Latin Jazz Fantasy in Bloomington, MN

Historically, the term
Latin jazz
has been used to describe a mixture of
hard bop
or
post-bop
and Afro-Cuban rhythms (
son
,
cha-cha
mambo
guaguanco
danzon
, etc.). But Latin music is more than Afro-Cuban music; it's also everything from Argentinean
tango
to Spanish
flamenco
to Mexican
mariachi
. So technically, someone who fuses
jazz
with
(or Brazilian
samba
, for that matter) is playing some form of
. The
Latin Jazz Fantasy
that pianist
Bill O'Connell
shares with listeners on this 2003 date is primarily an
Afro-Cuban jazz
fantasy -- and yet,
isn't stereotypical
in the way that
Tito Puente
Poncho Sanchez
Cal Tjader
Eddie Palmieri
, and
Mongo Santamaria
have epitomized
.
doesn't contain any
bolero
versions of
"My Funny Valentine"
;
O'Connell
doesn't provide
, or
arrangements of
Sonny Rollins
Miles Davis
pieces. Leading a variety of
groups -- sometimes a lavish orchestra, sometimes trios, duos, quartets, or quintets --
doesn't beat listeners over the head with Afro-Cuban rhythms. Instead, he applies them in a very subtle fashion on original material that ranges from the cerebral
"Wind It Up"
to the melancholy
"After the Dust Settled"
to the playfully funky
"Fast Eddie"
(which has a definite
Weather Report
/
Joe Zawinul
influence and underscores the fact that
fusion
can affect acoustic-oriented
projects -- at least compositionally).
incorporates Afro-Cuban music the way he incorporates European
classical
: with restraint, understatement, and subtlety. Anyone who expects
to use Afro-Cuban rhythms in as overt and obvious a way as a typical
Sanchez
album is bound to be disappointed, but for those who appreciate and understand the album's overall concept --
with subtle Euro-
and Latin references --
is easy to enjoy. ~ Alex Henderson