PLENA LIBRE: ¡Estamos Gozando! (Times Square 9039)

Understanding well the art of reciprocity, Plena Libre bandleader Gary Nuñez celebrates his anniversary—the band’s 10^th—with an album dedicated to the innovators and mainstays of Puerto Rican music.  Devoting his life to the folk rhythm plena (hallmarked by interlocking rhythms played by hand drums, panderos, the guiro [gourd scraper] and call-and-response vocal style), Nuñez’s sever-piece outfit has long focused on the African-influenced sounds of Puerto Rico.  Much like Mexico’s corridos, where the songs act as “living newspapers” and workers find a proper newsman in the lyricist, plena is not only a genre but a way of life.  With much focus on other Latin Caribbean sounds like salsa and merengue in America, Nuñez’s plena-tic plight began in the ‘70s with Moliendo Vidrio, where he spent 18 years showcasing his craftsmanship on cuatro (guitar).

¡Estamos Gozando! is a gorgeously crafted concoction, nodding its head to composers like Ángel Torruellas, César Concepción, Los Pleneros de Quinto Olivo and Rafael Cortio.  While an album of “covers,” Plena Libre makes each song its own, firstly in production—the ever-present accordion falls in line beautifully with panderos—as well as top-notch vocals.  Nuñez himself puts down the cuatro and picks up the bass (melodic lines are kept mostly by piano), keeping a solid groove amidst the dynamic percussive interplay.  His taste as arranger allows the players space, and the rapid display of congas, timbal, requinto and other drums are nothing short of brilliant.  Factor in high-end trombones and the strong lead vocals of Victor Muñiz, Carlos Villanueva and Kayvan Vega, and there’s no doubt that ¡Estamos Gozando! (“Enjoying,” “Having fun”) merits its namesake.  Within the good times is a serious musical scholarship, but you’ll be dancing too hard to think about all that.