Andy Durán Latin Jazz Big Band
Latin Jazz Club

After reviewing a lot of metal, I decide to introduce you to one of the best Latin jazz albums I have ever had the chance to listen to and certainly one of the most difficult albums to find.

The Venezuelan Andy Duran, well-known in the Latin jazz scene as a composer, arranger, and conductor of the Andy Duran's Jazz Big Band, continues with this album (as in his other works) to present a list of great professionals of the genre (deliberately all of Venezuelan origin, precisely to showcase the skill of artists born in Venezuela), foremost among them the pianist Ernesto Garcia (also a pianist in the album "Bravo Pavo" by the great timbalero Frankie Hernández), the trumpeter Rafael Rey (already in Gerardo Rosales's band in the album "Señor Tambor" and also in the album "Bravo Pavo") and the saxophonist Benjamin Brea (active since the '70s with collaborations with the great singer and guitarist Alí Primera and with Duran himself in other albums).

It starts immediately with the best track of the album, the magnificent " Moonlight Serenade" arranged in a Latin version and played impeccably by Duran's band; it is rare that I can experience such emotions: goosebumps from the first to the last note. It continues with a must from master Mongo Santamaria, " Happy Now" lively and with arrangements that enhance horns and piano while at the same time do not stifle the timbales and congas; splendid the swing break towards the end. We move on to the first of two songs composed by Duran himself: " Blues and Mambo Moods", which manages to brilliantly intertwine the classic '50s mambo and the blues attitude with a central part featuring some truly notable solos on bass, sax, trumpets, and timbales.
Then comes " Le Grisbi" revisited in a bolero style which then evolves into a guajira, with the horns taking the lead and the melancholic slowness of the piece almost bringing tears to the eyes. Another piece by Duran " Irene At The Mambo Club" and yet another mambo this time in a jazzy style with the vibraphone finally playing a prominent role; the rhythm and great cheerfulness of the piece lift away the melancholy left by the previous track, once again with horns in outstanding brilliance featuring wonderful passages of trumpets, sax, and trombone.

A great music lesson with " Caravan" (a composition dating back to '37 and considered the first experiment in the Latin jazz field), the fast jam session starting at the second minute which you hope will never end, is simply exhilarating. We reach " Los Aretes De La Luna" a famous bolero by the great José Quiñones here in an instrumental version with an almost perfect execution, but it does not quite match up to the original version from which it takes some inspiration. Unfortunately, the cha cha cha " Sweet And Sour Sue" passes without leaving a mark and we immediately move on to " Tune Up" by the legendary trumpeter Miles Davis not even remotely approached by Duran's trumpeters (but the comparison is decidedly unthinkable, given Davis's artistic magnitude), nevertheless the Latin version of this jazz masterpiece makes me enthusiastic and hopeful for the album's finale.

I am overcome with chills when listening to the next track. It is " Moonlight Serenade" this time in a swing version: speechless, pure emotions! The album concludes with " Flight of The Bumble-Bee" in a salsa version. High speed, as required by the classic piece among classics, with great skill from all the musicians who seem to be telling the listener we've reached the end.

An excellently crafted album with a production that brings some of the best tracks in blues, jazz, swing, and a hint of classical music in a clean and respectful manner of the tradition that the tracks themselves represent; all arrangements are of remarkable artistic/musical caliber, elaborated in a simply unique way and performed by people, let me say, with truly squared balls.