Caribbean Jazz Project-Afro Bop Alliance Big Band

The Caribbean Jazz project unites with the Maryland-based Afro Bop Alliance for the release of the aptly titled Caribbean Jazz Project – Afro Bop Alliance, set for release on Heads Up in March 2008. The album recasts nine CJP signature pieces – by Samuels, Coltrane, Monk and Oliver Nelson – in a fresh new light via full-bodied arrangements as played by the Afro Bop Alliance Big Band. This collaborations is one of the most exciting new sounds on the Latin jazz scene today.


“Repackaging something that I had played a lot in a smaller group made me hear the music in a new light,” says Samuels. “You react differently to it. It’s a different ball game. It’s the difference between playing on a five-man team and a fifteen-man team. And if you’re the listener, you may have heard these tunes with the small group, but it’s a completely different experience hearing it with this big band.”

Over the course of eight acclaimed recordings, a Grammy Award and two Grammy nominations, the inventive Caribbean Jazz Project has blended scintillating rumbas, sambas, boleros and cha-chas with the uncut spirit of jazz improvisation. As the leader of this continually evolving entity, Samuels explains: “Caribbean defines part of what we do, and jazz defines the other part.”

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HUCD 3137 (053361313722)
THE CARIBBEAN JAZZ PROJECT WITH THE AFRO-BOP ALLIANCE BIG BAND

Led by vibraphonist Dave Samuels, the Caribbean Jazz Project has been crafting brilliant Afro-Caribbean sounds since the mid -1990s. More than a decade after recording their earliest albums on Heads Up International, Samuels and company return to the label and unite with the Maryland-based Afro-Bop Alliance Big Band, the seven-piece Latin jazz collective that has garnered high praise from critics since Encarnación, their 2004 debut recording. Produced by Samuels with arrangements by Afro Bop Alliance trombonist Dan Drew, The Caribbean Jazz Project Afro-Bop Alliance showcases material from CJP’s seven previous recordings spanning 15-years, yet recasts each tune via innovative and full-bodied arrangements. Catch this musical match made in heaven and hear the Caribbean Jazz Project like you’ve never heard them before. (Mike Wilpizeski)

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"Words Cannot Express" Review

MUSIC REVIEW:
Vince Norman / Joe McCarthy Big Band, Words Cannot Express

by Jack Bowers, Cadence, Oct-Dec 2007

The Vince Norman / Joe McCarthy Big Band bears more than a passing resemblance in a number of ways to the Taylor / Fidyk Big Band. First, it is also from the DC area; second, it is co-led by a splendid drummer (McCarthy) and resourceful arranger (Norman); and third, its sidemen were recruited by and large from the area's armed services bands(I counted four each from the Airmen of Note and Army Jazz Ambassadors, three from the Navy Commodores). The overriding similarity is that, like Taylor / Fidyk, these guys know how to swing and do so under any and all conditions. There are, on the other hand, some essential differences, the most obvious of which is that this is a studio date, not a concert. Moreover, the big band doesn't play on every track; there are three numbers by a sextet. And besides writing (or co-writing) every number except for the Bop-era opener, "Tadd's Delight," and producing all the charts, Norman displays his impressive talents elsewhere, playing piano with the band and alto, tenor, soprano sax and bass clarinet with the smaller group, which is heard on "Remember Me When," "El Otono" and "Voo Zsa Day." Trumpet Tim Stanley is eloquent on "Remember" and "Otono," as he is with the big band on "Words Cannot Express." The ensemble closes the session with Norman's captivating three-part "Suite Baby Ray" - the breezy "Left My Baby in Baltimore," Latin-inspired "Back to Bayview" and flag-waving "Coming Home." Norman is a standout on every instrument, underpinning trim and persuasive solos by trombonists Ben Patterson, Chris Buckholz and Jeff Martin, trumpeters Paul Armstrong and Greg Reese, guitarists Jeff Reecer and Gary Malvaso, tenors Tedd Baker and Ben Bokor, soprano Steve Williams, alto Andy Axelrad, baritone Fred Wolfe, pianist Harry Appelman and bassist Max Murray. Norman's also a first-class writer, and none of his compositions is less than engaging. Admirable writing and sharp musicianship usually prompt an emphatic endorsement, and that is certainly the case here.