Grammy-nominated pianist and composer Manuel Valera (Paquito D’Rivera, Arturo Sandoval, Steve Smith) hails from Cuba and is an integral part of the New York City’s vibrant music scene. ‘Distancia’ is the second album from his New Cuban Express Big Band, a spirited ensemble that fuses the music of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil to forge innovative sounds and textures.
The album draws upon searing personal experiences – going through personal loss, and having to pick up the pieces to move forward. Valera uses the broad palette of the big band to express a wide range of moods and emotions. From the haunting “From Afar,” to the buoyant “Expectativas”, and the fiery “Gemini,” the writing is dynamic and varied and the ensemble brings out the nuances with both grace and gusto.
The band features some of New York’s best creative musicians, including vocalists Camila Meza and Bogna Kicińska as well as standout soloists Charles Pillow, Remy Le Beouf, and Mike Fahie. Produced by Kabir Sehgal (Chucho Valdés, Arturo O'Farrill) and Doug Davis (Brian Lynch, John Daversa), Manuel Valera presents a very personal album of engaging contemporary big band jazz.
1. Expectativas
2. Gemini
3. From Afar
4. Pathways
5. From The Ashes
6. Impressionistic Romance
7. Distancia
8. Remembered
Personnel:
VOICE
Camila Meza, voice (3, 4)
Bogna Kicińska, voice (7)
TRUMPETS
Brian Pareschi (lead)
Michael Rodriguez (3, 5, 6, 8)
Stuart Mack (on all except 5 & 8)
David Smith
Alex Norris (on all except 3 & 6)
SAXES
Michael Thomas, alto sax, soprano sax & flute
Roman Filiu, alto sax & flute (3, 5, 6, 8)
Remy LeBoeuf, alto sax & flute (1, 2, 4, 7)
Joel Frahm, tenor saxophone (3, 5, 6, 8)
Jeremy Powell, tenor saxophone, clarinet (1, 2, 4, 7)
Andrew Gutauskas, baritone saxophone & bass clarinet
TROMBONES
Matt Macdonald (lead)
John Yao (3, 5, 6, 8)
Mike Fahie (1, 2, 4, 7)
Andy Clausen (3, 5, 6, 8)
Sam Blakeslee (1, 2, 4, 7)
Jeff Nelson, bass trombone
RHYTHM SECTION
Manuel Valera, piano
Alex Goodman, guitar
Ricky Rodriguez, bass (3, 5, 6, 8)
Hamish Smith, bass (1, 2, 4, 7)
Jimmy Macbride, drums
Samuel Torres, percussion
Production Credits
Executive Producer: Dave Douglas
Producer: Kabir Sehgal, Doug Davis, & Manuel Valera
Recorded at Orange Sheep Studios on December 8 & 9, 2019 and Oct 1 & 9, 2020
Recording engineer: Chris Berham
Mixing and mastering engineer: Oscar Autie
All compositions by Manuel Valera (ValeraMusic / ASCAP)
Jazz Avenue 1 is proud to announce the August 20, 2021 release of Freedom Jazz Dance by veteran bassist Leon Lee Dorsey, drummer extraordinaire Mike Clark and brilliant Cuban-born pianist Manuel Valera. Dedicated to the late Puerto Rican-born piano master Hilton Ruiz, whom Dorsey regularly played with in his last years (appearing on 2004’s A New York Story and 2005’s Steppin’ with T.P., the pianist’s dedication to his own mentor, Tito Puente), this collection of eight tunes highlights that same kind of bilingual musical aesthetic that Ruiz embraced throughout his amazing career.
Freedom Jazz Dance is the fourth collaboration between Dorsey and Clark for Dorsey’s Jazz Avenue 1 label. While each outing has featured a different third guest, the rhythmic hookup between Dorsey and Clark has underscored those recordings. Beginning with 2019’s Monk Time (with guitarist Greg Skaff) and continuing with 2020’s Play Sgt. Pepper (with pianist Michael Wolff) and 2021’s Thank You Mr. Mabern (featuring the late, great hard bop pianist Harold Mabern), this uncommonly flexible rhythm tandem has set a benchmark for conversational playing together.
Special guest on their fourth outing, Freedom Jazz Dance, is the astounding Manuel Valera. A free-spirited musician with command of multiple idioms, the Havana native was originally a saxophonist before switching full-time to piano after moving to New York City in 2000 to study at The New School. Valera debuted as a leader with 2004’s Forma Nueva and to date has racked up 13 albums as a leader. A chopsmeister of the highest order, in the tradition of fellow countryman Gonzalo Rubalcaba, he is as conversant in bebop as he is in Cuban son and danzón, as hip to Bud Powell as Arsenio Rodriguez. And with Dorsey and Clark holding it down, he shines on Freedom Jazz Dance.
They kick it off with an exploration of Eddie Harris’ “Freedom Jazz Dance.” Fueled by Clark’s loosely interactive touch, signature bounce on the snare and precision fills on the kit, this open-ended interpretation allows for some daring harmonic and rhythmic extrapolations by Valera while Dorsey holds it down with his deep-toned funky pulse. Clark brings it down behind Dorsey’s solo, playing softer but no less busy, a la Billy Higgins, as Valera alternates between Herbie-esque comping and hypnotic son montuno grooving.
Dorsey’s gentle “Baptism” is underscored by Clark’s understated yet eminently hip approach on the kit while Valera joins the conversation with flowing lyricism on the keys. Valera then brings the requisite gospel feel to Hilton Ruiz’s boogaloo, “Home Cookin’,” a tune previously recorded with a more pronounced Latin feel on the pianist’s 1987 album, Something Grand, and also on 1992’s Manhattan Mambos. Clark puts up an old school backbeat on this funky number, reminiscent of Wes Montgomery’s “Road Song,” while Valera blows with funky abandon on his solo. Midway through, it shifts to mid tempo swing mode with Clark injecting a persuasive spang-a-lang on the ride cymbal and Dorsey walking insistently, inspiring Valera to different directions in his solo, before the piece returns to the funky theme.
Dorsey’s gorgeous ballad “Until the End of Time” showcases the trio at its most sensitive, with Clark providing zen-like brushwork and Valera showing graceful restraint. Radically switching gears, they jump into an exhilarating Afro-Cuban reading of the standard “Autumn Leaves,” which again shifts midway through from 12/8 to a swinging 4/4 uptempo groove fueled by Dorsey and Clark. Valera channels his inner Bud Powell on this swing section before the tune returns to entrancing 12/8 mode, ultimately shifting back and forth between worlds on this bilingual rendering.
Dorsey’s bass carries the melody upfront on a gentle rubato exploration of Jobim’s “How Insensitive” before the trio segues to an alluring bossa nova groove at the 1:14 mark. Dorsey’s solo on this hauntingly beautiful Jobim staple is pure joy. The trio then swings with a vengeance on Ruiz’s hard driving “New Arrival” (which appeared on the pianist’s 2005 album Steppin’ with T.P. and itself is an updating of his tune “Arrival” from 1991’s Piano Man with Buster Williams and Billy Higgins.) Valera breaks out his Chick Corea-Bud Powell chops on this uptempo burner while Clark also turns in an extended show-stopping solo at the three-minute mark.
The collection closes on a relaxed note with Dorsey’s Monk-ish blues “Chillin’.” With the bassist walking in old school Leroy Vinnegar fashion and Clark laying back on the kit, Valera takes harmonic and rhythmic liberties here, alluding to Monk’s “Epistrophy” along the way.
While the individual virtuosity of Dorsey, Clark and Valera is undeniable throughout Freedom Jazz Dance, it’s their irrepressible chemistry that wins over listeners. It’s a classic example where the sum of the parts is greater than the whole.
Live at Diese Onze was recorded in April/2019 in the beautiful Montreal Club, Diese Onze. Manuel Valera's trio is composed of Hans Glawischnig and Clarence Penn. the CD features nine originals and standard performed. The performance is kinetic, and the connection between these three artist is unavoidable. Some tracks have intricate arrangements while others offer very organic and interactive versions of some of jazz's most beloved works such as Whisper Not, Darn That Dream and But Not for me.
1. Rhythm-A-Ning 07:55
2. Whisper Not 08:55
3. Tres Palabras 08:16
4. Evidence 07:06
5. Ballade 07:48
6. But Not For Me 05:42
7. Darn That Dream 06:39
8. Searching 08:03
9. What Is This Thing Called Love 08:21
Manuel Valera (piano)
Hans Glawischnig (bass)
Clarence Penn (drums)
Recorded Live at Diese Onze in Montreal, Canada on April/2019
Is the latest commissioned piece by pianist and composer Manuel Valera. Commissioned by Chamber Music America/Doris Duke 2017 New Jazz Works program, the piece uses the solar system as inspiration and it’s harmonically and melodically based on Nicolas Slonimsky’s Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns. Each part of the suite aims at an impressionistic characterization of the astronomical qualities of each planet. In addition, Greek mythology’s gods (and Roman counterparts) particular energy and connection to the planets were also an inspiration in the process. i.e. Mars: The God of War, Jupiter: The God of the Sky. People have been looking at the planets and stars for millennia. The planets in many ways hold the secrets to the things that we here in earth are forever curious about. Such as the big bang theory and many other elements of our history. The mystery of what we know and don’t know about the planets is one of the inspirations for the piece and by using and developing the material from Slonimsky’s Thesaurus, Valera creates harmonic and melodic sequences that have as much in common with Arnold Schonberg as they do with John Coltrane’s compositions. Slonimsky’s book has been a source of influence for composers such as Coltrane, Allan Holdsworth and Frank Zappa. Valera has been working and developing the concepts from the Theausrus from the past 15 years in New York and The Planets marks a new period in Valera’s deepening and never-ending studying and understanding of Slonimsky’s masterpiece. — Manuel Valera
WAW-NYC project is a unique fusion of various personalities, which links two distant cities with the power of music of their jazz representatives. Compositions are created specially on this occasion and give experienced improvisers an opportunity to interact while playing music together, where European harmonic concept mixes with the culture of rhythm from the birthplace of jazz and Cuban zeal. WAW-NYC is a premiere project of Marek Napiórkowski, in which, through music, dynamically developing Warsaw encounters New York - vibrant capital of jazz and modern art.
Was there a closet ‘renaissance man’ just waiting to jump out of Manuel Valera? Probably so, but although his recording of The Seasons references Vivaldi’s eternal series of four concerti making up The Four Seasons there is little to link the two works other than the title of Valera’s suite. This centrepiece of the recording is a series of four single-movement pieces and Manuel Valera’s playing is spirited and eloquently ornamented and serves its referenced mentor well. It ends there, however. “The Seasons” is a dark suite where the composer (and performer/pianist and his trio) visits several states of mind that change from expectation then hopeful, melancholic and finally foreboding, capturing the mood of the times, as it were, in the Americas and, indeed, the world. As such it is not only the single most ambitious work by Manuel Valera, but certainly his most breathtaking performance. Within the framework of The Seasons are seven other pieces of varying mood and scale. Not all of them are composed by Manuel Valera, but they all signify changing times in the life and times of the pianist. Valera has always seemed to lean into the idiom of Jazz as he sought to forge the distinctive of his own. In his idiosyncratic and exploratory style his music has become thematically more challenging and boldly expressive, slipping the Afro-Cuban mooring ever so gently with each new recording. At its heart his music will always retain that cultural topography but now Manuel Valera seems less beholden to inner clave. This ‘breaking free’ to express himself may lead him back to his roots at any time; who can tell? For now, however Valera is putting on another skin. And he does wear this one rather well. There is an easy swing in all of the work on The Seasons. It is clear from the ever-so-spritely song, “Opening” that this music is going to demand the listener’s undivided attention. Turn away and you might miss something extraordinary. With characteristically expressive pianism, Manuel Valera reveals a profoundly thoughtful side to his music. “In the Eye of the Beholder”, for instance, is framed with rhapsodic harmonic and rhythmic elements around which the riveting expressiveness of the melody takes flight. “Tres Palabras”, the only Cuban song is at once dreamy, yet crisply modern, complex yet rich in space and silence. In dramatic contrast is movement IV of “The Seasons – Winter”, in which there is an almost unbearable, icy tenderness that leads, in turn, to “What is This Thing Called Love”, a perfect vehicle to set up the album finale, Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”. In solo performances there is absolutely no room for error and this is much the same with duos and trios. However, Manuel Valera has assembled two extraordinary virtuoso players: Hans Glawischnig on bass and E.J Strickland on drums. Both musicians deliver harmony and rhythm with relaxed grace and total lack of vanity; for they are musicians who just happen to play bass and drums respectively. And while both Glawischnig and Strickland are dazzling virtuosos they conjure tonal colours and expression through eye-popping articulation and deeply-felt emotion. It’s almost impossible to think how this performance would have sounded with other musicians on board and it is fortunate, indeed, that this is not the case.
For Gene, a serious musical journey is always undertaken against the backdrop of the theater of the absurd, whether the musician knows it or not; in it, the quest for meaning is replaced by contentment in the artistic pursuit of beauty.
For Gene, a serious musical journey is always undertaken against the backdrop of the theater of the absurd, whether the musician knows it or not; in it, the quest for meaning is replaced by contentment in the artistic pursuit of beauty. In the tradition of aesthetics, the profound power of beauty saves us from our own despair. In the Japanese bushido way, the pursuit for unattainable beauty and perfection brings balance to life.
Seeking his own expression of beauty, Gene was joined by kindred hearts and minds. He says, “A great team of musicians came through for the music. I think in this third record together, this is the best work for Thana Alexa and me as Fractal Attraction’s frontline. Our collaboration has grown tighter over the years, as she has gotten to know my music.Cuban pianist, Manuel Valera did a great job. It was my first time working with him. Yasushi Nakamura is one of the best bass players I’ve heard. And of course, Clarence Penn is one of the best drummers in the international jazz scene.”
CD DESCRIPTION
By Travis Rogers
What they have created together, in their own musical heroes’ quest, is a work of sincere expression. The individual movements are magnificent, this is a coherent and wonderful Jazz Opera. Just wonderful.
• Out of the Ashes: the first sound in the album is Thana Alexa’s voice. Gene’s guitar is the sound of resurrection soaring from destruction as Manuel Valera’s piano speaks of reconstruction. It is the rapprochement with life in the absence of meaning.
• Circe's Compassion: Circe, the devastatingly beautiful goddess-enchantress, eventually helps Odysseus after her defeat to him. It is the compassion of friends and foes that guides Odysseus through his journey.
• Jade Stones: Jade, the “blessing stone,” offers benefits to whatever it touches. It has been used as a sacrifice to nature gods and even carved into musical instruments. Jade also symbolizes the wisdom gathered from a peaceful life, allowing us to see ourselves as we really are.
• Kunai: Originally, kunai were farming tools that were soon transformed into weapons. It is most known as weapon of choice for the Japanese Ninjas and Shinobis. A defensive weapon rather than offensive, here the music defends the musicians moving forward into the Gate.
• Torii: A torii is a traditional gate into a Shinto shrine, the portal from to the sacred from the profane. Passing through the torii, however, does not change the view, as it is an open archway, making the difference between the spiritual and the material worlds at best an illusion and, at worst, a lie.
• Forkball (for Ornette): A marvelous elegy and tribute to the life and work of Ornette Coleman, who may have understood these things better than any of us.
• Déjala Que Pase: As a product of Gene spending extended periods in Spain, more recently in San Jose, he has fallen under the influence of Spanish music. Let things pass. It is the moment of realization, no longer looking for an answer.
• Upward and Onward!: After recognition, Gene forsakes the options of escaping existence and leap of faith. Instead, in the most amazing choice of all, he chooses beauty. This is Aristotle’s ascent.
Hope and meaning may be beyond our reach. Stop and hear Gene, Thana, Manuel, Yasushi, and Clarence, making absurdity lose its sting to the sheer joy of beautiful music.
Track Names and Times and Composer:
1. Out of the Ashes 9:45 Gene Ess
2. Circe’s Compassion 8:35 Gene Ess
3. Jade Stones 5:52 music by Gene Ess, lyrics by Thana Alexa
4. Kunai 5:49 Gene Ess
5. Torii (The Gate) 8:58 Gene Ess
6. Forkball 5:03 Gene Ess
7. Déjala Que Pase 6:37 music Gene Ess, lyrics Thana Alexa
