Alfredo Rodriguez & Pedrito Martinez: Duologue

Ethno Jazz/World Jazz/Modern Jazz
premiera polska: 2019-03-11
opakowanie: digipackowe etui
opis:
longplayrecenzje.blox.pl:
Odkryty kilka lat temu przez Quincy Jonesa, kubański pianista Alfredo Rodriguez, dziś powszechnie postrzegany jest jako jeden z najbardziej cenionych muzyków jazzowych na świecie. Świat usłyszał o artyście, kiedy jako zaledwie 21-latka okrzyczano go sensacją Montreux Jazz Festival 2006. Opiekuńczy mentor pianisty zadbał o to by otoczyć go doprawdy wyjątkowymi muzykami jak: Esperanza Spalding, Richard Bona, czy Ibrahim Maalouf, którzy towarzyszyli mu na dotychczasowych albumach. Quincy Jones będąc producentem każdej z pięciu dotychczasowych płyt Kubańczyka, pozostawił mu jednocześnie dużą swobodę w zakresie instrumentarium i doboru muzyków potrafiących w pełni oddać brzmienie jego dźwiękowych wizji. O skłonnościach pianisty do zawężania grona towarzyszących mu w studio muzyków, mogliśmy przekonać się już przy okazji ubiegłorocznej płyty: "The Little Dream" nagranej w trzyosobowym składzie z gitarzystą Munirem Hossnem i perkusistą Michaelem Oliverą.
Swój piąty album Alfredo Rodriguez postanowił zrealizować w jeszcze bardziej kameralnej konwencji, a mianowicie jako duet z wirtuozem instrumentów perkusyjnych Pedrito Martinezem, podobnie jak on - emigrantem z Kuby.

Wychowany na ulicach Hawany perkusista, przybył do USA 10 lat wcześniej niż Rodriguez, szybko zdobywając szerokie uznanie jako znakomity muzyk sesyjny i koncertowy, współpracując z m.in. Paquito D'Riverą i Paulem Simonem, oraz współtworząc cenioną formację Yerba Buena. Z Alfredo Rodriguezem miał okazję współpracować już wcześniej (m.in. podczas pracy nad albumem: "The Invasion Parade", 2014).
Nowa płyta zatytułowana "Duologue", przynosi 11 utworów opartych na wyjątkowym porozumieniu muzycznym obu artystów, oraz jest przykładem zupełnie nowej jakości brzmieniowej. Poza autorskimi utworami obu muzyków, na płycie znajdziemy też oryginalne opracowania słynnego przeboju Michaela Jacksona "Thriller", tematu Kouji Kondou pochodzącego z kultowej gry "Super Mario Bros 3", oraz starego kubańskiego przeboju "El Punto Cubano" z repertuaru zapomnianego dziś duetu Celina Y Reutilio.

Obaj muzycy wzbogacają poszczególne utwory śpiewem w swym ojczystym języku, co zdecydowanie sprzyja afrokubańskiemu nastrojowi płyty. Bardzo rozbudowane perkusjonalia Martineza, dodają muzyce specyficznego nasyconego gorącymi rytmami klimatu, a charakterystyczny "twardy" styl pianisty, zdaje się być idealnie dopasowanym do tej formuły.
Umieszczenie pośród pełnych kubańskiego ducha kompozycji utworów "z innej bajki" (wspomniane: "Thriller" i "Super Mario Bros 3"), jest z kolei dowodem nadzwyczajnych możliwości aranżacyjnych duetu (aczkolwiek w pierwszym przypadku, zapewne nie obyło się bez sugestii Mr Q).
Wyrafinowane harmonie, melodyczna wyrazistość i charakterystyczny kubański temperament artystów, w połączeniu ze sztuką improwizacji i znakomitego porozumienia, zaowocowały bardzo oryginalnym, świetnie wyprodukowanym albumem, łączącym południowe korzenie muzyków z idiomem współczesnego jazzu.
autor: Robert Ratajczak

Editor's Info:
Each artist brings a different approach to the collaboration. A protégé of Quincy Jones, who took him under his wing when he defected to the US in 2009, Alfredo was schooled in the rigorous classical conservatories of Havana. His riveting artistry is informed as much by Bach and Stravinsky as it is by his Afro Cuban and jazz roots. Pedrito’s musical training came directly from the streets of the Cayo Hueso neighborhood of Old Havana in which he was raised and he has subsequently performed with artists such as Sting, Paul Simon and Wynton Marsalis. Together, these two master musicians take listeners on a unique and exciting journey on Duologue.

Each recording by Cuban pianist and composer Alfredo Rodríguez tells a story. His albums are not collections of musical pieces but tales told in a distinctive voice, with a distinct point of view and purpose. His 2011 debut, Sounds of Space, served as an introduction, as a way of saying “here are the people, the places and the sounds that have surrounded me, and made me who I am,” he explained then. In The Invasion Parade, his 2014 follow-up, Rodríguez revisited various Cuban musical traditions, seen through the prism of time, distance, and his new personal and musical experiences.
Now, in Tocororo—his new album for Mack Avenue Records—Rodríguez’s story is represented by the national bird of Cuba. The Tocororo is a bird that if caged dies of sadness, reflecting not only the desire for liberty but the necessity of it. Beyond this facet of meaning, there is also the story of everything else the bird represents: freedom, travel and cross-pollination. In Rodríguez’s case, it represents the cross- pollination of his Cuban culture with all the cultures he’s experienced throughout his musical journey. “What I wanted to do in this recording was to open myself up to the world, while honoring my roots at the same time,” he says. “That’s also why I wanted to collaborate with artists of other nationalities and explore other cultures. I play what I live, and this record expresses what I’m living. And right now with social media and technology, I’m living in a very small world with countries now being able to see what other countries are doing—influencing each other—and hopefully Cuba will have that kind of freedom soon. Things are changing over there, but slowly. It’s a process.”
Aided by a group of collaborators that includes musicians from France, Cuba, Lebanon, Cameroon, Spain and India—Rodríguez has recruited a diverse range of artists to stretch the boundaries on his new genre- spanning record. GRAMMY® Award-nominated Cameroonian singer and multi-instrumentalist Richard Bona appears with his own African-tinged interpretation of Eliseo Grenet’s “Ay, Mama Inés.” Ibrahim Maalouf, the trumpeter born in Beirut and now living in Paris, also appears on Silvio Rodríguez’s “Venga La Esperanza.” The French-Cuban duo Ibeyi (comprising twin sisters Lisa-Kaindé Diaz and Naomi Diaz) are featured vocalizing on “Yemayá,” an original song to the Yoruba deity of water, but also singing lyrics in “Sabanas Blancas.” The sisters, who were raised in France, were born to legendary Cuban percussionist Miguel “Angá” Díaz—best known for his work with Buena Vista Social Club.
Rodríguez holds on to his Cuban roots as he stretches to embrace Johann Sebastian Bach (“Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring”), flamenco, tango (Astor Piazzolla’s “Adiós Nonino”) and Africa. “I didn ́t want to lose my identity,” says Rodríguez. “If I was going to reflect influences from so many places, I also wanted to make sure that Cuba was present. Cuba is always in my music.”
Such global vision also speaks to the influence of producer Quincy Jones, the executive producer of Tocororo and a key figure in Rodríguez’s remarkable story. In 2006, Rodríguez was selected to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival where, at an informal gathering during the Festival, Jones heard him play, congratulated him and told him he wanted to work with him. The encounter set in motion a chain of events that resulted, three years later, in Rodríguez leaving Cuba and settling in Los Angeles.
“I’ve fed on a lot of Quincy’s philosophy about global culture, unity and brotherhood,” says Rodríguez. “It’s something I really admire and I think, unconsciously, I’ve been following those ideas. What you hear is not just the idea of globalization but also the transcultural process I’ve been living since I arrived in the United States. This recording is the result of that process.” As a musical guide, “Quincy proved to be extremely open and generous,” he says. “He never imposes his ideas but lets each musician find and choose their own path.”
The 13 tracks in Tocororo include five originals by Rodríguez and a fresh reading of Compay Segundo’s classic song “Chan Chan,” which became an international hit after the Buena Vista Social Club phenomenon. There are also nods to modern Cuban songwriting such as “Venga La Esperanza” by singer and songwriter Silvio Rodríguez (no relation) and “Sabanas Blancas,” a musical postcard of Havana by Gerardo Alfonso.
Rodríguez chafes at labels—be it “Cuban pianist,” or jazz or classical musician. Since he discovered improvisation at 15, when an uncle gave him a copy of Keith Jarrett’s The Köln Concert, “my music has been based on improvisation,” he says.
The other notable development in Rodríguez’s writing for Tocororo is the addition of voices, sometimes featured conventionally, singing lyrics, but also sometimes utilized like just another instrument in the ensemble. Indian-American singer Ganavya Doraiswamy contributes beguiling wordless vocals to two originals, the title track and “Kaleidoscope.”
“Before writing my music I sing it, and if it works sung, then I know it works. I’m no singer but I like to experiment, I love to vocalize,” says Rodríguez. “And now, more and more my music is calling for the sound of voices.”
He chuckles as he notes that this restlessness, this continuing search of his place and his sound is the very reason why he titled the album Tocororo. “It’s the national bird of Cuba and it made me think about my own situation, flying from place to place, always looking for my truth, in different places, in different ways,” he says. “And the Tocororo is a bird that cannot live in captivity. It has to fly or it dies.”

muzycy:
Alfredo Rodríguez - Piano
Pedrito Martinez - Percussion

utwory:
1. Africa
2. Estamos Llegando
3. Thriller
4. Cosas Del Amor
5. Duologue
6. El Punto Cubano
7. Flor
8. Jardin Sonador
9. Super Mario Bros 3
10. Mariposa
11. Yo Volvere

wydano: 2019-02
more info: www.mackavenue.com