The publicity materials of Pan Con Bistec (Ritmo City) by composer, arranger, saxophonist and flutist Bobby Ramirez describe it as “an extraordinary fusion of world music with jazz influence.” That is quite a stretch. There is absolutely nothing astonishing about this Latin-jazz recording. Even so, there is nothing to lament or deride either. Bill Evans’ “Waltz for Debby” has ease of access and does not let the listener off the hook as it manages to engage both harmonic interest and melodic attraction through Ramirez’s progressively rhythmic flute fluttering. One also gets the convivial chance of listening to violinist Federico Britos Ruiz–a somewhat overlooked main ingredient in Charlie Haden’s Nocturne–under different circumstances. In the title cut Ruiz’s rhythmic verve, progression, tonic complexity, intonation and bristling technique are evident in that opening jam. “Bajo Blues”–with extended mainstreamed jazz passages–finds him in a bluesy-swinging locus, playing fluent Southern North American jazz. Venezuelan bassist Ramses Colon-a Cachao protege-comps with brawn and his thick marches solidify the production and lend it character. All three pianists have extensive cross-genre credits, and their cultural globalization comes into play, not only in their soloing but most notably in their lucid support.
Originally PublishedRelated Posts
Sonny Terry/Brownie McGhee: Backwater Blues
Start Your Free Trial to Continue Reading

Jonathan Butler: The Simple Life
Jonathan Butler’s optimistic music belies a dirt-poor childhood growing up in a South Africa segregated by apartheid. Live in South Africa, a new CD and DVD package, presents a sense of the resulting inner turmoil, mixed with dogged resolve, that paved the way to his status as an icon in his country and successful musician outside of it. Looking back, the 46-year-old Butler says today, the driving forces that led to his overcoming apartheid-the formal policy of racial separation and economic discrimination finally dismantled in 1993-were family, faith and abundant talent.
“When we were kids, our parents never talked about the ANC [African National Congress] or Nelson Mandela,” he says. Butler was raised as the youngest child in a large family. They lived in a house patched together by corrugated tin and cardboard, in the “coloreds only” township of Athlone near Cape Town. “They never talked about struggles so we never knew what was happening.”
Start Your Free Trial to Continue Reading

Scott LaFaro
Previously unavailable recordings and a new bio illuminate the legend of bassist Scott LaFaro
Kurt Elling: Man in the Air
Nate Chinen makes the argument that Kurt Elling is the most influential jazz vocalist of our time