Pete Escovedo is the elder statesman of the premiere percussive Hispanic family in the U.S. Sheila E, Peter Michael and Juan joined Papi in a San Diego gig and the result is Live! (Concord), the first live recording by the distinguished timbalero in 15 years, released as the label celebrates its 30th anniversary. Trombonist Wayne Wallace’s arrangements display this commanding contemporary Latin big band in a decidedly favorable light. Aside from Cal Tjader’s “Viva Cepeda”-freshly rethreaded with steady danceable heat-the rest of the material is not standard fare among most Latin jazz audiences, although the expected jamming vocal closer “Sonerito” will be familiar to Sonora Poncena followers. All the Escovedos severely castigate their respective instruments. In the extended, meaty “The E Medley…” Juan thankfully relies less on drum rudiments during his appetizing conga soloing, his father does his thing with Puente-like hints and Sheila follows with plenty of nasty depth. As the young-sounding West Coast veterans tightly swing through familiar Latin rhythmic patterns, including the Wallace-led evolution from loving bolero to timba-inflected jam in “Pete Kelly’s Blues,” it is easy to imagine Concord founder Carl Jefferson digging this recording.
Originally PublishedRelated Posts
Sonny Terry/Brownie McGhee: Backwater Blues
Start Your Free Trial to Continue Reading
Become a JazzTimes member to explore our complete archive of interviews, profiles, columns, and reviews written by music’s best journalists and critics.
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
Become a JazzTimes member to explore our complete archive of interviews, profiles, columns, and reviews written by music’s best journalists and critics.
Harry Connick, Jr.: Direct Hits
Two decades after his commercial breakthrough, Harry Connick Jr. taps legendary producer Clive Davis for an album of crooner roots and beloved tunes
Scott LaFaro
Previously unavailable recordings and a new bio illuminate the legend of bassist Scott LaFaro