Following up on the success of his debut release, ‘Latin Jazz Sessions’, composer Ron Rieder presents eight of his new pieces arranged for a jazz octet by percussionist-producer Ricardo Monzon. The music ranges from sambas, mambos and a tango to Afro-Cuban jazz propelled by Monzon’s percussion. It is unusual for a composer not to play on his own work, but that is what we have here with eight songs recorded with eight musicians over two days in February earlier this year. On top of that, while Rieder arranged two of the songs, the other six were arranged by percussionist Ricardo Monzón.
It is the percussion which is at the heart of this recording, driving the music along in a very Caribbean style, while horns and piano vie for the position of top dog. It is a blast of relaxing sunshine which evokes the feeling of Carnival, as this is music as life: it is impossible to listen to this and not find parts of the body moving along even if there is no direction from the brain to do so. The cover may be studio trickery and not the real deal, but it captures the joy of what this album is all about. There is nothing deep or intellectual about this, it is music to make the listener smile and for the feet to dance, and sometimes that is all that is required.
Rating: 8/10
Links:
https://ronriedermusic.com/