Track Listing

1. Carnival in San Juan
2. Mundo Bizarro
3. Torres
4. Plena Pa' las Nenas
5. Worlds
6. Vianda con Bacalao
7. En la Cueva de Tan
8. Stuffy Turkey
9. Like a Little Child
10. Snow Angel [Ballad]
11. Carlitos Coco
12. Fireflies from the Orion Nebula/Belen

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #435494 in Music
• Released on: 2003-08-19
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Strong showing from this modern band
A top-notch latin-jazz album, which leans heavily towards the jazzier end of the equation, with extended trombone and horn work, solos galore, and less emphasis on ensemble playing in the classic "latin" tradition. It's not totally my cup of tea, but certainly a strong, capable ensemble with serious chops and plenty of bounce in their walk. If you like the style, this is a fine disc.

Cosmic Nuyorican Music
Papo Vazquez is an unsung hero of contemporary jazz. I don't understand why he is not much more widely appreciated. Composer, arranger, trombonist, his relatively small body of recorded work as a leader already invites comparison with Ellington or Mingus. Check out, for example, "En La Cueva de Tan," an ambitious suite with more colors than a chameleon running thorugh a paint-box and a heartbreakingly beautiful piano solo by Arturo O'Farrill. See if it doesn't remind you of "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady." Not really a "Nuyorican," he's from Philadelphia but has been based in New York long enough to earn the honorary title. He is one of these guys like Jerry and Andy Gonzalez who paid his dues on the cuchifritos circuit, playing dance music for a living, while - on his own time - listening to and practicing Coltrane, Monk, Miles etc. obsessively. Deeply rooted in Afro-Caribbean tradition but soaring and transcendant, what comes through is really something in a category by itself, beyond jazz or latin music. The late Gram Parsons rejected the term "country music" in favor of "Cosmic American Music." Papo Vazquez plays Cosmic Nuyorican Music. Do yourself a favor: check out this CD, and "At the Point" Volumes 1 and 2.