Jazz Articles

Paul Carlon Octet: Roots Propaganda

by Chris M. Slawecki
November 10, 2008

"I am interested in combining all roots music," explains saxophonist, bandleader, composer, and educator Paul Carlon. “Not necessarily to make a point, but because I love it all. So I'm trying to take these disparate elements and put them into a jazz context." Carlon continues, “That was the idea behind Roots Propaganda. We need some propaganda for this kind of music."

“This kind of music" boasts a uniquely powerful and genuine Afro-Cuban spirit thanks to its percussive rhythms, ...

The Paul Carlon Octet: Roots Propaganda

by Michael P. Gladstone
October 4, 2008

For his sophomore effort as a leader, multi-reed player Paul Carlon has found quite an interesting project. Roots Propaganda retains most of the musicians from his debut, Other Tongues (Deep Tone, 2006), and also the impression that each track represents a totally different shade of Latin jazz. Although only two albums have been released, the octet has been playing together for the past six years.

Grupo Los Santos: Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea

by Michael P. Gladstone
March 18, 2008

A spirited group of Latin jazz players called Grupos Los Santos offers its brand of music on Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea, which translates to What We Are What Will Be . The title of the group could also be loosely translated to mean that they are not playing a singular type of music but bring in many elements, tempo and cultural diversities.

When “Rumba in the Bronx" begins, it is with a percussive rumba ...

Grupo Los Santos: Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea

by Ernest Barteldes
February 5, 2008

Grupo Los Santos is a New York-based group that successfully looks at Latin and Brazilian jazz from an American point of view. The result is a mixed sonic bag that allows influences from funk and East Coast jazz into the music without compromising the general sound and feel. At their CD release concert at New York's The Jazz Standard in January, 2008, they opened with “Boogie Down Broder," a tune by saxophonist Paul Carlon dedicated to the ...

Grupo Los Santos: Lo Que Somos Lo Que Sea

by David Miller
January 10, 2008

Grupo Los Santos is a unique band. Its music is Latin through and through, and yet the musicians come from varying backgrounds. Guitarist Pete Smith has played with Norah Jones, Donald Byrd and Andrew Hill; bassist Dave Ambrosio has recorded with Uzbek and Kyrgyz folk musicians; saxophonist Paul Carlon leads his own band, playing everything from straight-ahead jazz to funk; and drummer William “Beaver" Bausch rounds out the core quartet, and is probably the most experienced in Latin musics. What ...

Paul Carlon: Other Tongues

by Budd Kopman
March 27, 2007

If you are at all into Latin music in all of its rhythmic diversity, and furthermore like the fusion of that music with jazz, then you'll find saxophonist/composer Paul Carlon's Other Tongues to be a kick-ass album that will keep you moving from beginning to end while engaging the mind. To someone who values the endless surprises that jazz can bring, Latin rhythms, which, after all are names for patterns, can begin to grate from the sheer ...

The Paul Carlon Octet: Other Tongues

by Elliott Simon
December 14, 2006

Taking exceptional advantage of the octet format, tenor saxophonist Paul Carlon's sophomore effort as a leader, Other Tongues, presents his wide-ranging compositional skills in the context of a lively, Latin-based showcase. Rhumba-tap dancer Max Pollak adds additional rhythmic spice; the exceptional vocal stylings of Ileana Santamaria lend a beauty to this otherwise fairly muscular presentation. Carlon has arranged many of these pieces to highlight the powerful brass voicings that two saxophones, a trumpet and two trombones can produce. A very ...

The Paul Carlon Octet: Other Tongues

by Michael P. Gladstone
November 29, 2006

Paul Carlon's first recording as a leader of his own octet is a deceptive and intruiging portrait, as well as a highly listenable excursion into the world of the many shades of Latin jazz. Originally from upstate New York, Carlon graduated from Cornell University with a degree in English Literature in 1991 but was determined to make his mark in New York's musical world. Since then he has travelled all over the US and the Caribbean, working with a wide ...

The Paul Carlon Octet: Other Tongues

by Dan McClenaghan
October 28, 2006

On two-thirds of this masterful debut from tenor saxophonist/flutist Paul Carlon and his octet, things get deep into world rhythms, with Afro-Cuban grooves, some rhumba, a bit of cha cha, some Latin-infused Ellingtonian swing and Yoruban chants, Cuban timba, Colombian porro and Max Pollack's rumbatap (on “Rumbatapestry"), along with gorgeously lilting vocals by Ileana Santamaria (daughter of Cuban percussionist Ramon “Mongo" Santamaria) on “Rumbatapestry" and “Smada."But they also bring things up from the Caribbean with “Street Beat," featuring ...