Panamá 77

is a Panama-born drummer, percussionist, and DJ based in Chicago and Los Angeles. A founding member of , he is also half of (with guitarist ), and a member of Chicago's traditional son jarocho group . 's fluid pan-Latin style melds traditional Panamanian sounds with those from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Mexico, and West Africa, alongside influences from psychedelic rock, free jazz, post-punk, hip-hop, R&B, and funk. is his first solo album. is a wildly creative Latin American ensemble who crisscross cumbia, neo-psychedelia, surf music, indie rock, and improvisation. makes jazz his focus here, though his particular brand of it centers on a highly individual sense of and feel for the almighty groove; it also makes use of the aforementioned genres and other sounds. Opener "Bella Vista" employs an Afro-Latin percussion vamp using everything from tom-toms and congas to cymbals in circular rhythm under a bleating tenor saxophone. "Ofelia" weds ' dramatic surf guitar to a wall of Farfisa and Mellotron, congas, and a drum kit in a stretched-out, psychedelicized waltz. "Uncanny" bubbles with pulsing intensity from Fender Rhodes, synth, layers of shakers, congas, trumpet, and bass, crisscrossing Afrobeat, electro-cumbia, and jazz-funk. "I Didn't Expect That" is a brief but glorious exercise in 21st century Latin soul-jazz played by a killer quartet that includes double bassist , guitarist , and B-3 organist . The guitarist's sophisticated, intricate lyricism helms the trio offering "In/On," with ' double bass groove and on droning "air organ." guides the lithe, spacious flow with bells, shakers, congas, and the kick drum from his kit. "Cali Colors" is a lovely exercise in post-bop exotica thanks in no small part to 's violin and viola playing exchanges with 's arpeggios as and slow dance an intricate backbeat. "Activo" begins as an abstract rhythm-based tune, then 's kalimba balances a mode-based melody with a double-timed pulse. Guitar, bass, and drums frame that pulse and add melodic elements and polyrhythmic accents before the ensemble finds a hypnotic vamp to work. "Patria" weaves together son jarocho, mutant cumbia, exotica, and psychedelia. pays tribute to his organ-playing father via the haunted, reverb-laden organ sounds of the great Panamanian composer/keyboardist . While the spacious, vampy, groove-centric percussion workout "Messenger" evokes ' era in the closing track, the immediately preceding "18th & Morgan" might have been a better choice to end the album with its breezy layers of Rhodes, synth, violins, and violas over 's nocturnal summery groove. Even with strings, it offers a sweet vibe worthy of 's loose interactions embrace spontaneity and unpredictability; they are governed by an unshakeable sense of groove. The rootsy elements in 's style make this set a vibrant, engaging exercise in musical sophistication, ripe for summertime listening. ~ Thom Jurek