Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Mark Levine & The Latin Tinge: Serengeti
Mark Levine & The Latin Tinge: Serengeti
By"Cha Cha Cha Para Mi Alma," a charmingly simple number, starts this recording in a relaxed, swinging style. Mark Levine leads the quartet from the piano, and he leads it well. His economical, melodic solo and the crisp ensemble play within is a microcosm of the good taste and compositional approach the band utilizes throughout the date. These aren’t "head tunes" that are vehicles for childish displays of chops, but rather separate pieces of music -small group arrangements (with intros, re-harmonizations, soli sections, vamps, and rhythmic hits) in the genre that feature the strengths of this talented and professional quartet. "A Shade of Jade," the classic Joe Henderson number, is four minutes and forty-two seconds of jazz excitement. Michael Spiro and Paul Van Wageningen get down! Swinging here, Afro-Cuban there and grooving hard throughout. "Inner Urge," the other Henderson chart on the session, sounds as if it was written for this group. Peter Barshay’s bass is featured on a neat arrangement of the melody and in an extended solo, not to mention the intricate vamp section behind the percussion solos. The recording closes with a red-hot six-eight treatment of Stanley Turrentine’s "Sugar" with fine, pointed solos from all the members of the ensemble.
As is the case with all masterpieces, you’re left wanting morejust a little bit more of this extraordinary music.
Track Listing
1. Cha Cha Cha Para Mi Alma 2. Effendi 3. Angola 4. Serengeti 5. Danzon Rio Sumida 6. A Shade Of Jade 7. Assum Branco 8. Mr. Natural 9. Inner Urge 10. Tres Palabras 11. You're My Everything 12. Sugar
Personnel
Mark Levine
pianoMichael Spiro
percussionPeter Barshay
bassPaul van Wageningen
drumsJose Luis Gomez
drumsAlbum information
Title: Serengeti | Year Released: 2001 | Record Label: Self Produced
< Previous
A Fireside Chat With Jason Moran
Comments
Tags
Mark Levine & The Latin Tinge
CD/LP/Track Review
Mark Levine
Jim Josselyn
Independent Records
United States
Serengeti