Search - Jose Duque's ZUMBATRES :: Gathering in Blue

There is a border between music genres - jazz to blues, Flamenco to fusion, rock to pop, that, when crossed successfully, creates a sound you want to hear more of. It is just this crossing of borders that Venezuelan-born drummer/composer Jose Duque masters in his latest album, Gathering in Blue. A colorful, melodic mix of odd meter, minor blues, Flamenco scale and Latin rock, all skillfully complementing a jazz groundwork, Gathering in Blue is at once melancholic and joyful, complex and startlingly simple. The range of sounds in the new album, released in June 2004, derives from the many and varied sources that have influenced Jose Duque since his childhood days in Caracas. The pensive "Counterpoint Café" came to life in an Algerian restaurant with the same name, and its Camilo-esque style speaks to a longing for old friends and warm cultures. "Where the Heart is", with its Flamenco rhythm, creates as well a longing for home. The title track, "Gathering in Blue" has an unpredictable, magical sound based on an odd meter, opening with a unison melody, followed by a dispersed and sparse sax solo, and then the full band gathering in a minor blues. The result is primal and simple, powerful and elated.