Thursday, September 20, 2018

Kulu Sé Mama - Nécessaire de Voyage (DODICILUNE / IRD September 21, 2018))

Prodotto dall'etichetta pugliese Dodicilune con il sostegno di Puglia Sounds Record, venerdi 21 settembre esce - distribuito in Italia e all’estero da Ird e nei migliori store online da Believe Digital - "Nécessaire de Voyage" il nuovo lavoro discografico del gruppo Kulu Sé Mama composto da Gabriele Rampino (sassofoni, sound design), Maurizio Bizzochetti, (chitarre), Maurizio Ripa (pianoforte), Maurizio Manca (basso), Daniele Bonazzi (batteria). Le composizioni sono tutte originali a firma del sassofonista e del pianista, gli arrangiamenti invece sono firmati dall'intero gruppo.

Il progetto sarà presentato ufficialmente in concerto lo stesso 21 settembre presso il Teatro Paisiello di Lecce.

Nécessaire de Voyage" è il titolo del primo lavoro discografico del quintetto Kulu Sé Mama. Il disco, prodotto dall'etichetta salentina Dodicilune con il sostegno di Puglia Sounds Record 2018 e distribuito in Italia e all’estero da Ird e nei migliori store online da Believe Digital, sarà presentato venerdì 21 settembre (ore 21 - ingresso 8 euro - 15 euro incluso cd), nel giorno dell'uscita ufficiale, al Teatro Paisiello di Lecce. Sul palco Gabriele Rampino (sax tenore e soprano, sound design), Maurizio Bizzochetti (chitarre), Maurizio Ripa (piano), Maurizio Manca (basso elettrico) e Daniele Bonazzi (batteria) proporranno i brani originali (firmati da Rampino e Ripa e arrangiati dal gruppo) contenuti nel disco. Una parte dell'incasso sarà devoluto alle attività dell'Associazione Ambarabà di Carmiano.

"Legato in origine all'avanguardia e al panafricanismo post-coltraniano, il progetto muove verso territori non ignari di un certo suono elettrico, protofusion, ma con un linguaggio influenzato dalla modernità. Spacejazz, ritmi dispari, traiettorie improvvise, animo prog. Mantiene in sé qualcosa di trascendente e un carattere di ritualità, un qualcosa di ancestrale. Kulu Sé Mama è un gruppo nel senso storico del termine, laddove l'unità di intenti corrisponde ad un suono coeso."

Nato negli ultimi '80 da un'idea di Matteo Alemanno, Maurizio Bizzochetti, Fabrizio M. Coppola, Gabriele Rampino e Gennaro Rogges, il gruppo è stato un cantiere di lavoro, un laboratorio di idee che ha ospitato musicisti come (in ordine più o meno cronologico) Filippo Preite, Patrizia Gorgoni, Daniele Bonazzi, Fausto Alimeni, Nando Mancarella, Gabriele Sebaste, Giampiero Perniola, Maurizio Ripa. E molti altri, sino alla sua formazione attuale, anche essa aperta e variabile. È stato tra i riferimenti del Fez, vero e proprio fenomeno culturale in Puglia nei primi anni '90, animato da Nicola Conte e Maurizio Macrì. Dopo quasi trent'anni arriva il disco d'esordio "Nécessaire de Voyage", sostenuto da Puglia Sounds Record 2018 (Regione Puglia - Fsc 2014/2020 - Patto per la Puglia - Investiamo nel vostro futuro).


A jazz group originally linked to the avant-garde and to the post-Coltranean Africanism, then moves towards territories not unaware of a certain electric sound, fusion style, but with a language influenced by modernity. Spacejazz, odd rhythms, sudden trajectories, a prog soul. It maintains something transcendent and a character of ritual, something ancestral. Group in the historical sense of the term, where the unity of intent corresponds to a cohesive sound.



1 Wind on my Wings
2 Answerless Questions
3 Mimesis / Nemesis 
4 The Magician Whistler
5 Endless Mirrors
6 To the Forgotten
7 They say it’s a Ballad

RECORDING DATA 
Produced by Dodicilune (www.dodicilune.it)
Label manager Maurizio Bizzochetti
Recorded 11, 12 May 2018 by Tommy Cavalieri at Studio Sorriso, Bari, Italy
Mixed and mastered 21 June 2018 by Tommy Cavalieri at Studio Sorriso, Bari, Italy
Photos by Giacomo Rosato, Antonio Leo
Photo shoot courtesy of Cantina Moros, Guagnano (Le), Italy www.claudioquarta.it
Contact: www.facebook.com/kuluSeMamaBand/

Nicola Cristante - Koan (DODICILUNE / IRD)

Prodotto dall'etichetta pugliese Dodicilune, martedì 18 settembre esce - distribuito in Italia e all’estero da Ird e nei migliori store online da Believe Digital - "Koan" di Nicola Cristante. Nel disco il chitarrista e compositore è affiancato da Daniele Vianello al basso e Max Trabucco alla batteria e, in alcuni brani, dal trombettista David Boato e dal pianista Matteo Alfonso. Il disco propone cinque brani originali (Kalalombra, Koan, Coacamoma, Fried Chicken e Giant Jumps) e le riletture di Out Of Nowhere di Johnny Green ed Edward Heyman e Speak Low di Kurt Weil e Ogden Nash.

“Ho scelto Koan come titolo di questo album, per via dell’apertura ai vari significati che questo termine della filosofia zen contiene, ognuno dei quali si ricongiunge in modo profondo alle misteriose ragioni dell’esistenza", sottolinea Cristante. "Come il mistero che ci spinge a fare musica e a condividerne le emozioni che suscita in noi con chi ascolta, nella necessità di comunicare, come un Koan, ciò che alberga nel profondo del nostro essere”. 

Nicola Cristante inizia giovanissimo l’attività musicale in formazioni rock-blues. Dopo questa esperienza esplora altri generi (funk, R&B, reggae, musica latina, bossa nova) per approdare infine al jazz. Durante la sua carriera ha avuto modo di suonare con Thys Van Leer (Focus) Allan Zavod (pianista di Frank Zappa) Ron Savage, John Stowell, Eliot Zigmund, Pietro Tonolo, Marc Abrams, Jimmy Weinstein, Danilo Gallo, David Boato e molti altri. Ha partecipato a festival internazionali e nazionali, svolge attività didattica in scuole pubbliche e private  e scrive su rubriche di settore. Ha collaborato per molti anni come compositore e arrangiatore con l’autore Maurizio Piccoli (Mia Martini, Ornella Vanoni, Loredana Bertè, Fiorella Mannoia) e con la Warner Bros Italia. Negli ultimi 12 anni è parte del quartetto stabile del “Venice Jazz Club”.

L’etichetta Dodicilune è attiva dal 1996. Dispone di un catalogo di quasi 250 produzioni di artisti italiani e stranieri ed è distribuita in Itali a e all'estero da IRD in circa 400 punti vendita tra negozi di dischi e store. I dischi Dodicilune possono essere acquistati anche online, ascoltati e scaricati su una cinquantina tra le maggiori piattaforme del mondo.


Nicola Cristante - guitar
Daniele Vianello - bass
Max Trabucco - drums

featuring
David Boato - trumpet (1, 2, 3, 5, 7)
Matteo Alfonso - piano (5)

1 - Kalalombra
2 - Koan
3 - Coacamoma
4 - Fried Chicken
5 - Giant Jumps
6 - Out Of Nowhere
7 - Speak Low

All compositions by Nicola Cristante (Dodicilune edizioni)
except 6 by Johnny Green/Edward Heyman, 7 by Kurt Weil/Ogden Nash

RECORDING DATA
Produced by Nicola Cristante and Gabriele Rampino for Dodicilune edizioni, Italy
Label manager Maurizio Bizzochetti (www.dodicilune.it)
Recorded 28 February 2017 by Stefano Amerio at Artesuono, Cavalicco (Ud), Italy
Mixed and mastered by Stefano Amerio at Artesuono, Cavalicco (Ud), Italy
Cover photo c R_Szatkowski  
Back photo by Marco Cenedret
Photos by Nicola Cristante

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Mark Godfrey - Prologue (September 28, 2018)


Prologue is the first release from Canadian bassist, Mark Godfrey. An EP consisting of four compositions and one solo piece, the album features fellow Toronto-based musicians Allison Au on alto saxophone, Chris Pruden on piano, and Nick Fraser on drums. This release is an introduction to Mark's work as a composer and bandleader. Venturing away from his role as co-leader and bassist in the contemporary jazz group, Pram Trio, Prologue encapsulates Mark's new direction as an artist. 

This EP is about transitions. Prologue delves into the experience of leaving what is familiar and returning to discover that something left behind was more important than you realized. 

Since 2016, this quartet has been performing live concerts exclusively in Toronto. Prologue was recorded within months of the ensemble's first few shows and gives listeners a raw look into their early development. The music on this EP was inspired by and pays homage to the African-American jazz tradition, rhythmic concepts from South America, and Western Classical melody and harmony. 

For nearly two years, the music of Prologue was shelved as Mark debated releasing it as an EP or as part of a full-length album. As the group performed more frequently in 2017, it became clear that there was a shift from the music documented during the 2016 session at Inception Sound Studios. Nevertheless, in January 2018, Mark decided that he would revisit the recordings and release them later that fall. With the help of engineer David Hermiston, Prologue was completed in August 2018. 

This album is acoustic-instrumental jazz. Dig in and enjoy where the compositions and improvisations take you.



Mark Godfrey - Double Bass and Compositions
Allison Au - Alto Saxophone
Chris Pruden - Piano
Nick Fraser - Drums

Recorded September 23rd, 2016 at Inception Sound Studios in Toronto, Canada.

Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by David Hermiston.

1. Prologue
2. Scott's Garden (Let Us Not Tarry)
3. La Lucha
4. Departure
5. Closing Remarks

Brad Dutz & Dr. Rich Macdonald - Duo-Gation Tacticts (October 1, 2018)


Brad Dutz has parlayed impeccable musicianship, and natural collegiality into an evolving musical micro-community, equally at home in improvisational genres from rhythmically propulsive jazz to sonically adventuresome post-serial explorations, traversing a spectrum of traditional and graphic notations, additionally rooted in world music for percussion, winds and strings from every continent.

This is a percussion duet by two 35 yr veterans of our rhythmic world featuring many different instruments and styles and a lot of improvisation.

The massive variety of composition includes- Pandeiro, cymbals, drums congas, hybrid kits, marimba, vibes, Morfbeats metal instruments, Thai gongs,and more.

Brad Dutz

Dr. Rich Macdonald, percussion
Brett Huus, engineer

1. Beemedeegation tactics 04:38
2. Steel Struggle #1 01:12
3. Live Fowl Juggler 07:50
4. Tentative Tin 00:59
5. Smackety Doo 04:24
6. Copper Comedy 01:55
7. Roll Tactics 04:21
8. Lonely Led 02:06
9. Well You Needn't 05:00
10. Biological Brass 01:20
11. Pash Ping Sploo 05:58
12. Active Aluminum 00:53
13. Bling Blang Bo Biff 03:48
14. Bronze Blazing 01:12
15. Swinging Bones Metrics 07:02
16. Mixing Metals 02:06
17. Sklor Bee Doo 04:38
18. Guarapachangueo 05:20
19. Dorf Hemanah Ghee 03:01

Shai Maestro / Jorge Roeder / Ofri Nehemya - The Dream Thief (ECM September 28, 2018)


The first ECM leader date for Shai Maestro (following his label debut with Theo Bleckmann on Elegy) features the gifted pianist fronting his superlative trio with fellow Israeli Ofri Nehemya on drums and Peruvian bassist Jorge Roeder, and also playing alone. A solo interpretation of Matti Caspi’s “My Second Childhood” opens the curtain on a programme of characteristically thoughtful Maestro originals, each one with a story to tell.  “Hearing the Shai Maestro Trio is like awakening to a new world”, All About Jazz has suggested. “Expressions of joy, introspective thoughts and heightened intensity all come to the fore.” Maestro’s differentiated touch is special; he can convey a range of fleeting emotions in a single phrase. A deconstruction of “These Foolish Things”, the album’s sole standard, serves as a prelude to “What Else Needs To Happen”, a sombre meditation on inner city violence and its aftermath.  The Dream Thief was recorded at Lugano’s Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI in April 2018, and produced by Manfred Eicher, and issued on the eve of a European tour with concerts in Spain, Germany, Netherlands,  Sweden, Belgium, Italy, France, and Switzerland.


Shai Maestro, Piano
Jorge Roeder, Double Bass
Ofri Nehemya, Drums

1 MY SECOND CHILDHOOD (Matti Caspi) 04:39
2 THE FORGOTTEN VILLAGE (Shai Maestro) 06:21
3 THE DREAM THIEF (Shai Maestro) 08:29
4 A MOON'S TALE (Shai Maestro) 02:36
5 LIFELINE (Shai Maestro) 03:54
6 CHORAL (Shai Maestro) 03:50
7 NEW RIVER, NEW WATER (Shai Maestro) 06:59
8 THESE FOOLISH THINGS (REMIND ME OF YOU) (Jack Strachey) 04:24
9 WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO HAPPEN? (Shai Maestro) 06:56

Danish String Quartet - Prism I (ECM RECORDS 2018)


For its third ECM release, the prize-winning Danish String Quartet inaugurates a series of five albums with the overarching title of Prism, in which the group will present one of Beethoven’s late string quartets in the context of a related fugue by J.S. Bach as well as a linked masterwork from the quartet literature. With Prism 1, it’s the first of Beethoven’s late quartets, op. 127 in E-flat Major, alongside Bach’s fugue in the same key (arranged by Mozart) and Dmitri Shostakovich’s final string quartet, the No. 15 in E-flat minor.


Danish String Quartet
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, Violin
Frederik Øland, Violin
Asbjørn Nørgaard, Viola
Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, Violoncello

TRACKLIST

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH - THE WELL-TEMPERED PIANO
1 Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 876 (arr. Mozart) 02:02

DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH - QUARTET NO. 15 IN E-FLAT MINOR, OP. 144
2 Elegy. Adagio 13:27
3 Serenade. Adagio 06:11
4 Intermezzo. Adagio 01:36
5 Nocturne. Adagio 04:23
6 Funeral March. Adagio molto 05:03
7 Epilogue. Adagio 06:49

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN - QUARTET NO.12 IN E-FLAT MAJOR, OP. 127
8 Maestoso – Allegro 06:45
9 Adagio, ma non troppo e molto cantabile 16:23
10 Scherzo. Vivace 08:24
11 Finale. Allegro 07:06

Mark Turner / Ethan Iverson - Temporary Kings (ECM 2018)


With Temporary Kings two of the most distinct voices on today’s jazz scene present their debut on record as a duo: Engaging in inspired dialogue Mark Turner and Ethan Iverson here explore aesthetic common ground in the atmosphere of a modernist chamber music-like setting at the Auditorio Stelio Molo RSI, Lugano. The saxophonist and the pianist had begun their association in the Billy Hart Quartet, where the two players featured sympathetically on two ECM albums by that band. The new duo album now contains six originals by Iverson (among them the nostalgic solo tune “Yesterday’s Bouquet”) and two by Turner (including “Myron’s World,” which has acquired near-classic status among contemporary jazz players). There’s an off-kilter blues (“Unclaimed Freight”) and a strikingly melodic, almost Ravelian opening track dedicated to the town where the album was recorded under ideal sonic conditions (“Lugano”), plus an interpretation of Warne Marsh’s playfully serpentine “Dixie’s Dilemma.”


Mark Turner, Tenor Saxophone
Ethan Iverson, Piano

1 LUGANO (Ethan Iverson) 05:00
2 TEMPORARY KINGS (Ethan Iverson) 05:44
3 TURNER?S CHAMBER OF UNLIKELY DELIGHTS (Ethan Iverson) 05:54
4 DIXIE'S DILEMMA (Warne Marsh) 06:00
5 YESTERDAY'S BOUQUET (Ethan Iverson) 04:44
6 UNCLAIMED FREIGHT (Ethan Iverson) 06:49
7 MYRON'S WORLD (Mark Turner) 07:15
8 THIRD FAMILIAR (Ethan Iverson) 04:24
9 SEVEN POINTS (Mark Turner) 07:54

Marcin Wasilewski Trio - Live (ECM 2018)


For years, fans of Poland’s Marcin Wasilewski Trio have been asking for a live album. Here it is. Recorded at the Jazz Middelheim Festival in Antwerp, Belgium, in August 2016, it captures the trio in energetic, extroverted mode, fanning the flames of their Spark of Life repertoire and drawing on the deep understanding Marcin Wasilewski, Slawomir Kurkiewicz and Michal Miskiewicz have established in the course of a quarter century of shared musical endeavour. As UK magazine Jazz Journal has noted, “Wasilewski’s music celebrates a vast dynamic range, from the most deftly struck pianistic delicacies to gloriously intense emotional exuberance, the chords pounded with unrestrained joy, yet always within a marvellously melodic concept.”


Marcin Wasilewski, Piano
Slawomir Kurkiewicz, Double Bass
Michal Miskiewicz, Drums

1 SPARK OF LIFE / SUDOVIAN DANCE (Marcin Wasilewski) 12:29
2 MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE (Sting – G.M. Sumner) 10:43
3 THREE REFLECTIONS (Marcin Wasilewski) 09:13
4 NIGHT TRAIN TO YOU (Marcin Wasilewski) 13:32
5 AUSTIN (Marcin Wasilewski) 07:42
6 ACTUAL PROOF (Herbie Hancock) 10:40

Barre Phillips - End To End (ECM 2018)


Barre Phillips was the first musician to record an album of solo double bass, back in 1968, and he has always been an absolute master of the solo idiom. In March 2017, Barre recorded what he says will be his last solo album, the final chapter of his “Journal Violone”: it is a beautiful and moving musical statement. All the qualities we associate with Barre’s playing are here in abundance – questing adventurousness, melodic invention, textural richness, developmental logic, and deep soulfulness. End to End was recorded at Studios-La-Buissonne in the south of France, and produced by Manfred Eicher. It is issued in both CD and LP formats.


Barre Phillips, Double Bass

TRACKLIST

BARRE PHILLIPS - QUEST
1 (Part 1) 02:38
2 (Part 2) 02:21
3 (Part 3) 03:14
4 (Part 4) 04:33
5 (Part 5) 02:36

BARRE PHILLIPS - INNER DOOR
Play 6 (Part 1) 02:35
7 (Part 2) 02:51
8 (Part 3) 02:20
9 (Part 4) 05:48

BARRE PHILLIPS - OUTER WINDOW
10 (Part 1) 02:18
11 (Part 2) 06:12
12 (Part 3) 02:43

Trygve Seim - Helsinki Songs (ECM 2018)


With its overt lyricism, strong themes and a sense of perpetual melodic invention, Norwegian saxophonist Trygve Seim’s new album quickly identifies itself as a classic-in-the-making. Themes of dedication run through Seim’s Helsinki Songs album, a set of tunes composed – for the most part – in the Finnish capital, and radiating tributes in many directions. Here are songs referencing Igor Stravinsky and Jimmy Webb, pieces dedicated to each of Seim’s gifted bandmates, and tunes that tip the hat, obliquely, to Ornette Coleman and Bill Evans. The quartet plays superbly throughout, with outstanding solos from leader Seim and pianist Kristjan Randalu. Helsinki Songs was recorded in Oslo’s Rainbow Studio in January 2018 and produced by Manfred Eicher.


Trygve Seim, Tenor and Soprano Saxophone
Kristjan Randalu, Piano
Mats Eilertsen, Double Bass
Markku Ounaskari, Drums

1 SOL'S SONG (Trygve Seim) 06:03
2 HELSINKI SONG (Trygve Seim) 07:54
3 NEW BEGINNING (Trygve Seim) 07:03
4 CIACCONA PER EMBRIK (Trygve Seim) 06:00
5 BIRTHDAY SONG (Trygve Seim) 05:59
6 SORROW MARCH (Trygve Seim) 07:52
7 NOCTURNE (Trygve Seim) 04:48
8 RANDALUSIAN FOLK SONG (Trygve Seim) 07:08
9 KATYA'S DREAM (Trygve Seim) 04:36
10 MORNING SONG (Trygve Seim) 03:42
11 YES PLEASE BOTH (Trygve Seim) 02:40

David Virelles - Igbó Alákọrin (The Singer’s Grove) Vol. I and II (PI RECORDINGS October 26, 2018)


This album was made possible by the generous support of The Shifting Foundation. Research for this project was completed thanks to The Diaz-Ayala Cuban and Latin American Popular Music Collection, Florida International University Library. 

Igbó Alákọrin (a phrase in Yoruba which can be loosely translated as The Singer’s Grove) is the realization of my dream to document the under-sung musicians of my birthplace, Santiago de Cuba. Each time I go back to visit my family, I have made it a practice to seek out and reconnect with the music's elder statesmen and women whom I grew up knowing through my parents, who are also musicians. I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to assemble for this album some of the legends, all of whom are still at the peak of their craft. Most of them are not household names and have never received recognition beyond their Santiago community, but they remain arguably amongst the last living sources of our music's golden era. The album was recorded at Santiago's E.G.R.E.M. - Siboney studios, where I grew up attending my father's late night recording sessions and also where I made some of my first record dates. The Singer’s Grove is a homecoming of sorts as it documents a collaboration with roots in family, community and culture. As I strive to make original music that is equal parts folk and contemporary expressions, this is another step in my pursuit to understand the essence of music, beyond styles or vocabularies.


Volume I - David Virelles Introduces Orquesta Luz de Oriente 

The picturesque southeastern Cuban town of Santiago has historically been considered an important breeding ground for music on the island. Volume I encompasses genres/styles associated with key figures of the rich musical legacy of the city: danzón Oriental, chepinsón, pregón, bolero and trova. In compiling this material, I received the blessing and guidance of Enrique Bonne, a world-renowned composer whose work has been recorded by a who’s who of Cuban music giants. Most of this volume was conceived for a big band of seasoned veterans. Visionary Santiago musicians Electo Rosell (Chepín) and Mariano Mercerón pioneered the big band sound propelled by Cuban percussion in the 1930s. Their work was inspired by African- American groups, yet kept very profound connections to folklore native to this part of Cuba.

The Oriente region is home to son, changüí, nengón, conga, as well as traditions inherited from Haiti. The legendary Chepín-Chovén Orchestra was the brainchild of Chepín and the outstanding yet obscure pianist Bernardo Chauvín (Chovén), whose pianistic style is referenced on our renditions of Chepín classics. In their heyday, the Chepín-Chovén Orchestra was a fixture at many venues, including the sociedad de mulatos Luz de Oriente. This long-vanished society club, which was located in a building still standing in Santiago, is the inspiration behind the name of our ensemble.

It features the voices of Emilio Despaigne Robert, a veteran sonero (lead vocalist) of Los Jubilados, one of the funkiest Santiago groups, and Alejandro Almenares, who is also featured on his sublime requinto guitar. Many consider Alejandro – the son of trova legend Ángel Almenares – the last of the old style trovadores, a lineage dating back to the 19th century with deep roots in Santiago. The younger Almenares learned his craft at informal home gatherings from his father and his father’s friends, which included the prophet Sindo Garay. Volume I spans several decades of important music from Santiago. These sounds tell the history of our people.



Vol II - Danzones de Romeu at Café La Diana 

Volume II is focused on the iconic Cuban pianist/composer Antonio María Romeu, who played his danzones on piano accompanied only by güiro starting in 1899 at the legendary Café La Diana in Havana. Romeu introduced an improvised piano solo on the montuno section of his quintessential “Tres Lindas Cubanas,” which revisits and expands Guillermo Castillo’s son of the same name. I reproduced Romeu’s solo on our interpretation of “Tres Lindas” because it is considered part of the piece, following the tradition of virtually every performance of this composition by any Cuban pianist, from Odilio Urfé to Chucho Valdés. 

On this recording I also explored specific Romeu pianistic devices. To my knowledge, there are just a few recordings that feature only piano and güiro in all of Cuba’s vast musical output. Romeu himself did various sessions in this format for Radio Cadena Suaritos from the end of the 1940s until his death in 1955, released posthumously on one LP. The other recordings documenting this rare combination are by the late piano god Frank Emilio Flynn and the magician of the güiro Gustavo Tamayo. Their stunning interpretations date from the 1960s. Romeu’s and Emilio’s albums were my primary inspiration for this volume. I was fortunate enough to meet Emilio in Havana where he was a judge for the first young musicians' competition I participated in (JoJazz), when I was 14 years old.

The master güirero on our recording is the danzón specialist Rafael Ábalos, a veteran of Oriente charangas such as Típica Juventud and Estrella De La Charanga. I first met Ábalos when I was eight years old when members of Estrella realized the beautiful idea of coaching a charanga of children in which I played piano. Ábalos has been an invaluable resource in realizing this entire project, hipping me to long forgotten recordings, providing historical context and passing on secrets of this much talked-about but forever mystical genre of Cuban music, the danzón.

David Virelles 

What a marvel! Tradition and avant-garde come together in this offering of the highest order. In my opinion, David Virelles is a young virtuoso immersed in research. He knows our African roots with depth. He is an innovator, a perfectionist, and the most creative and advanced of our jazz pianists. Thank you, David, for making us happy and proud, and for updating our traditions. Ashé! Never stop! 

Chucho Valdés


1. Bodas de Oro 04:51
2. El Rayaero
3. Grato Recuerdo
4. Echa Pa' Allá
5. Canto a Oriente
6. Un Granito de Arena
7. Sube La Loma
8. Cosas de Mi Cuba
9. Ojos de Sirena
10. Tápame Que Tengo Frío
11. Tira la Cuchara y Rompe el Plato
12. Mojito Criollo
13. Mares y Arenas
14. Tres Lindas Cubanas

Alejandro Almenares: requinto, lead vocals (3,5,8,9), chorus
Emilio Despaigne Robert: lead vocals (2,7) , chorus
Rafael Ábalos: timbal, guiro, chorus
José Ángel Martínez: bass
Lázaro Bandera: congas
Román Filiú: alto saxophone
René "La Flor" Domínguez: tenor saxophone
Baudelis Rodríguez: baritone saxophone
Abel Virelles: trumpet
José Aquiles Virelles: chorus
Gabriel Montero: pailitas criollas, claves (2,7)
— with John Benitez: bass (5,8)

Recorded March 1-7, 2017 at Estudios
Siboney - E.G.R.E.M., Santiago de Cuba
Additional recording and mixing at
The Bunker Studio, Brooklyn, NY
Producer, musical direction, arrangements,
transcriptions: David Virelles
Executive producers: Seth Rosner and Yulun Wang
Production coordinator: José Aquiles Virelles
Cultural resources: Rafael Ábalos, Alejandro
Almenares and Enrique Bonne
Engineer: Todd Carder
Assistants: Máximo Espinosa and Iván Salas
Mixed by Todd Carder and David Virelles
Mastered by Alex DeTurk at Strange Weather,
Brooklyn, NY
Piano technician: Brian Whiton
Art direction and photography: Rómulo Sans
Graphic design: Simon Grendene

Composition credits:

#1-2:  Electo Rosell (Chepín) – Peer International Corp.
#3:  Alejandro Enis Almenares Sanchez – Music Sales Corporation OBO Tumi Editorial Ltd.
#4:  Mariano Mercerón Maso – Peer International Corp.
#5:  Manuel (Manolo) Meléndez – Copyright Control
#6:  Enrique Bonne Castillo – Peer International Corp.
#7:  David Virelles – SOCAN
#8:  Ángel Almenares Guirola – Music Sales Corporation OBO Tumi Editorial Ltd.
#9:  Sindo Garay - Peer International Corp.
#10-11:  Antonio María Romeu – Copyright Control
#12:  Antonio María Romeu – Spirit Music Inc. (ASCAP) OBO Hadem Music Corp. / Copyright Control
#13:  Rosendo Ruíz and Antonio María Romeu – Peermusic III Ltd.
#14:  Antonio María Romeu – Peer International Corp.