantic of Latin sounds. The music sounds like a close cousin to Charlie Haden's classic Land of the Sun, with its beautiful, understated melodicism floating over the cool rhythmic burble of the bolero, a song style that originated in Cuba in the late-nineteenth century and spread throughout the Latin world.

There's nothing cerebral or challenging to the ear here, just a cool, seductive listening experience. These are the sounds of romance, suited well for a relaxing night with with a glass of your favorite spirits and the object of your romantic desire.