Mark Morganelli (flugelhorn, percussion) has been around the jazz scene in New York for many years as a musician, producer and music coordinator running multiple festivals and clubs. Here he has returned with his fifth CD as bandleader, accompanied by Abelita Mateus (piano), Eddie Monteiro (midi-accordion, vocals), Monika Oliveira (vocals), Nilson Matta (bass), Adriano Santos (drums), Nanny Assis (guitar, percussion, vocals) and Carlos Barbosa-Lima (guitar). Somewhat unusually for a jazz release this is a double CD, capturing nearly two hours of music which was recorded over two days in June 2018 at the Jazz Forum in New York. I’ve just been over to the Jazz Forum site and I can see that if I was living in the area I would be a regular attendee as they showcase a wide range of jazz artists.

Latin-inspired jazz is something I tend to appreciate as opposed to enjoy, it must be said, and I think that is because I was raised on a diet of the likes of Jack Teagarden and never really got into the Latin style. However, having a daughter being a competitive ballroom and Latin dancer does mean I have heard more than my fair share of the style over the years. In the main, this album varies between fairly interesting and, it must be said, background. Some of the numbers such as “Velas Icadas” could have improved the album by not being on it, as Carpenters-inspired Latin is not something I am that interested, especially when it is as laid back as this. But against that the instrumentals where Mark allows himself to take the lead melody are really quite good indeed. I am sure fans of the genre will be intrigued by this, but for someone like me coming from the outside it needs to be way more strongly edited.

Rating: 5/10

Links:
https://jazzforumarts.org/