December 2007

Arturo Stable
Notes on Canvas
Arturo Stable

By Forrest Dylan Bryant

Percussionist Arturo Stable’s enchanting second CD pays musical tribute to nine painted masterpieces, with a rotating cast of young Latin-jazz stars attempting to translate the full experience of each image. The results may not always match a listener’s own experience—painting, like music, is a highly subjective art—but Stable scores direct hits on the contradictory boldness and uncertainty of Van Gogh, Frida Kahlo’s forbidding sensuality and Wilfredo Lam’s folkloric cubism. Emotive melodies and masterful arrangements reflect his subjects’ origins, while Stable thrusts directly to the center with powerful rhythmic leadership.