Paquito D’Rivera – Portraits of Cuba (1996) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Paquito D’Rivera – Portraits of Cuba (1996)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:00:35 minutes | 1,27 GB | Genre: Jazz
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Digital Booklet, Front Cover | © Chesky Records

Best Latin Jazz Album of the 39th Annual Grammy Awards!

This absolutely classic jazz recording is entitled Portraits of Cuba and is a milestone project of Paquito D’Rivera. Arranged by Carlos Franzetti, the large band ensemble provides an orchestral ambiance akin to the legendary Gil Evan sound with Miles Davis, in the classic “Sketches of Spain.” This recording couldn’t come at a better time, as it presents an artistic commentary on a national and social transition as it unfolds in a new and evolving Cuba. It is truly a work that will be applauded worldwide as the quality of the writing and performance is at a level few artists are capable of achieving today. Paquito D’Rivera provides some of the most inspired improvisation in his career to date and the material chosen for this recording are familiar classics in the popular Latin music tradition.

Because Paquito D’Rivera is such a compelling improviser, one greets a heavily arranged and orchestrated session like Portraits of Cuba with some apprehension. But as it turns out, such apprehension is unwarranted, for the Cuban saxman/clarinetist still has enough room to solo and say what needs to be said. With this 1996 session, which was arranged and conducted by Carlos Franzetti and finds D’Rivera backed by combinations of up to 14 musicians, D’Rivera envisioned an Afro-Cuban equivalent of Miles Davis’ Sketches of Spain — and, to be sure, there are some parallels. Franzetti’s classical-influenced arrangements recall Gil Evans’ work with Davis, and D’Rivera paints an orchestral jazz picture of Cuba much as Davis painted an orchestral jazz picture of Spain. The key phrase here is “jazz picture” — D’Rivera approaches famous Cuban songs like Ignacio Pineiro’s “Echale Salsita” and Ernesto Lecuona’s “Como Arrullo de Palmas” from an instrumental jazz perspective; this is jazz with both Afro-Cuban and classical elements, but it’s jazz first and foremost. Recorded in New York around the time of the infamous Blizzard of 1996 — which dumped up to three feet of snow on parts of the Northeastern U.S. — Portraits of Cuba is among D’Rivera’s most essential recordings.

Tracklist:

1. Paquito D’Rivera – La Bella Cubana (05:13)
2. Paquito D’Rivera – The Peanut Vendor (04:38)
3. Paquito D’Rivera – Tu (05:34)
4. Paquito D’Rivera – Tu Mi Delirio (06:30)
5. Paquito D’Rivera – No Te Importe Saber (05:42)
6. Paquito D’Rivera – Drume Negrita (04:18)
7. Paquito D’Rivera – Portraits of Cuba (05:03)
8. Paquito D’Rivera – Excerpt (from ‘Aires Tropicales’) (00:48)
9. Paquito D’Rivera – Mariana (05:29)
10. Paquito D’Rivera – Como Arrullo De Palmas (03:22)
11. Paquito D’Rivera – Echale Salsita (05:05)
12. Paquito D’Rivera – Song To My Son (05:21)
13. Paquito D’Rivera – Theme (from ‘I Love Lucy’) (03:25)

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