Sandstorm (G-THREE Music)
Alexis Baro
Released August 28, 2018
Juno Award Nominee Jazz Album of the Year: Solo 2019
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kADSoljpjYOPbNz_h5BnV4K9Oyt8heYGs
Spotify:
About:
Alexis Baro was born into a musical family in Havana, Cuba. Classically trained, he took up the trumpet at the age of age 8 and completed his musical education receiving a teaching certification at the prestigious Amadeo Roldán Music Conservatory in Havana.
While in school he became a member of the Buena Vista Social Club super star Omara Portuondo’s band, and later at the age of 19 played lead trumpet for the National Radio and Television Orchestra. After moving to Toronto, Canada in 2001, he was discovered by iconic Canadian jazz drummer Archie Alleyne where he florished as a writer and performer for eight years as a member of the Canadian award winning ‘hard-bop” band Kollage. As a band member he was nominated for “Best Jazz Trumpeter” by the Canadian National Jazz Awards in the years 2006, 2007, and 2008. Baro has participated in more than 80 albums and can be heard as a feature solist on some of the most transcendent Latin albums made in Canada such as Hilario Duran’s Grammy Award nominated album “From The Heart”.
He has performed with such artists as Nikky Yanofsky, David Foster, Michael Bublé, Paul Anka, Danilo Perez, John Patitucci, Brian Blade, Paquito d’ Rivera, Jimmy Bosch, Miguel Zenon, Hilario Duran, Robi Botos, Jesus Alemaney & Cubanismo, David Virelles, Andrea Boccelli, Gino Vanelli, Esthero, David Rudder, Juan de Marco & The Afro-Cuban All Stars, and Horacio “el negro” Hernandez. Highlights in his solo career include opening for Herbie Hancock, and tours of South America and the West Indies. He has released six albums as a solo artist “Havana Banana”, “From the Other Side”, “Blue Skin”, the Gold Medal “Global Music Award winning album in the jazz category “Guilty Pleasure”, “Sugar Rush” and “Sandstorm”. which was nominated for a Juno Award in 2018.
Track Listing:
1. Sandstorm (Intro) 01:35
2. Sandstorm 04:08
3. Noche 04:27
4. Path to Freedom 04:30
5. The B Side of A 03:14
6. Drume Negrita 05:16
7. El Viento 05:12
8. Central Baro 03:52
9. The Funky One 07:40
10. Ever Growing 06:10
11. Come Together 05:53
Personnel:
Alexis Baro: trumpet
Jeremy Ledbetter: keyboards
Anthony Brancati: keyboards
Yoser Rodriguez: bass
Roberto Riveron: bass
Andrew Stewart: bass
Amhed Mitchel: drums
Anthony Daniel: drums
Larnell Lewis: drums
Review:
Sandstorm is the newest album from Havana-born, Toronto-based trumpet player Alexis Baro. An accomplished musician, Baro’s résumé includes performances with a wide range of artists, such as saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera, organist Joey DeFrancesco and producer David Foster. Inspired by Baro’s experiences living in a big city, Sandstorm is framed as a celebration of “the vibrant energy of diverse cultures living together in a rapidly changing urban environment.” Nine of the album’s eleven compositions are Baro’s; of the remaining two, one is a reworking of the traditional Latin American lullaby Drume Negrita, and the other is a cover of The Beatles’ Come Together. In addition to Baro, Sandstorm features keyboardists Jeremy Ledbetter and Anthony Brancati, bassists Yoser Rodriguez, Roberto Riveron and Andrew Stewart, and drummers Amhed Mitchel, Anthony Daniel, and Larnell Lewis.
After an exploratory, searching intro, in which Baro demonstrates the range of his melodic and timbral control, Sandstorm’s hard-driving title track begins with a repeated 5/8 motif that is woven throughout the song. The B Side of A, one of the album’s funkier entries, sees Baro playing with a filtered, electric trumpet sound while trading with Brancati, with a strong drum solo from Lewis. Baro’s trumpet glides smoothly atop the programmed drums in Drume Negrita, and Come Together is arranged with a sophisticated, understated groove. Central to Sandstorm is Baro’s sound: warm, articulate and confident in both the lower and upper registers, reassuring and surprising throughout the album.
Colin Story (The WholeNote)
