| Jazz |
Like a true ray of sunshine, Jonathan Powell invites us to a wonderfully enjoyable form of Mambo/jazz… as pleasant to listen to as it is to dance to, thanks to groovy, extraordinary arrangements. This is undoubtedly the secret to the art of this musician, who also has a beautiful trumpet sound. The trumpet, like the saxophone, echoes the fundamental jazz modalities. The ideas that inspired *Mambo Jazz Party* began with a conversation with a colleague, a bongocero, who was leading a masterclass for a group of students. During the class, the bongocero explained the importance of the campana in salsa and mambo music, simply saying, “when you see and hear the bongocero switch to the campana, you know it’s party time.” This simple and joyful truth struck Powell and inspired him afterward. Powell comments: “I’ve always loved the montuno/descarga part of the song, where the band goes beyond the written notes and simply creates the energy and atmosphere of the party.”
What is also particularly interesting about this album are the melodic lines, which often sound like glorious film music. After two decades of expertise as a sideman for Latin jazz legends such as Eddie Palmieri, Arturo O’Farrill, Miguel Zenon, Oscar Hernandez, the Spanish Harlem Orchestra, and Tito Puente Jr., Powell assembles a rotating group of 18 musicians to deliver a dancing fusion of Latin jazz and mambo, while also integrating the modern electric jazz aesthetic on *Mambo Jazz Party*. The result is an album that’s hard to categorize but of undeniable quality. Powell pays homage to the masters he’s had the privilege to work with through the authenticity of the interpretation and the choice of pieces. However, what sets this album apart is its departure from the usual elements found in a Latin jazz record. Inspired by the sounds of modern electric jazz and the history of jazz fusion, Powell draws directly from the sounds of artists like Chick Corea and Return to Forever, Headhunters, Weather Report, Kneebody, Snarky Puppy, and even Thundercat. Added to this are the sonic textures of the tabla from the Carnatic music Powell studied in his youth, as well as the contemporary harmonic concept of crossover jazz artists, revealing the complexity of how Powell “bends” the genre, as he puts it.
With such excellent references, this album is full of surprises at the most unexpected moments. We can barely imagine the difficulty, like that of a tightrope walker gracefully navigating through all these influences. Jonathan Powell, with this album, definitively imposes his style, noticeable through the cleverness of his musical writing, managing orchestral form remarkably well, thanks to the wide-ranging culture he carries within himself. *Mambo Jazz Party* presents a dazzling list of musicians in various combinations throughout the album. Jonathan Powell, on flugelhorn and trumpet, is accompanied by Andrew Gould (alto saxophone), his brother Jeremy Powell (tenor saxophone, flute), Jimmy Bosch (trombone), Doug Beavers (trombone), Itai Kriss (flute), Louis Fouché (alto saxophone), Nir Felder (electric guitar), Axel Tosca (piano, Rhodes, synthesizer), Manuel Valera (Rhodes, synthesizer), Luques Curtis (bass), Camilo Molina (drums, timbales, percussion), Marcos Lopez (congas), Marcos Torres (congas), Luisito Quintero (bongos, campana, percussion), Ariacne Trujillo (lead vocals), Anthony Almonte (lead vocals, chorus), and Jeremy Bosch (chorus). Of this group of exemplary musicians, Powell notes: “They all brought their personal voice, their experience, and truly embodied the title. We were just a group of friends having fun in the studio.”
Indeed, we share in this fun, and we are particularly pleased to have discovered this artist through this magnificent Latin-flavored album, which we are promptly adding to our “Essential” albums collection.
Thierry De Clemensat
USA correspondent – Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, August 28th 2024
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