Two of the most accomplished and exciting ensembles in contemporary jazz expand the repertoire in two completely different ways.
Miguel Zenón Quartet
Vanguardia Subterránnea (Miel Music)
A review
The Great American Songbook has long been mined by jazz artists. Puerto Rican saxophonist and composer Miguel Zenón has made an eloquent effort to transform that into the Great Americas Songbook, incorporating the popular songs and various musical styles of Latin America into the jazz canon. The wonderfully educational result has been nothing short of breathtaking in the hands of his superlative quartet, with Venezuelan pianist Luis Perdomo, Puerto Rican drummer Henry Cole, and bassist Hans Glawischnig, who hails from the southern part of Austria. Vanguardia Subterránea, the quartet’s latest release, coming just before their Latin Grammy nomination for 2024’s Golden City, makes perhaps the most compelling and satisfying argument yet for his efforts. Recorded live at the Village Vanguard, the 10 tracks include two Latin American megahits, Willie Colón’s “El Día de Mi Suerte” and Jorge Luis Piloto’s “Perdóname,” and eight Zenon compositions—all played with deep feeling and heart-stopping exuberance. The quartet bring muscle, grace, and irresistible rhythm to every track, from the lively opener, “Abre Cuto Güira Mambo,” with its M.C. Escher–like head, to the lyrical “Vita,” a jazzed bolero dedicated to Zenón’s grandmother and the first of the album’s three moving love letters, which also include the title track and “Bendición.” (There’s lyricism in every track. It’s inescapably in the blood of Zenón and Perdomo, who are in perfect alignment with one another.) If you love salsa, bolero, mambo, plena, et al., this album will speak to you, and if you love jazz, this album will speak to you, too.
SFJazz Collective
Collective Imagery (SFJC Records)
A review
The SFJazz Collective—comprising seven stellar musicians/composers: saxophonists Chris Potter and David Sánchez, trumpeter Mike Rodriguez, vibraphonist Warren Wolf, pianist Edward Simon, bassist Matt Brewer, and drummer Kendrick Scott—found inspiration for its latest release, Collective Imagery, in collaboration with San Francisco’s de Young Museum, where each member chose a visual artwork as a springboard for an original composition. Among the highlights is Potter’s swirling “Unknow Know with What Is 12” (bottom right of album cover) that reflects the abstract, colorful character of Chris Johanson’s work. Inspired by Rupy C. Tut’s triptych “New Normal” (top of cover), Simon’s “Guardian of the Forests” and “Guardian of the Oceans” finds the reprimand of nature in our climatic emergency—and a glimmer of hope. Wolf’s “The Files” draws on Sadie Barnette’s “FBI Drawings: Legal Ritual,” a collage including pages from the FBI files on her father, a Black Panther, as well as multiple interviews to deliver a politically charged composition that relies heavily and revealingly on spoken word. Together, the album’s eight tracks serve as a statement on the compositional sophistication, technical virtuosity, expressive depth, and variety of contemporary jazz. (Available 10/17, which happens to be Thelonious Monk’s 108th birthday.)
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