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Volume 1 of this great showcase for Miguel Zenon & Venezuelan pianist Luis Perdomo was something of a pandemic necessity, a way for two friends and creatives to shed some light and joy on dark times. Vol. 2 ups the ante as a more planned and executed effort, and the results are perhaps an even more moving listening experience. I long to hear these tunes live in an intimate jazz club, preferably late at night...
A few years ago Luis and I got together to play a few of our favorite tunes during an impromptu duo session. The session took place during pandemic times, so even though it was in theory a “live session,” there wasn’t anyone in the room except for us and the recording engineer. To our surprise we really enjoyed the results and decided to release it as an album, settling eventually on the title El Arte Del Bolero in reference to the beauty of the Latin-American Songbook and of the Bolero in particular as a genre. We were even more surprised (pleasantly, of course) to discover that the album was very well received by our listeners and that the music - when eventually performed live in front of an actual audience - provided the perfect platform for exploration and interaction. So, we decided to make another album, expanding on the initial concept but with the same intent: to play songs that we know and love.
Since the repertoire for the previous recording basically was decided minutes before the session, we decided to put a little more thought into which songs would be recorded on Volume 2. This was a very fun process, one that was initiated pretty much the same way every single time with the following question: “Tu sabes que canción es bien buena?” (“You know which song is really good?”). From there we would get into long discussions about who sang it best, which arrangement was hipper or what would be a good key to play it in. Once we settled on the songs, another big question arose: how much do we want to push this into the jazz world while still maintaining the original spirit of the song? The final verdict on all of these decisions varied from song to song. But the one thing that remained consistent was the idea that we wanted this to be all about the material; that the songs themselves would be the main characters.
The Latin-American Songbook is so vast and varied that it naturally lends itself to limitless explorations. We purposely looked beyond the Caribbean (exploring composers from México, Venezuela and Panamá, for example) because we wanted to emphasize the point that these songs deserved to be explored and recognized for what they are, beyond labels, categories and regionalisms. Just beautiful music that is a joy to perform and listen to.
Here’s to hoping you feel the same. Enjoy.
Miguel Zenón
About The Music
- En La Oscuridad: From the songbook of the great Tito Rodríguez, this song features a unique melody/harmony combo that is always fun to play on. I personally discovered this song while still a very young music student in Puerto Rico, on the album A Dos Tiempos de Un Tiempo, a wonderful Tito Rodríguez tribute by Gilberto Santa Rosa.
- Paula C: A modern classic by the great Rubén Blades, first recorded on the 1978 album Louie Ramírez y sus Amigos. The original is faster and more dance-oriented, so we decided to slow it down and expand on the form a bit. It ended up providing the perfect platform for improvisation and musical conversation.
- En La Soledad: Another beautiful song from the Tito Rodríguez songbook. We play it here entirely out of time, extending the melodic phrases and harmonic flow. After some collective free-improv over various pedal points, we come back to the theme before closing out the piece.
- Motivos: This one was suggested by Luis, a gorgeous melody that he grew up listening to in his native Venezuela. There are many wonderful versions of this song to explore, my personal favorite coming from La Rondalla Venezolana.
- Caballo Viejo: A timeless piece of music which has been covered extensively by various artists spanning a wide range of musical genres. It was written by master songwriter Simón Díaz, perhaps the most widely recognized Venezuelan composer of his time. Towards the tail end of this version we introduce elements from the outro to Keith Jarrett’s take of “Moon and Sand,” a piece we both know and love.
- Mucho Corazón: Written by Eva Elena Valdelamar, the great Mexican songwriter who penned this when she was still a teenager. We used Benny Moré’s version as one of our main sources of inspiration and experimented with the harmonic progression at different points within the form.
- Silencio: An amazing piece of music from the creative mind of Puerto Rican legend Rafael Hernández. We recorded this piece with a larger ensemble on the 2012 album Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook and decided to revisit it here. Our version uses the triplet as its main source of rhythmic information and it’s perhaps the most intricate arrangement of all the songs on this album. This is truly a beautiful piece of music and felt like the perfect way to close out the record.
credits
released August 25, 2023
Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo
“El Arte Del Bolero Vol.2”
1. En La Oscuridad (Rafael Solano Sánchez/ Peer International Corp.) - 6:57
2. Paula C (Rubén Blades/ Rubén Blades Pub.) - 8:17
3. En La Soledad (Puchi Balseiro/ Peer International Corp.) - 5:41
4. Motivos (Italo Pizzolante/ Leo Musical, S.A. De C.V.) - 7:52
5. Caballo Viejo (Simón Díaz/ Wc Music Corp.) - 8:01
6. Mucho Corazón (Eva Elena Valdelamar/ Peer International Corp.) - 6:36
7. Silencio (Rafael Hernández Marín/ Peer International Corp.) - 7:41
Miguel Zenón - alto saxophone
Luis Perdomo - piano
Recorded at Big Orange Sheep (Brooklyn, NY) May 16th, 2023
By Michael Perez-Cisneros, assisted by Cat Evers
Mixed by Danilo Pichardo and Miguel Zenón
Mastered by Danilo Pichardo
Graphic Design by Abdiel Flores, WIGO Design
Produced by Miguel Zenón
The Arkadia Jazz All-Stars deliver a low-lit, elegant take on Duke Ellington classics, each note delivered with tenderness and grace. Bandcamp New & Notable Sep 19, 2022
