2012-09-07
7:30PM
n/a
"Gonzalez's molten, brassy lines make a magic so rare and powerful that the sound of the song - and the album - lingers a lot longer than the last single note played by the trumpeter."
-All About Jazz
Jerry Gonzalez & El Comando de la Clave
Featuring: Jerry Gonzalez (flugelhorn, trumpet, congas)
Alain Pérez (bass, vocals)
Javier Massó "Caramelo"(piano)
Kiki Ferrer (drums)
One of the leading figures in the world of Latin Jazz, trumpeter/conguero Jerry
Gonzalez is well known in his native United States for his years of experience
with jazz giants such as Dizzy Gillespie and McCoy Tyner and Latin music greats
Eddie Palmieri and Tito Puente, as well as a founding member of Conjunto
Libre and Grupo Folklórico y Experimental Nuevayorquino, but it is as leader of
Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band that his status as one of music’s
most innovative voices and the greatness of his artistic vision became widely
recognized. Following his portrayal in Fernando Trueba’s critically acclaimed
documentary Calle 54 Gonzalez’s fame took on international proportions. After a
trip to Madrid in support of the film, finding the Spanish people’s reaction to his
music enticing and the European environment more hospitable than his post 9-11
New York home, he decided to settle there.
His years in Madrid have resulted in numerous productive collaborations with
various Spanish musicians, such as Paco de Lucía, Chano Domínguez, Javier
Limón and Jorge Pardo. With the release of the Grammy nominated Los Piratas
Del Flamenco (2004) featuring the guitarist Niño Josele, the percussionist Israel
Suárez "Piraña" and the renowned vocalist Diego "El Cigala", Gonzalez introduced
a radically new sound, innovatively fusing jazz and flamenco. From duo (A Primera
Vista with Federico Lechner) to large ensembles (Music for Big Band with Miguel
Blanco) each new recording by the trumpeter/conguero has represented another
distinctive trail on the world music map.
In recent years, Gonzalez’s most consistent work has been as the leader of
his Madrid based quartet El Comando de la Clave, as heard on the recently
released self titled Sunnyside CD, named 2011 Latin Jazz Album of the Year by
Downbeat’s Ted Panken. Featuring Cuban émigrés electric bassist/vocalist Alain
Pérez (bass), pianist Javier Massó "Caramelo" drummer and Kiki Ferrer, each
one an innovative stylist who has contributed to the development of the group’s
character, which the leader describes as being informed by the rhythmic roots of
Los Muñequitos de Mantanzas and the jazz intensity of John Coltrane. Gonzalez
says, “I love my bandmates. Something has developed between us, a unique
style.”
