Valdés, Chucho & The Afro-Cuban Messengers / Border-Free
| Album: | Border-Free | Collection: | Jazz | |
| Artist: | Valdés, Chucho & The Afro-Cuban Messengers | Added: | Jul 2013 | |
| Label: | Jazz Village | |||
A-File Activity
| Add Date: | 2013-07-28 | Pull Date: | 2013-09-29 | Charts: | Jazz |
|---|
| Week Ending: | Sep 29 | Sep 22 | Sep 15 | Sep 8 | Sep 1 | Aug 25 | Aug 18 | Aug 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airplays: | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
Recent Airplay
| 1. | May 18, 2017: | No Cover, No Minimum
Afro-Comanche |
4. | Sep 18, 2013: | 09-18-2013
Santa Cruz |
|
| 2. | Jan 03, 2014: | No Cover, No Minimum: Remembering 2013
Congadanza |
5. | Sep 13, 2013: | No Cover, No Minimum
Santa Cruz |
|
| 3. | Sep 26, 2013: | Rebop
Congadanza |
6. | Sep 01, 2013: | Jazz Izz and Denn Some
Afro-Comanche |
Album Review
Fo
Reviewed 2013-07-28
Reviewed 2013-07-28
CHUCHO VALDÉS & THE AFRO-CUBAN MESSENGERS: Border-Free
Jazz Village, 2013
LATIN JAZZ – Cuban piano master Valdés leads a sextet through what sounds like a very personal set, with tributes to his departed parents, ancestors, and musical heroes. The wild piano pyrotechnics are mostly held in check, bursting through only on the longer cuts, but he pulls the group in twisty directions throughout, set against an ace rhythm section. Branford Marsalis adds some extra juice to 3,4,8. Good stuff.
Fo’s Picks: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8
1. 9:13 – uptempo romp: strong rhythm holds steady, piano tumbles all over
2. 6:28 – warm nostalgic ballad: very sweet melody, classical ending
3. 9:50 – classic tune, relaxed and sultry, nice percussion in second half!
4. 7:49 – tribute to Bebo Valdés: an optimistic glide, nice horn/piano solos
5. 11:57 – tribute to Native Americans exiled to Cuba in the 1800s: moody intro, then a series of bold sketches; Afro-Cuban ending w/vocal
6. 10:05 – tribute to Chucho’s mother, a melancholy and drifting duo/trio with bits of Bach and Miles Davis mixed in
7. 6:25 – midtempo jazzy wiggle based on a flamenco, hard rhythm later on
8. 9:07 – a Moroccan-Cuban mashup: mysterious intro, then fast percussion with driving/whirling piano, little horn fanfares, bass solo, exotic sax
[ Fo ] - 28 July 2013
Jazz Village, 2013
LATIN JAZZ – Cuban piano master Valdés leads a sextet through what sounds like a very personal set, with tributes to his departed parents, ancestors, and musical heroes. The wild piano pyrotechnics are mostly held in check, bursting through only on the longer cuts, but he pulls the group in twisty directions throughout, set against an ace rhythm section. Branford Marsalis adds some extra juice to 3,4,8. Good stuff.
Fo’s Picks: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8
1. 9:13 – uptempo romp: strong rhythm holds steady, piano tumbles all over
2. 6:28 – warm nostalgic ballad: very sweet melody, classical ending
3. 9:50 – classic tune, relaxed and sultry, nice percussion in second half!
4. 7:49 – tribute to Bebo Valdés: an optimistic glide, nice horn/piano solos
5. 11:57 – tribute to Native Americans exiled to Cuba in the 1800s: moody intro, then a series of bold sketches; Afro-Cuban ending w/vocal
6. 10:05 – tribute to Chucho’s mother, a melancholy and drifting duo/trio with bits of Bach and Miles Davis mixed in
7. 6:25 – midtempo jazzy wiggle based on a flamenco, hard rhythm later on
8. 9:07 – a Moroccan-Cuban mashup: mysterious intro, then fast percussion with driving/whirling piano, little horn fanfares, bass solo, exotic sax
[ Fo ] - 28 July 2013
Track Listing
| 1. | Congadanza | 5. | Afro-Comanche | |||
| 2. | Caridad Amaro | 6. | Pilar | |||
| 3. | Tabú | 7. | Santa Cruz | |||
| 4. | Bebo | 8. | Abdel |