Pablo Mayor & Folklore Urbano's second production, Baile/Dance (Chonta Records), would most certainly have been included in my "Top 100 CDs of 2005" list if I'd had the opportunity to review it before my submission deadline.

Mayor's CD is a real winner in terms of originality, creaticity, and as its title suggests, swing! The danceable release features 13 tracks - six of them written or co-written by said piano-playing bandleader.

Folklore Urbano's twelve members perform material that is authentic and refreshing, due in no small part to Mayor's amazing way of synthesizing jazz with Colombian folkloric music, taking Latin music to an entirely new dimension.

The Colombian composer/arranger/pianist Mayor has studied extensively, earning bachelor's and master's degrees in jazz arranging at the Univerisity of Northern Texas. During his days as professor of jazz at Bogota, Colombia's Universidad Javeriana, he began an intensive "personal investigation" of his country's native music. The humble musician describes his blending of jazz harmonies with Colombian folkloric music as "a lifelong process of discovery." He has arranged and produced for musicians in New Tork, Dallas, Colombia and Mexico, and for live theater in New York, where he composed the music for "A Clear Midnight," "El Patio" and "El Pesebre."

Mayor, who moved to New York City in 1999, is no stranger to Afro-Cuban music aficionados in the Apple - he is pianist and arranger for Eddy Zervigon's ever-popular Orquesta Broadway, and he plays for other bands as well; I saw him just last week, sitting in with Tipica Novel.

Since 1999, Mayor has taught Latin piano (both private lessons and group master classes) at Harbor Conservatory for the Performing Arts, in addition to co-directing the institution’s annual Latin Music Summer Workshop.  He teaches jazz arranging at Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory in Flushing.

He takes pride in the fact that in 2003, he founded the Annual Encounter of Colombian Musicians in New York, described in his own words as “an event uniting Colombian musicians in an effort to document a ‘movement’ of Colombian musicians in the world, beginning in New York City.”  In October, 2004, his 2^nd Annual Encounter featured many luminaries, including Hector Martignon, Samuel Torres, Edmar Castaneda, Marta Gomez and Lucia Pulida, in addition to Folklore Urbano.  Folklore Urbano’s players include Frank Basile. Sergio Borrero, Scott Harrell. Dave Hertzberg, Rafi Malkiel, Chris Michael, Ronald Polo, Rob Wilkerson, El Yoky, Mayor and his wife, flutist and band manager Anna Povich de Mayor, whom Mayor describes as “the backbone of the band.”  Guest artists on Baile/Dance include Ronnie Baro, Jairo Moreno, and Eddy Zervigon.

Aviso, the group’s first CD, appear on my “Top 10 CDs of 2003” listing – check it  out; creativity and originality set it apart.  Folklore Urbano expects to be doing a lot of traveling, but New Yorkers will have an opportunity to see it at the Brooklyn Museum on February 4^th.

-by Vicki Sola