The Nu Cuban Jazz
Jan P. Dennis | Monument, CO USA | 04/27/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"There's a new kind of jazz coming out of Latin America: Muscular, melodic, and sophisticated. What Miguel Zenon has done for Puerto Rico, Yosvany Terry Cabrera has done for Cuba. What's going down here is to take a vital, living folk tradition and map it onto a killer downtown aesthetic.
The results are nothing short of spectacular, even revelational. For me, this is the outstanding disc of the New Year, which is saying quite a lot, what with sensational new offerings from Andrew Hill (Time Lines), Joe Locke (Fallen Angel), and Donny McCaslin (Soar).
Let's start with the band. The leader has assembled the ur-Latin contingent: Dafnis Prieto and Jeff "Tain" Watts on drums; Hans Glawishneg and James Genus on bass; Luis Perdomo, a rising young star, on piano; Avishai Cohen on trumpet; and Mike Moreno, a name new to me, on guitar, who contributes some very tasty licks and tunes into the sensibility with casual genius. All these players are steeped in the Latin aesthetic, and pull off its most audacious moves with casual brilliance: carrying the tradition of Tito Puente and the Palmieri brothers into the future with insouciance and aplomb.
Next, let's look at the tunes. All are written by the leader save "The Crying," penned by Yosvany's brother, bassist Junior Terry Cabrera, which is a heartfelt and -wringing ballad drenched in authentic sentiment and huge pathos. My favorites are probably "Journey of Awareness," which features the leader on tenor blowing some very righteous lines over a bubbling caldron of insane Latin rhythmic figures, and the Latin-funk workout, "This Is It," exhibiting some insane blowing by Cohen on trumpet and very snazzy guitar comping by Moreno.
I waxed rhapsodic over Terry's last disc, Twisted Noon, by Columna B, but Metamorphosis easily trumps that fine effort: There's just so much energy and spectacular band interaction. Combine that with intelligent songwriting and to-die-for, super-energized playing, and you have a standout recording.
Really, do not overlook this amazing disc."
A beautiful sax
Mark Levine | Jersey City, NJ USA | 11/21/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I had heard this CD a while back and seem to have loaned it to a deadbeat. Will buy another, and get a copy of his previous CD as well. I saw Yosvany Terry last week performing with the Brian Lynch/ Eddie Palmieri group, which was spectacular. They cook, and I know from having heard this CD that Terry can as well. On that night, however, he showed another side, that complemented the hard-driving group perfectly. He performed a number of exquisite solos, bop-influenced, and in mellow counterpoint to the percussive ensemble. I would be hard-pressed to think of any comparable alto players; maybe Phil Woods, maybe Charles McPherson, but Terry is a singularly impressive talent, a charismatic presence, and someone whose subsequent work I will look forward to eagerly."
Modern Latin Jazz at it's best
Jocko | 06/25/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This music is perhaps the real future of Jazz. It is so creative, it is modern and it contains many different elements, from cuban music to jazz and also some funk grooves. There is a lot of place for great improvisations too. From the rythmical point of view, it is very very impressive. The musicians are of course at the top level. The drummer Dafnis Prieto is performing here some of the greatets drumming I've ever heard. The leader Yosvany Terry Cabrera has surely true composition skills. For me, it's a must buy if you are into modern latin jazz."
Track Listings (8) - Disc #1