LATIN LOVERS…Miguel Zenon: Oye! Sergio Galvao: Phantom Fish, Todo Mundo: Conexion

by George W. Harris • December 12, 2013

Latin music comes in all shapes, sounds and styles. Here are three results of Christopher Columbus landing on Hispaniola a few years back…

Alto saxist Miguel Zenon and his Rhythm Collective are caught in 2011 at a fiery concert at Ell Taller Ce in Puerto Rico. The band consists of Aldemar Valentin/b, Reynaldo De Jesus/perc and Tony Escapa/dr, and sandwiched between the compact intro and outro five passionate and drawn out pieces that are high on energy. Except for “Oye Como Va,” all the songs are originals, but even this song is not your father’s Willie Bobo piece. Zenon’s chops are in abundance on the solo intro, and the conversation between Valentin and his boss sounds like an argument over payroll. The percussion supercharged throughout, particularly on “El Necio”, and the inhaling and exhalations on “JOS Nigeria” sets you up for the extroverted and convulsive cavalcade of “Double Edge.” Hot and sweaty night!

Tenor and soprano saxist Sergio Galvao takes a bit of a different approach on his disc with Amanda Ruzza/b, Mauricio Zottarelli/dr, Leo Genovese-Aruan Ortiz/key and Leni Stern-Alex Nolan/g. He keeps the basic foundation bouncy and Brazilian, but mixes and maxes styles and grooves. Some exciting percussion and piano are found on “Amphybious” and the dramatic title track. His soprano on the funky “Mandruzza” and the slinky bass grooved “Ja Iu” is impressive and clean. “”Meu Nobre” has a graceful and slinky lllt, just right for his tenor, while melancholia is dominant on “Casa Amarela.” Impressive layers of sound sprinkled over a percussive foundation.

Todo Mundo is made up of Santiago Orozo/voc-g, Stephen Gentillalli/b-voc, Matt Bozzzone/dr, Meir Shitrit/g-bouz and Governor Tiggy/voc, and while the musicians come from Argentina, the music sounds like it was made for either a disco in Santorini or time share in Costa Rica. Heavy on the reggae, mon! Lots of hot and punctuated horns. Songs like “Escucha Que” and “Flying Through the Air” have funky bass licks and party choruses, while you feel like you’re off to the races on the pappy chords which do battle with the percussion on “Yemaya.” A bit of the Mediterranean pops on with some bouzouki chiming in on “Por Ti Sere,” while some seductive speaking is uttered on “Freedom.” A sweaty nightclub awaits!