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Manuel Valera Trio: The Seasons
by Troy Dostert
Although Manuel Valera originally staked his claim to fame as a “Latin jazz" pianist, it's fair to say that he has sought to transcend the constraints imposed by that label. On this release, the second by his trio with bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer E.J. Strickland, Valera displays just as much interest in drawing from the ...
Manuel Valera Trio: The Seasons
by Edward Blanco
Offering his twelfth recording as a leader, Grammy-nominated pianist Manuel Valera unveils a dynamic session of modern jazz on the vibrant The Seasons and follow up to Live at Firehouse 12 (MAVO Records, 2015). The album also happens to be the second date with his current working trio of jazz luminaries' bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer ...
Gene Ess: Absurdist Theater
by Jerome Wilson
On this CD guitarist Gene Ess and his group Fractal Attraction have put together an intelligent fusion of jazz, folk and rock concepts led by the glassy clarity of Ess' guitar and the calm beauty of Thana Alexa's voice. Alexa's rising and falling wordless tones are the first thing heard on the disc and they lead ...
Live at Firehouse 12
Label: Mavo Records
Released: 2015
Track listing: Spiral; Wayne; Footprints; Distancia; En Route; Intermesso Sinfonico
from Cavalleria Rusticana; Lirico; Century.
Manuel Valera & Groove Square: Urban Landscape
by C. Michael Bailey
Cuban keyboardist and composer Manuel Valera presented last with a scorching trio set Live at Firehouse 12 (Mayo Records, 2015). Acoustic and organic, Valera demonstrated is bona fides with mainstream jazz performance. Bringing drummer E.J. Strickland from that and earlier bands, Valera moves into a new project with a new band, Groove Square. He adds the ...
2015 Detroit Jazz Festival
by C. Andrew Hovan
Detroit Jazz Festival Hart Plaza Detroit, Michigan September 4-7, 2015 As the world's largest free jazz festival, Detroit's annual Labor Day offering provides a rewarding, but daunting task for anyone set to hunker down in the Motor City all Labor Day weekend. This year about 60 performances were in the offing ...
Dafnis Prieto Sextet: Triangles and Circles
by Dave Wayne
The thing that sets Latin jazz apart from other forms of jazz is that it's fundamentally a music for dance. The artists who create this music are expected to move gracefully back and forth between the worlds of jazz and salsa, sometimes in a single tune. Though it's overtly intended to get our bodies moving, Latin ...
Manuel Valera Trio: Live at Firehouse 12
by Edward Blanco
Leader of the Latin jazz-styled group New Cuban Express, New York-based, Cuban-born pianist Manuel Valera, unveils his 10th album as leader and his first recording in a live setting with the untypically non-Latin Live at Firehouse 12, his first trio format release in six years. This, very excellent trio features jazz luminaries Hans Glawischnig on bass ...
Manuel Valera Trio: Live at Firehouse 12
by C. Michael Bailey
Cuban pianist Manuel Valera readily extends the jazz language of his predecessors Bebo and Chucho Valdes. He is comfortable leading all band formats from septets (In Motion (Criss Cross, 2014) to solo performance (Self Portrait (Self Produced, 2014). Valera may presently be found fronting an exceptional trio performing Live at Firehouse 12. Orchestral ...
