Jazz Articles about Hector Martignon

Carlos Jimenez: Woods

by Richard J Salvucci
November 23, 2022

Carlos Jimenez is a kind of metaphor for Latin jazz, from Yonkers, New York, to Puerto Rico ("the island") and back, with instrumental and stylistic stops along the way. Jazz flute has had some storied practitioners, and Jiménez is obviously well along getting a foothold there too in this, his sixth album since 2005. Interestingly, Jiménez says Cuban percussionist Mongo Santamaría spurred his transition from brass to woodwind, which speaks volumes about the importance of polyrhythms to Latin jazz. If ...

Nelson Riveros: The Latin Side of Wes Montgomery

by Dan Bilawsky
March 2, 2021

After delving into the repertoire of legendary guitarist Wes Montgomery at a gig in the not-so-distant past, six-stringer Nelson Riveros was struck with the idea for this tribute project. Playing true to Montgomery's work and legacy, while pulling from his own Colombian roots and imbuing the music with varied elements drawn from the broader Latin lexicon, Riveros brands this album with a syncretic signature and a hefty helping of pure joy. Opening with “Road Song," Riveros retains ...

Hector Martignon: Second Chance

by Jerry D'Souza
August 26, 2010

In his notes to Second Chance, pianist Hector Martignon reflects on second chances and the wide ranging impact they can have on a person. On another plane, he muses on the second chance he has given to some of the compositions he had played with other bands, or to which he had given a different interpretation. Martignon's compositions sing eloquently, as they embrace a wide framework of styles. As a pianist, he essays a fine skill that is ...

Hector Martignon: Second Chance

by Edward Blanco
May 22, 2010

Columbian-born jazz pianist Hector Martignon firmly believes in second chances in life; whether as a form of redemption or renewal, they serve as important new opportunities. On his second ZOHO release, Second Chance presents an exciting blend of Latin-flavored music, drawing on influences ranging from Brazilian and Colombian idioms to elements of Afro-Cuban rhythms, in a vibrant frame of Latin jazz. Penned for wife Amparo, Second Chance has many meanings, the from personal to the second chances we all have ...

Hector Martignon: Refugee

by Ralph A. Miriello
August 25, 2007

In listening to pianist/vocalist Hector Martignon's Refugee, I was immediately attracted to his notable sidemen, including Richard Bona, Kenny Baron, Eddie Gomez and Jeff “Tain Watts. Martignon obviously has the chops, and so the only question is if his music is compelling enough to carry off an album as a leader. He has done so admirably.The title song is a hard-driving tour de force, with a deeply grounded bass line from accomplished Cameroonian virtuoso Bona. With the bottom ...

Hector Martignon: Refugee

by C. Michael Bailey
May 26, 2007

Native Columbian Pianist Hector Martignon closes his liner notes to Refugee thusly:

“Although I play the acoustic and electric pianos in all tunes...I prefer the role I almost instinctively adopted, paraphrasing Auguste Rodin: provide boulders of marble of distinctive shapes and sizes to a group of sculptors and then collectively carve out the most beautiful shapes imprisoned inside those rocks.

Not having read these words before listening to the disc, the thought struck me that Martignon, like Ellington with “Concertos ...

Hector Martignon: Refugee

by Jerry D'Souza
May 25, 2007

Pianist Hector Martignon gathers together the musicians who played as Foreign Affair for this, his third recording as leader. The group began as an acoustic trio before going the electric route in 1998. Besides the two recordings, Portrait in Black and White (Candid, 1996) and The Foreign Affair (Candid, 2000), there were tours and concerts. Martignon thus collected a wealth of musicians over the years.

Martignon wrote the music with one or more of the featured musicians in mind. Two ...