Miguel Zenón Featuring Spektral Quartet
Released September 21, 2018
Grammy Nominee for Best Latin Jazz Album 2019
JazzTimes Top 10 Albums of 2018
YouTube: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kmH170lC6VXuJp9PoflbuDuApFF7qHuj4
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/5I6SZ3tF0Y8JN1qCB8YrK3?si=BBtevLvURqWA0QCTu-IFng
About:
The music on this recording draws from various musical and cultural traditions from my native Puerto Rico. These traditions – present in one way or another for almost 200 years – are the by-product of various factors, all of them vital to the development of Puerto Rican Identity. These factors include: — The Colonization of America, which essentially forced a head-on collision of cultures from all over the world and had an impact on every territory it touched. — The Island’s unique topography and size, which facilitated the distribution of information and contributed to its preservation. — Puerto Rico’s distinctive political status, bonding the country as a territory of the United States while fighting to preserve its language, culture and traditions. Most of these traditions, kept alive by families and tight-knit communities, are in constant evolution. They embody the richest and most historically relevant cultural expressions Puerto Rico has to offer and provide a seemingly endless well of information and inspiration. I was drawn to the idea of writing a series of pieces that extracted elements from these traditions, using them as a point of departure for each composition. The pieces are scored for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet and are meant to provide a platform where various musical worlds (Jazz, Puerto Rican Folklore, New Music) can find common ground in a chamber-like context.
Rosario – This piece draws from “El Rosario Cantado”, a tradition with roots in the Holy Rosary and The Catholic Church. In these “Rosarios”, usually reserved for funerals and other religious occasions, each segment of the Rosary is presented in its usual order, but musicalized with traditional instruments. The musicians hired for these events specialize in this repertoire, which has been passed on to them from generation to generation. Cadenas – “Las Cadenas” is a musical tradition centered on a four-line, six-syllable verse. In the same manner as similar genres, such as “El Punto Cubano” and “El Seis Español”, the verse is sung out of time and always preceded by a short musical interlude, which is played in time and in a more festive fashion. It is believed that it was originally dance music and that it takes its name (Cadenas, which means Chains in Spanish) from the traditional, chain-like dance formation. A variation on this genre, which uses eight syllables instead of six, is called “Los Caballos”. Yumac – Named after the town of “Camuy” (with the name spelled backwards) where it was created by singer Germán Rosario during the mid 1900’s. It comes out of the “Jíbaro” tradition, which uses a ten-line stanza with an “ABBAACCDDC” rhyme scheme, also known as a “Décima”. Its creator recorded two versions, one where each syllable has six lines and another one with eight, which – as a default – makes it alternate between an “Aguinaldo” and a “Seis”. Milagrosa – From the religious tradition of “La Promesa”, where an individual makes a promise to a Catholic deity and in return asks for a specific favor, frequently related to health or finances. If the favor is granted the individual is expected to fulfill this promise for the rest of his or her life. “Promesas” usually involve a musical presentation, where a specific amount of “Seises”, “Aguinaldos” and “Coros” are sung in reference to the deity in question. This piece references a “Promesa” to “La Virgen de La Milagrosa”. Viejo – Written in allusion to the “Aguinaldo Viejo”, also known as “Aguinaldo Jíbaro” or “Aguinaldo Cayeyano”. This genre is believed to be the oldest example of the “Jíbaro” tradition, and some experts trace its harmonic cadence – ej. Am/G7/C/Dmin/B7/E7 – to medieval times. Over the years it has taken on many variations, usually named after the towns where they were created. Cadenza – The essence of this piece was written around a harmonic progression which came out of the combination of “La Cadenza Jíbara” (see Viejo) and “La Cadenza Andaluza”: ej. Cm/Bb/Ab/G7. Promesa – Another composition referencing the “Promesa” tradition, in this case the most popular of all: “La Promesa de Reyes”. The celebration of the Three Kings takes place on January 6th every year, with the “Promesa” festivities usually reserved for the night before. In Puerto Rico – as well as in other Latin American countries like México – the celebration of “El Día de Reyes” supersedes Christmas, both in importance and fervor. Villalbeño – Named after the town of Villalba, where most believe it was created. This genre is another variation on “El Aguinaldo Jíbaro”, although with a freer, rubato-like melody. Thank you for listening and I hope you enjoy the music.
Miguel Zenón
Track Listing:
1. Rosario (Miguel Zenón) 7:19
2. Cadenas (Miguel Zenón) 7:15
(Miguel Zenón, Grammy Nominee for Best Improvised Jazz Solo 2019)
3. Yumac (Miguel Zenón) 5:56
4. Milagrosa (Miguel Zenón) 6:58
5. Viejo (Miguel Zenón) 8:41
6. Cadenza (Miguel Zenón) 8:57
7. Promesa (Miguel Zenón) 9:40
8. Villalbeño (Miguel Zenón) 7:07
Personnel:
Miguel Zenón: alto saxophone
Clara Lyon: violin
Maeve Feinberg: violin
Doyle Armbrust: viola
Russell Rolen: cello
Recorded September 22nd to 24th, 2017 at Electrical Audio in Chicago, IL by Greg Norman
Additional Recording by Nick Broste
Mixed by Brian Montgomery
Mastered by Randy Merrill
Cover Photo from The Teodoro Vidal Collection (Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History, Home and Community Life)
Graphic Design by Abdiel Flores, WIGO Technologies
Assistant Producer: Paul Mutzabaugh
Produced by Miguel Zenón
Review:
The evolution of Miguel Zenón has been unpredictable and intriguing. Along with being the lone remaining charter member in the SFJazz Collective octet and the longtime leader of a whirlwind postbop quartet, the altoist has developed a fertile catalog of work blending jazz with the folkloric roots of his native Puerto Rico. Originally goosed along by funding from the Guggenheim and a MacArthur “genius grant” fellowship, he’s targeted specific genres, composers, and themes related to the island, variously utilizing a large woodwind and brass ensemble, a big band, and spoken-word interviews to help mine this vein over the course of a half-dozen discs.
Now comes Yo Soy La Tradición (I Am the Tradition), comprising eight Zenón originals for alto saxophone and string quartet, both creatively and structurally inspired by the mores and rhythms of Puerto Rico’s religious, cultural, and musical traditions. The relative absence of improvisation makes it an acquired taste for jazz fans, but Zenón’s frequently beautiful scores, woven through Chicago’s Spektral Quartet, are an arresting, increasingly accessible blend of simplicity and sophistication.
The eight pieces clock in at just over an hour and most of them contain memorable highlights worth revisiting. Inspired by the jibaro music tradition as pioneered by mid-20th-century singer German Rosario, “Yumac” features multiple pizzicato strings gamboling in a dart-and-parry fashion, then extending into long unison lines that course alongside Zenón’s alto until he departs on a glorious solo. The celebration of Three Kings Day provokes Zenón’s finest writing on “Promesa,” a gorgeous, cello-laden swirl of bucolic buoyance reminiscent of Maria Schneider’s work for larger ensembles. “Viejo,” based on the oldest example of the jibaro tradition, is a perfectly timed, sparse, and somber change of pace at the album’s midpoint. “Rosario” (based on the Catholic rosary) seems to quote Copland’s Appalachian Spring, and “Cadenza” moves from a stately intro to some of Zenón’s most clarion, birdlike passages before closing with handclaps and a dollop of pizzicato.Yo Soy La Tradición is another gemstone in the ever-evolving mosaic of Miguel Zenón’s musical and cultural identity—better appreciated in context than standing alone, but possessing enough daring and insight to demonstrate how his inner diversity is a tonic for his artistry.
Britt Robson (JazzTimes)
