Search - Paquito D'Rivera, Absolute Ensemble :: Habanera

Third Stream

Richard J. Smith | Milwaukee, Wisconsin United States | 04/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a fan of the work of Paquito D'Rivera for many years. So, I was curious when I saw ads for this recording in jazz magazines. I was unaware of the Absolute Ensemble (I thought,maybe, they were a string quartet). In fact, Absolute Ensemble is a group of 19, including a string quartet and a reed section of flute, 2 oboes,clarinet, bass clarinet and bassoon. Absolute Ensemble and Paquito collaborate on this recording. I like this recording a lot. Most of the music is through-written, not like a jazz recording where the band states the melody,improvises a few choruses and returns to the melody. The arrangements are clever. The combination of instruments works well. The quality of the playing is high. I have new respect for Kenny Drew,Jr (piano), Clarence Penn (drums) and Mino Cinelu (percussion). I am primarily a latin music fan. There's a lot of intelligent latin music on this CD. On "Alborada y Son", Paquito states the melody on clarinet and an oboe (and later, bass trombone) plays the part typically played by the piano in a more traditional Cuban arrangement. "Lecuonerias" is a melody with a series of quotes from the great Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona. Paquito plays a Venezuelan waltz. Paquito's alto playing sounds wonderful but he really shines on clarinet; nowhere more than his presentation of Dizzy's "Birks Works". The sound quality and production are top drawer. Highly recommended. I think this recording is what was referred to in the late 50's as Third Stream. !Ya compralo!"