Monday

Gabriel Alegria ~ Afro-Peruvian Jazz

If you don't know much about Afro Peruvian music let alone it's fusion with Jazz this will definitely help. It's an excerpt from the liner notes of the above album written by Jazz trumpet artist Bobby Shew :

              "Several years ago, I was fortunate to be invited to perform at the now legendary Festival Jazz in Lima Peru. My first musical concepts relating to Peru were the Incan pan-type flutes that you always hear ....When I arrived in Lima, I got the surprise of my life !

Gabriel Alegria, the leader of this project, suggested I go hear one of the local groups - Peru Negro. I grabbed a seat. These people proceeded to blow me away with what they were playing. I had never heard anything like that. It was obvious that it had some African influence, something slightly akin to salsa music as well, but it was rhythmically different. I could feel the music but I had a difficult time locating the clave that I was accustomed to feeling in "normal latin music".  The feeling being projected by these musicians was overwhelming and stimulating and did not use a clave! I was buzzing at the end of the concert almost in tears from what I had heard. I felt like a brand new world had opened up for me and I could hardly wait to get home and delve deeper into this music.

Gabriel and his group are opening new doors musically for us all.  The combination of these native rhythms with American jazz and latin traditions will in time prove to have been an important step forward in crossing cultural lines and mixing them in a very cohesive way."

You can hear my favorite song from the album "Summertime" on my Mixpod on the side bar to the right of the page.

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