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Wayne Wallace: The Reckless Search for Beauty

By Dan McClenaghan
January 20, 2007
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San Francisco-based trombonist Wayne Wallace's first professional musician jobs were in a Top Forty group and a James Brown cover band. From there, he attended San Francisco State University, graduating with a degree in Performance. Then he traveled to Havana, Cuba to study Afro-Cuban music at the National School of Arts. His search seems more steeped in dedication than recklessness, though he's titled this release The Reckless Search for Beauty.

Wallace brings his wide-ranging experience to a vibrant set that mixes Afro-Cuban music with funk and a myriad of Latin dance styles, plus R&B shadings, a dash of pop sensibility, and, always, a superb polyrhythmic drive.

The opener, "El Duende Africano," sets the tone: insistent and brassy over multiple percussion that bubbles and pops with an infectious, danceable vibrancy. "Paso a Paso" brings Dizzy Gillespie's Latin Big Band work to mind; and Bill Withers' rhythm and blues hit "Use Me" features a saucy, picante vocal by Alexa Weber Morales, mixing English and Spanish lyrics.

Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue" gets modernized with a deep bass groove and some soaring synth work in front of a multiple-bata rhythm section and a passionate, smooth-toned lead vocal by Alexa Weber Morales again, flying over some lush vocal harmonies. Duke Ellington's "Chromatic Love Affair" is done in a more mainstream mode; Murray Lowe provides a sparkling Duke-like piano behind Wallace's beautifully laid-back trombone solo and whispering flute.

This is a "put on your dancing shoes affair" for the most part, and Wayne Wallace displays a method behind his reckless search for musical beauty.

Track Listing

El Duende Africano; Paso a Paso; Use Me; Tune Up; Rhythm & Rhyme; Chromatic Love Affair; Nadie; Obatala/AfroBlue; La Encantadora; Esta Noche; El Rio de Oro.

Personnel

Wayne Wallace

trombone

Wayne Wallace: tombone, spoken word (1); Alexa Weber Morales: vocals (1,3,5,7,8,11); John Santos: timbales bongo, bata, percussion; Michael Spiro: congas, bata, percussion; Paul Van Wageningen: trap drums; David Belove: bass; Murray Lowe: piano (1-6,8,9,10); Frank Martin: electric piano, synthesizer; David Yamasaki: guitar; Louis Fasman, John Worley: trumpet, flugelhorn; Melicio Magdaluya: saxes, flute; Ron Stallings: tenor sax. Special Guests: Ron Rollins: vocals: (3,5,8); Dave Martell: trombone (2,10); Kat Parra: vocals (1,3,5,8); Orlando Torriente: vocals (1,3,5,8); Sheryl Lynne-Wallace: vocals (1,3,8).

Album information

Title: The Reckless Search for Beauty | Year Released: 2007 | Record Label: Patois Records

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Instrument: Trombone

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