August 24 - Show #59

Theme: Chin chon chow – Louie Ramírez

Song-Artist-Album-Label

Mamá agüela – Cal Tjader – Primo – OJC/Fantasy

Baby – Dave Pike and his orchestra – Manhattan Latin – DECCA

Rip a dip – The Latin Jazz Quintet – Latin Soul – Prestige

Arthur’s dance – The Caribbean Jazz Project – Compilation The Colors of Latin Jazz A Latin Vibe! – Concord Records

Tanguedía – Gary Burton – Compilation The Colors of Latin Jazz A Latin Vibe! – Concord Records

Have you met Miss Jones – Jeno Somlai – Let It Go – Self-produced album: www.jenosomlai.net

Caragua – Grafitti – Grafitti – Self-produced album: www.tomgraf.com

Brigas nunca mais – Jacob Melchior – It’s About Time – Self-produced album: www.jacobmelchior.com

Samba de Orly – Miguel de León – Postcards from Rio – Self-produced album: www.migueldeleon.net

Atabaque de Cunha – Dendê & Hãhãhães – Bahia de Todos os Santos – Mamadêlê Productions

Fado Alfacinha – Amália Rodrigues – Compilation Café Portugal – Union Square Music

Olha a Ribeirinha – Negros de Luz – A Tribute to Amália Rodrigues – Times Square Records

Oye cómo viene – Chano Domínguez – Compilation Calle 54 Music from the Miramax motion picture – Blue Note

La danza de las sombras – Dorantes – Sur – EMI

Soleares – Pedro Iturralde & Paco de Lucía – Jazz Flamenco Vols. 1 y 2 – Hispavox/Blue Note

Bulerías – Pedro Iturralde & Paco de Lucía – Jazz Flamenco Vols. 1 y 2 – Hispavox/Blue Note

Las ciudades – Concha Buika y Chucho Valdés – El Último Trago – Warner Music Spain

Corazón loco – Bebo & Cigala – Lágrimas Negras – Calle 54 Records/Ariola-BMG



Highlights of the show:

Latin Soul aired today a few good flamenco and jazz crossover tunes, as it is the nature of the show. Among other artists featuring their blend of jazz and flamenco creations, a double set dedicated to Pedro Iturralde, a pioneer of this genre, has been the highlight of tonight´s show. Following, you may find a review to a landmark album from which two themes were aired in Latin Soul tonight.




Pedro Iturralde is a retired Spanish musician and composer who graduated from Royal Conservatory in Madrid, from which he retired in 1994. He was born in 1929, and dedicated his life to music. As a musician, his instrument was saxophone, and he enjoyed an extense and international career (studied at Berklee College of Music Boston, Ma) as a performer in jazz and as soloist at symphony orchestras. Being keen on jazz, along with classical music, he went on to lead his own jazz band in Madrid, and probably catched the new trend on crossover jazz and flamenco started in the 60's by Miles Davis and his “Sketches of Spain”. In 1967 and 1968, Pedro Iturralde goes on to experimenting and doing recordings for the Spanish label Hispavox, which were released under the name “Jazz Flamenco”, which later would be released as one album with the title “Jazz Flamenco Vols. 1 y2”, which later in the 90's were released by Blue Note as well.

“Jazz Flamenco Vols. 1 y 2” joins Pedro Iturralde's jazz band and the guitar of Paco de Lucía. This is a collection of eight themes were mainly a bebop jazz sound shares wisely with the flamenco guitar. The overall flow of the saxophone and drums will break a clear space for the guitar and the flamenco melodies at certain points in the evolution of the themes making the perfect ensemble of both jazz and flamenco musical languages. If you like jazz, the fresh guitar notes for opening and guiding first steps in tunes, as in “Zorongo gitano”, “Soleares” or “Bulerías” setting the flamenco tone to let the saxophone blend in and having the jazz band constrined in the complex rhythms of flamenco, you are going to enjoy this album. If you are on flamenco only, maybe this is not your cup of tea. All in all, it´s remarkable the solos of saxophone and guitar going back and forth as in a dialogue between Mr. Iturralde and Mr. De Lucía in the tracks of this highly recommendable album.