World-renowned
Cuban tres and guitar virtuoso Benjamin Lapidus and his new group Kari-B3
release his long awaited 7th Latin jazz recording and 8th as a bandleader. The
album features heavyweights from the Latin and jazz worlds such as Pedrito
Martínez, NEA Jazzmaster Cándido Camero, 7-time Grammy nominee Bobby Sanabria,
Jared Gold (organ), Frank Anderson (organ), saxophonist Paul Carlon, NYTimes
bestselling author T.J. English, trumpet sensation Greg Glassman, vocalist
Bobby Harden, organist Frank Anderson, reed legend Walter "Gene"
Jefferson, vocalists Enid Lowe and Hiram Remón, Latin-Grammy nominee Charlie
Sepúlveda (trumpet), trombonist and vocalist Elizabeth Frascoia, and Chicago
R&B session guitar ace Aaron Weistrop.
"This
project was born out of everything that I love in music (Caribbean rhythms,
folklore, Jazz, and the inspired imaginings of musicians in conversation with
each other) and of my obsession with the Hammond B3 organ, which included hours
of listening to Jazz organ combo recordings.
Often, these recordings feature a great conga player who is confined to
playing a tumbao on a backbeat. I love the sound of the Hammond B3, but the conga
drum on the backbeat only hinted at the possibilities of these two worlds
meeting. What would it sound like if that conga in the organ combo was front
and center? More practical questions followed: What would the repertoire be?
Who would play it? What would it sound like? Wouldn't it be great to have the
concept turned inside out with the organist playing the bass tumbao and the
whole band swinging in clave? Shirley Scott and the Latin Quintet got into some
of this and the great Panamanian organist, Avelino Muñoz did as well, but could
we push the envelope? If jazz drummers play mambo patterns in their solos to
"get house" in straight-ahead performances, why not play Latin
standards in swing? Kari-B3 and "Ochosi Blues" are the result of
these musings and truly, we are only beginning to answer the questions
above." - Benjamin Lapidus
Latin
music's cutting-edge musician/scholar returns with Ochosi Blues, a swinging and
ear-pleasing recording that is inspired by the vast musical traditions of the
Spanish Caribbean and the equally deep tradition of the jazz organ combo with a
sprinkling of West Indian flavor. The result is a powerful and joyous listening
experience that offers a truly unique take on the organ combo. When asked to
label Benjamin Lapidus' music, critics and fans agree that it is Latin Jazz in
the truest sense of the term, as Lapidus continues to explore different ways of
mixing Jazz and Spanish-Caribbean music, while making the music accessible,
organic, and logical. This is the direct result of the New York musicians
involved, who are completely bi-and even tri-cultural, a benefit of being
residents of the largest Caribbean city in the United States. Active in the New York Latin scene since
1995, Lapidus has made a name for himself among the elders as the go to player
for long-established bands and new live and recording projects such as The
Buena Vista Social Club, Jerry and Andy González, Típica 73, Larry Harlow, and
many more.
Critics
and fans agree that Benjamin Lapidus' music is unique in its cutting-edge
approach without sacrificing accessibility or the traditions of
Spanish-Caribbean music. With Ochosi
Blues, Lapidus continues his dynamic vision of bringing Spanish-Caribbean music
and jazz together as equals while charting new ground and creatively altering
conventions of both worlds. He started on this path in his previous five
releases (1998-2005) as the leader of the world-renowned Latin jazz phenomenon
Sonido Isleño, and continued with his pan-Latin jazz interpretation of the
Brazilian songbook with Kaori Fujii on Garota de Ipanema for RCA Victor Japan
(2007). In 2008, he released Herencia Judía a critically acclaimed Afro-Latin
Jewish recording project.
For
Ochosi Blues, Lapidus assembled an A-list of performers and friends with whom
he has frequently toured and recorded: Pedrito Martínez, charismatic
percussionist, vocalist, and bandleader, Cándido Camero NEA Jazzmaster and
conga legend, Bobby Sanabria 7-time Grammy nominee, bandleader and educator,
rising organ star Jared Gold, Hammond organ elder and legend of studio and
Broadway orchestras Frank Anderson, Elder statesman of reeds and Caribbean
music Gene Jefferson, as well as tough tenor Paul Carlon and trumpeter Greg
Glassman. Special guests include: two-time Latin Grammy nominee trumpeter
Charlie Sepúlveda (Eddie Palmieri and Batacumbele), Veteran big band singer
Enid Lowe (Jan Garber). Original Blues Brothers vocalist Bobby Harden,
Colombian vocalist Hiram Remón, Trombonist Elizabeth Frascoia, Chicago session
ace, Gospel and R&B guitarist Aaron Weistrop, and a songwriting
contribution by New York Times bestselling author T.J. English (Savage City and
Paddywhacked). Lapidus joins them on
guitar and tres, the quintessential Cuban instrument with three pairs of
strings on its small guitar-like body.
Its unique tuning provides the skilled player with infinite range while
its playing technique is at once percussive, harmonic, and melodic.
Pedrito
Martínezopens the album singing and playing batá drums for Ochosi, the Yoruba
god of the hunt and swift justice on Ochosi Blues (1), and closes it by singing
and drumming for Yemayá, the goddess of the sea on Yemayá's Changes (15). These
two pieces serve as bookends for the project and they offer two possiblilities
of marrying Cuban folklore with jazz in the organ combo context. Lapidus and
Martínez have collaborated on numerous recordings and live performances since
Martínez's arrival in New York in the late 1990s most recently on Paul Carlon's
La Rumba is a Lovesome Thing. Organist Jared Gold is comfortable in a variety
of musical settings and he adds a solid jazz and blues feel to these two
prayers, which are traditionally sung only with drum accompaniment. I'll see
you on Moonday, Wendell (2) is dedicated to the late Dr. Wendell Logan, who was
Lapidus' advisor, mentor and role model at Oberlin College. He taught and inspired many musicians at
Oberlin who have subsequently spread his teachings and philosophy through their
own teaching, writing, and playing. Wendell did not believe in hierarchies that
separated musical styles and he drew from the blues, whether writing for
symphonic orchestras or for big bands. Trumpeter Greg Glassman, another Oberlin
alum and student of Wendell's, plays the first solo on the track. A
collaborator and friend for the last 16 years, saxophonist Paul Carlon is also
featured on this track.
But
Beautiful(3) features Frank Anderson and Enid Lowe, two wonderful Panamanian
musicians that have been collaborating together for many years in Panama and
New York. Lapidus first met Enid, Frank, and Gene Jefferson through Bobby
Sanabria. Bobby is a complete musician, a showman, a scholar, and a friend and
frequent collaborator of Lapidus' who has an insatiable thirst for knowledge.
He has spent over 30 years working with Gene, Enid, and Frank. Historically,
Panamanian musicians have been fluent in Spanish and English Caribbean music as
well as jazz due to their geographic location at the crossroads of the
Americas. For Lapidus, these are the perfect musicians to explore the Caribbean
organ combo concept because they can do it all and have done it all. Enid
worked regularly at the El Panama Hotel and with artists like Jan Garber and
others in the 1950s. Here in New York, she and her husband Gene Jefferson,
along with Frank, continue to perform throughout the city. Frank Andersonis a
virtuoso pianist and organist who has recorded and performed with the best of
the best in Panama, New York and the world.
Historically,
Anderson is one of the only people who has played Hammond organ within this
context and he brings to the studio his years of playing with Vicentico Valdés,
Marcelino Guerra, Arsenio Rodríguez, his own Pan-American big band, and countless
Broadway shows since the 1940s. Frank shows his swing chops on Bilongo (4),
which also features Gene Jefferson and Cándido Camero as the band swings a
Cuban standard. Cándido Camero is
perhaps the most recorded conga player in history, having arrived in NYC in
1946. Besides playing tres in Arsenio
Rodríguez's second band in Cuba and working as a bassist in the son genre, he
worked with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie among so many others. Check out
Candido's straight ahead conga solo on Bilongo! When the power supply went out
on the mixing board during the recording sessions, he asked Enid and Frank to
play and sing standards to pass the time.
After each one, he would talk about how he had recorded and performed
with the singers that made each song famous, like Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett,
Sarah Vaughan and more. Bobby Sanabria and Cándido are the rhythmic anchors of
this project. Gene Jefferson recorded and toured with many important artists
including Tito Rodríguez, Arsenio Rodríguez, and many others both in his native
Panama, New York and abroad. He was also in the house band of the Apollo
Theater for many years and he brings a positive feeling to the session as well
as the ability to swing in calypso, jazz, guaracha, and anything else!
T.J.
Englishis a New York Times bestselling author, a good friend, and a regular
dinner guest in Lapidus' home. During one of these dinners, after dessert had
been served and too much rum had been imbibed, the guests were discussing the
color of roux and how it darkens depending on how long it cooks. This led to
Lapidus and English collaborating on The Sweeter the Lovin', The Darker the
Roux (5). Bobby Harden, who has sung with the Original Blues Brothers Band, and
Aaron Weistrop, a close friend of Lapidus' for 23 years and a guitar player who
is at home with jazz, gospel, r&b, blues, and rock, bring the Roux recipe
to life. Often, one meets the right people at the right time, and such
serendipity led Lapidus to the multi-talented Elizabeth Frascoia, who plays an
appropriately greasy trombone on the Roux song right when it was needed.
Tú, mi
delirio/Here's That Rainy Day(6) features Enid Lowe with Colombian vocalist,
Hiram Remón, who brings his extensive experience and repertoire, beautiful
vocal renditions, and virtuosic maraca playing with him. The Latin Side of Your
Mama (7), a boogaloo meant to poke fun at jazz albums that try on the
"Latin side", features Jared Gold.
Guajira Orgánica (8) pairs Lapidus' tres with Frank Anderson's organ in
a guaracha context. Habla Cándido (9) is
a snippet of the master with his drum; what a treasure to have on this record!
Charlie Sepúlveda, a prolific trumpeter based in Puerto Rico, joins Lapidus on
this duo version of the Cuban classic El Manisero (10), capturing a deep
feeling of simpático. Close your eyes and imagine sitting on the beach every
time it plays. The groove was so intense, that nobody wanted to stop playing
Have You Met Ms. Jones? (11), which features Frank Anderson, Gene Jefferson,
Bobby Sanabria, Cándido, and Lapidus on tres. Ernesto Duarte's Como Fue (12) is
Lapidus' wedding song and is dedicated to his wife, Teresita Levy on their
tenth wedding anniversary. No Brooklyn-based recording would be complete
without recognizing the vibrant West Indian community and its musical
contributions to the soundtrack of New York City. Frank Anderson and Gene Jefferson have been
playing The Five Year Plan (13), a calypso song sung by Atila the Hun, for ages
but calling it "Workers," which is why you hear Gene's whistle and
shout to get back to work. Stella by Starlight (14) features Enid's vocals and
another tres/organ pairing that travels between funk, bolero, swing, and
chachachá.
Finally,
Dennis Mario, an award-winning visual artist and musician based in Puerto Rico,
generously contributed his incredible painting, "Congo Blue y Changó"
(1995), to reflect the musical duality and beauty of this record. Check out his
art at dennismario.com and stay tuned for the forthcoming recording, Dueto
Libre by Lapidus and Mario.
In
addition to Ochosi Blues, Lapidus has been busy performing on tres with Típica
73, the legendary salsa band co-led by Sonny Bravo and Johnny "Dandy"
Rodríguez. He is also performing with Larry Harlow and Michael Stuart at
Lincoln Center for the salsa opera, Hommy. Lapidus sings and plays on Paul
Carlon's album, La Rumba is a Lovesome Thing: A Tribute to Billy Strayhorn.
This exciting nonet has been performing throughout New York City before and
after the release of the album and regularly at the Zinc Bar. In addition,
Lapidus' catalogue of compositions is being championed by Cuban jazz innovator
Pablo Menéndez and Mezcla as his 1998 piece "¿Quién Tiene Ritmo?"
appears on the band's 30th anniversary DVD. Singer songwriter José Conde also
recorded Lapidus' "Bizcocho" for his forthcoming release. In 2014,
Lapidus performed and recorded with master musician, Andy González in support
of the forthcoming Truth Revolution Records album to be released in December
2014.
