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1. Por alegrias Chano Dominguez
2. I Remember Dizzy (Bossa)
3. Rumba pa’ Jerry
4. Poinciana
5. Aria Musette
6. Blues imaginaria
7. A mi padre
8. Vamonos pa’ Cal
9. Don’t Get around Much Anymore
10. Bruselas en la lluvia
11. Rumba marina

Paquito D’ Rivera - Saxophone & Clarinet
Chano Dominguez - Piano
Anga Diaz - Percussion
Marc Miralta - Drums
Mario Rossi - Bass
Israel Suarez ‘Pirana’ Flamenco Percussion
Sleeve Notes are comprehensive and printed in both Spanish & English.

Paquito D’Rivera, (Clarinet & Saxophone) who is of Cuban origin is one of the most outstanding Saxophone and Clarinet players working on the jazz scene today. He has performed with nearly all the great names in the jazz world and was a very important part of The Dizzy Gillespie United Nations Orchestra. His tone and technique on both instruments is flawless and he combines these abilities with a pleasant easy going manner and a great sense of humour, both musical and otherwise!

Chano Dominguez, is of course Spanish, he was born in Cadiz in 1960. He has toured many countries and claims to be the originator of Flamenco jazz. He too is a very accomplished musician who has many compositions to his credit, he has also played with many of the jazz greats including Winton Marsallis.

With two players of such great stature in the jazz world, we expect some great performance and they do not disappoint. I am not a great fan of fusion music in jazz, but in this case it is entirely successful, probably due to the Latin origins of both players. I still like the straight ahead numbers the best, but all the work here is top class.

The concert was staged at the Teatro Real in Madrid on the 5^th of April 2006 as part of the Madrid Jazz Festival, it was the first jazz concert at this theatre, which had a production of La Boheme running at the time; the set gave the backdrop for the performance! The audience is large and enthusiastic about the music played. The rhythm section provide more than adequate support and I felt that Mario Rossi on Bass was exceptional throughout.

The quality of video production and sound is a lot better than that of many jazz DVDs I have come across and that always adds to the enjoyment of the performance.

Another nice feature is that after the first viewing, it is possible to turn off all the introductions and other ‘chat’ and just hear the music.

As a tribute to La Boheme, Paquito produced an arrangement of Aria de Musetta, I would not have expected this particular aria to work as a jazz vehicle, but it does and for me it is the star track of a very enjoyable DVD.

Don Mather

see also review by Tony Augarde

 

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