With nearly a dozen albums as a leader, Juan Carlos Quintero has established his reputation as not only a highly acclaimed guitarist, but as the owner of a successful Jazz and World music label. His first album was a 1990 self-titled recording that featured Wrecking Crew member, mentor, and friend Tommy Tedesco, who wrote about the session for his popular column in Guitar Player Magazine, thereby introducing Quintero to an international audience of guitar-playing enthusiasts. Quintero was soon a staple on NAC, World, Jazz and Smooth Jazz radio stations. JazzTimes wrote, "Quintero's acoustic and classical guitars sparkle...By virtue of imagination as well as style, Quintero clearly out-classes many of his modern Latin guitar-strumming contemporaries."
Quintero began his label, originally called Moondo Records, in 2000 to create a nurturing, supportive environment for artists. Over the ensuing decade, the label distributed and licensed music for top World Music and Jazz artists like Son De Madera, Sambaguru, Huayucaltia, Kleber Jorge, Sahnas, Marcos Ariel, Otmaro Ruiz, and Luis Villegas. The boutique label successfully distributed physical product to major retailers across the country; however, by 2010 digital distribution changed the physical retail landscape, and Quintero changed Moondo’s business model to license music directly to the entertainment media, specifically film and television.
Quintero never lost his passion to record new music and collaborate with creative artists, and in 2019 formed a distribution partnership with A-Train Entertainment and rebranded his label Moondo Music LLC to reflect the new digital distribution model. He began by releasing albums by renowned artists (Marcos Ariel, Diego Baliardo, Ricardo Silveira, Rique Pantoja) as well as his own out-of-print recordings, including the critically acclaimed Caminando in 2021, about which London Jazz News said, “The music in question is spirited, uplifting and dance-inflected and will surely have broad appeal, within and beyond the boundaries of jazz.”
The new album features Quintero’s longtime musical compatriots EDDIE RESTO/bass, JOE ROTONDI/piano, AARON SERFATY/drums, JOEY DELEON/percussion, and Quintero on electric guitar. Resto, Rotondi, and Serfaty have performed as a group with Quintero for so long, he considers them family. He had worked with DeLeon many times in other configurations and was very happy to have him join his intimate core group.
Quintero, who is known for his stylish, tasty work on the nylon string guitar, decided to record for the first time on the semi-hallow electric guitar to highlight the new direction of his music and label. Rather than focusing on the Latin repertoire, Quintero performs jazz standards, expanding the scope to include World Music as well as music from the Great American Songbook.
TABLE FOR FIVE is the first of his own albums that Quintero produced since his debut album in 1988. “Participating as a player while being responsible for all aspects of this recording was a daunting task,” says Quintero. “But my bandmates, my brothers, had my back in every way.” Although Quintero was the sole producer, the arrangements were a collaborative effort shared by the entire band. Quintero says, “We all had input in the process. We basically worked from an outline of the arrangements, improvising the music as we went. I didn’t want to over arrange the songs so much that we changed them into something completely different. I feel you need to trust the composer and honor his or her intention. The core of the music needs to survive your treatment.”
TABLE FOR FIVE comprises five jazz standards, three Latin standards, and two original compositions by Quintero. The album opens with “Alone Together” by Arthur Schwartz. The band played the tune often in live performances, but during the session switched gears, adding a bomba vamp at the end.
Quintero first heard “Mambo Balahu,” by legendary Cuban percussionist Armando Peraza, on a George Shearing record called A Latin Affair. The late Peraza spent decades with Santana, and Quintero recalls spending some enjoyable time with him several years ago. “I wish he were around to hear my take on his music” says Quintero. “The Gentle Rain,” by Brazilian guitarist Luiz Bonfa, is often performed by jazz groups. Quintero says, “Our take took shape in the studio and centered on the guitar riff serving as a motif anchoring the entire arrangement.”
For “Manha De Carnaval,” aka “Black Orpheus,” also by Luiz Bonfa, the band typically played a cha-cha-cha groove, but they took different approach for the recording by slowing it down and turning it into a lush bolero. “Table for Five … At The Cumbia Inn” was composed by Quintero. The rhythm refers to the traditional folk rhythms from Colombia. The rhythm is a constant crowd pleaser, and Quintero always plays a handful of original Cumbias in live performance. He wrote the song during the recording session and was inspired for the album title when he heard someone in a restaurant request a “table for five”.
“Song for My Father” is a standard by Horace Silver. The band plays it with a cha-cha-cha rhythm and features an extended solo between Serfaty and DeLeon. “Porque Si Quieres” (If You Want) is another composition by Quintero. Derived from Quintero’s album Caminando of 25 years ago, on this version, Quintero slowed it down and inserted new melodies and rhythms, creating a fresh, reimagined take on a 25-year-old song.
“Days of Wine and Roses” is an old chestnut by Henry Mancini. The concept for this straight-ahead arrangement is a nod to the big band arranging style set for a quintet. Quintero has been using “Giant Steps” as a warmup exercise almost every day for many years. This arrangement features a unique approach by including a rhythmic motif to bracket the song while providing a vehicle for Serfaty to improvise on the drum set.
TABLE FOR FIVE closes with the standard “Beautiful Love.” The song was recorded last and features a trio featuring Quintero, Resto, and Serfaty. Quintero says, “It was a first take, we know we captured a moment in the studio, we knew to walk away and let it be.”
Although TABLE FOR FIVE is somewhat of a musical departure for Quintero, it reflects the colorful sounds and diverse rhythms of his birthplace, Medellín, Colombia. And as always, Quintero’s guitar sound is fluid with more than a touch of romantic wistfulness. He and his tight-knit band of high caliber, seasoned musicians have created a project where their improvisatory approach does not overwhelm the music; rather, it allows those beautiful melodies to shine.
TABLE FOR FIVE will be available on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes and all digital platforms on March 11, 2022.
1. Alone Together
2. Mambo Balahu
3. The Gentle Rain
4. Manha De Carnaval
5. Table for Five…At the Cumbia Inn
6. Song For My Father
7. Porque Si Quieres
8. Days of Wine and Roses
9. Giant Steps
10. Beautiful Love
Juan Carlos Quintero, electric guitar
Eddie Resto, bass
Joe Rotondi, piano
Aaron Serfaty, drums
Joey DeLeon, percussion
