DON’T BOTHER
Rating: 
A bunch of white guys getting together and playing Latin Jazz — sounds like a recipe for disaster, doesn’t it? Well, Sonando does has that feeling of oil slick deep Latin cliches, as on the snooze Done Estabas Anoche, but it isn’t as bad as it could be.
On the opener, Cancion del Rio Part 1, trombonist Chris Stover impresses with a buttery tone reminiscent of trombone master Raul De Souza, and shapely melodic phrases. Stover also plays beautifully, if simply, on composer Abdullah Ibrahim’s Bombella. Keep an ear out for this guy. If he can work on his chops, he’ll be one of the greats. As guitarist Pat Metheny could tell you, if you work really hard, you can improve technically, but you can’t teach lyricism and taste.
Pianist Fred Hoadley, who is the mastermind behind this release, has either written or arranged as wide a variety of Latin Jazz as you could possibly want. He is also wise enough to include a number of classic compositions in the genre from the likes of Ignacio Pintero, Abdullah Ibrahim, Dave Valentin, Joe Ford, Arsenio Rodriguez, Victor Young, Horace Silver, and Wayne Shorter. I’m particularly fond of Joe Ford’s The Vonce, with it’s surprising emphasis on an altered chord.
The bad news is that Hoadly’s arrangements are rudimentary. That’s not to say that they’re ugly because they aren’t. It’s just that they don’t dig deep into the structures of the tunes, whether you’re approaching them from the Latin side or the jazz side.
The same goes for the improvisations from the vast majority of the soloists. Since Fred Hoadley is the principle soloist, most of the blame rests squarely on his shoulders. He mostly sticks with solos based on 8th notes rather than 16th notes, which wouldn’t be a problem if he were an incisive soloist. In the rare times when he ventures into more virtuostic territority, he blusters, saying nothing of consequence. He’s just as hapless when he plays tres, the three-string Cuban guitar. Everything he plays is a cliche. He has no real feeling for the music. (In full disclosure, I should probably mention that my grandmother is Cuban, and I heard this music growing up, so I have some idea what it should sound like.)
In his liner notes, Fred Hoadley writes:
This project was a labor of love that couldn’t have been realized without the dedication and talents of the fabulous musicians who brought these arrangements to life. I dedicate this recording to them.
I have no reason to doubt Hoadley’s love for the music. Other than jerks like Kenny G., no one plays jazz for the money. But if you want to do justice to a music genre, the harsh truth is that love just isn’t enough.
Now, for less discerning listeners, like Allmusic.com’s Adam Greenburg, Tres might not present a problem. As I have already noted, it is not unpleasant to listen to, there’s a wide variety of musical styles represented, and there’s a great deal of jazz improvisation. However, those who demand a trenchant take on the material will grow impatient with the lack of depth and true understanding of the music, on both the Latin and jazz sides of the equation.
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This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009 at 1:00 pm and is filed under 2000s, Afro Cuban Jazz, Don't Bother, Latin Jazz, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Interesting review, of what is not the strongest album in it’s given genre. It may not seem obvious since white males are the whipping boy of modern commentary, but judging something on its face because it’s “a bunch of white guys sitting around playing latin music” seems racist. What might one think of the statement “well, I’m not too excited about such and such recording of Mozart because it’s recorded primarily by South Americans (or Africans) and as we know “love (of the music) is not enough to overcome their natural inability to understand western music.” Granted you did not go quite that far, but the culturist implications are there in your opening statement. The playing on this CD may not be stellar, but it’s not about whiteness, it’s about ability, and immediate references to race are not helpful in discussions about music.
Hi, Thomas.
Well, first of all, I should probably mention that I’m a mighty whitey myself, but you’re right. “White people” in this context is inflammatory and not altogether fair. It is possible for a white American or European person to be exposed to Latin music at a young age, develop a passion for it, hang out with Latinos and play with them, and end up playing Latin music as well as any of them. An example of this is the keyboardist Jan Hammer, who plays Latin grooves beautifully on Elvin Jones’ release, Mr. Jones, as well as with the excellent fusion band, Stone Alliance.
When I say “white people,” it’s really shorthand for people who come to music from another culture late, as fans, and don’t really develop a feel for it, and yet insist on playing it. It’s kind of like a cook who decides he’s going to cook “Mexican” food and dumps jalapenos and cumin in everything instead of actually doing his or her homework.
What’s really necessary to develop an ability to play someone else’s music is exposure (usually at a young age), empathy, and a lot of hard work. Love is never enough.
I’ll give you an example on the other side of the fence. In Hong Kong movies from the 80s and 90s, the soundtracks often include Chinese versions of hair metal and blues. They are embarrassingly weak because the players have not been sufficiently immersed in the culture, haven’t woodshedded enough, and lack the feel for the music they are playing. In that case, I might write disparagingly about Chinese people trying to sing the blues.
On the other hand, people from other cultures can bring fresh ideas to music, especially jazz. One example I can think of is the live album Joe Henderson In Japan, which features a Japanese rhythm section.
What the “a bunch of white guys sitting around playing latin music” remark boils down to is just a convenient way to disparage people who approach the music in a lazy and/or clueless manner and is meant sort of tongue in cheek. Of course, such a remark leaves me open to being regarded as racist.
That’s okay, though. Guys like you comment to keep me honest, and then I have to explain myself.
Anyway, you bring up a reasonable question. Does culture effect a person’s ability to play a specific style of music? Heck, yeah! It might allow them to bring aspects of their culture to bear on the music that make it more interesting, as in the Japanese rhythm section, or it might inhibit their ability to get into the music. An example of that would be an American trying to play Arabic classical music, which uses a microtonal intonation system. This is not to say that an American couldn’t play Arabic classical music, but an Arab who grew up listening to the music would certainly have a running start.
Oh, one more comment and then I’ll shut up. If I see a country music musician like Mark O’Connor playing with Michael Brecker and other competent jazzers, my first thought is, “How interesting.” I just kind of assume the guy has his act together. But if a bunch of country music musicians decided to put out a funk album or a fusion album, I would be skeptical. It reeks of daytripping. That’s what I thought when I was checking out the list of musicians on Sonando, and it turns out that I was right.