Michel Camilo – Essence – Resilience Music Alliance RMA 192641064661 [6/7/2019], 63:12 *****:
Michel Camilo started his virtuosic piano legacy in the Dominican Republic. After studying at Julliard in New York City, he made an auspicious debut at Carnegie Hall. Since then he has recorded and toured around the world. He has an affinity for Jazz, Latin and Classical music, and has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson. Mongo Santamaria, Jaco Pastorious, Airto, Flora Purim, Stanley Turrentine, Gloria Esteban, Esperanza Spalding and Dr. Billy Taylor. For three decades, he has created music in a variety of formats, including solo, duo, trio, sextet, big band and symphony. The unrelenting passion for music and exploration has made him an innovative composer and arranger.
For his latest release Essence on Resilience Musical Alliance, Camilo has returned to big band dynamics He rearranged his songwriting career (with the assistance arranger/trombonist Michel Phillip Mossman) to reflect the explosive improvisation and precision structures of large ensemble jazz. With an 18-piece band (including horns and reeds), Camilo utilizes this vast array of talent. The opening track, “And Sammy Walked In” (homage To Sammy Figuroa) is a full-bodied Latin celebration with intense percussion (Eliel Lazo/Cliff Almond). Camilo’s piano is stirring. Ralph Bowen takes the first solo on tenor, then the shimmering piano steals the show with punctuated chords. The horn section fills in perfectly. Paying tribute to Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist Mongo Santamaria, Mongo’s Blues is tempo-driven but with bluesy insinuation. Solos by Frank Basile (baritone sax), trombone (Steve Davis/which ushers in a medium-swing groove), Camilo, Lazo and Almond are stellar. The horn accents are potent. With a different feel, “Liquid Crystal” has an open feeling with flutes mellowing the sound. Camilo’s solo is improvisational mastery with mood and grittiness. Kali Rodriguez-Pena’s muted trumpet is vibrantly atmospheric.
“Mano A Mano” explodes out of the gate with Cuban fury. Solos on tenor, trumpet (Mossman) are sprightly and Camilo is percussively emphatic before he hands off to Lazo and Almond. In a significant change of pace, “Just Like You” displays a swaying film-noir essence. The romantic timbre of the number is accented by Antonio Hart on alto saxophone and Camilo’s ruminative touch. returning to tighter rhythmic fluency, “Yes” has boldness and a sharp, low-vibrato trumpet by Diego Urcola, while “Piece Of Cake” has cohesive dance-tempo aesthetics, with big band flourishes. As advertised, “On Fire” is propulsive and the solos by Camilo and Sharel Cassity (alto sax) maintain the overpowering core tempos. (Tito Puente would be proud!). With a nod to legendary drummer Art Blakey, “Reprecussions” is razor-sharp hard bop with Antonio Hart stretching out on alto as the band delivers jarring counters. Steve Davis adds texture on trombone, and Camilo’s improvisational mastery is on full display. There is a double bass run by Ricky Rodriguez. Camilo revisits an obscure composition “Hello & Goodbye” as a fitting conclusion to a great album.
Musicians:
Michel Camilo – piano, bandleader; Rickey Rodriguez – bass; Cliff Almond – drums; Eliel Lazo – percussion, vocals; Antonio Hart – alto saxophone, flute; Sharel Cassity – alto saxophone, clarinet; Ralph Bowen – tenor saxophone, flute; Adam Kolker – tenor saxophone, clarinet; Frank Basile – baritone saxophone, bass clarinet; Michael Phillip Mossman – trumpet, flugelhorn, arranger; Raul Agras – trumpet, flugelhorn; John Walsh – trumpet, flugelhorn; Diego Urcola – trumpet, flugelhorn; Kali Rodrigez-Pena – trumpet, flugelhorn; Michael Dease – trombone; Steve Davis – trombone; Jason Jackson – trombone; David Taylor – bass trombone
TrackList:
Sammy Walked In
Mongo’s Blues Intro
Mongo’s Blues
Liquid Crystal
Mano A Mano
Just Like You
Yes
Piece Of Cake
On Fire
Reprercussions
Hello & Goodbye
—Robbie Gerson
More Information at Resilience Music Alliance Website.
