DIEGO MAROTO IN NEW YORK (Richard Blondet 22-Nov-04)
Todd Barkan was doing his impression of Linda Blair in
the "Exorcist" as his head was spinning out of control at the way
these cats just Jazz waltz'd their way into Dizzy's Club Coca Cola
and blew EVERYONE away with their musical interpretation of
Jazz
music.
Last night was the 5th installment of a week long series that
began
on Tuesday @ Dizzy's which played host to the MEXICO NOW
festival
that was taking place in New York for the past 2 weeks which
have featured events all over the city. At Dizzy's, New York
audiences were treated to a double bill of drummer/composer
Antonio
Sanchez and his various groups (Trio, Quartet & Quintet) and the
New
York City debut of DIEGO MAROTO and his Sextet.
I was expecting perhaps a battle of the bands between Antonio
Sanchez
group whom last night featured Ben Street (bass), Adam Rogers
(guitar) and Donny McCaslin (sax) versus Diego's sextet. It was
no
contest. Diego's sextet was blazin' and took no prisoners. They
completely blew the Antonio Sanchez combination out of the
water. If
the Diego Maroto Sextet were based in New York, they'd give a lot
of
the local artists a run for their money.
The group consisted of Rey David Alejandre (trombone), who is
a
cross between Conrad Heriwg and Papo Vazquez. In other
words a bad
Mo'Fo'! Mark "Osito" Aanderud on piano, Francisco de la Rea on
guitar, and the two finest Bass and Drums combo I've ever heard
in
Agustmn Pernal (bass) and Gabriel Puentes (drums). Rounding
out
the sextet was the great Diego Maroto, on Tenor and Soprano
Sax
respectively.
Make no mistake. The music of Diego Maroto is not some forced
attempt at combining native Mexican elements with the
harmonies of
Jazz. This is no Mariachi-Jazz or a Bop-Jarocho of some kind.
This is
pure and simple as Straight Ahead a Jazz music as you will hear
anywhere. Diego's sextet is on the level of many of the greats
and
I'll put them side by side next to the groups led by Roy Hargrove
and
David Sanchez. He is just as gifted a composer, if not better. I
say
that without any reservation whatsoever. If his name was John
Johnson or Lou Dimaggio, there'd be no question that he'd be a
strong
presence at Jazz festivals and would be booked at places like
Yoshi's, Jazz Alley, Blues Alley, Hothouse, Birdland, Blue Note,
Iridium and other high profile venues. But his name is Diego
Maroto
who hails from and studied in Mexico and I hate to say it, but it's
more than likely he and his Jazz compadres will get lumped into
some
type of World/Jazz or Latin/Jazz category and be treated as an
avant-
garde act without having heard the music. If you listen to his
music,
it's no different than what any other mainstream Jazz artist is
doing
today. Only his music is truly exceptional. One of his
compositions
entitled MUNDO PARALELO is as hard bop as any Eddie
Henderson & Sonny
Fortune CD or as funky as any Weather Report or Taj Mahal
recording
out there. In another composition, ANOTHER MINOR BLUES,
bass player
Agustmn Bernal takes a solo that puts him in the pantheon of
great
bassists on the scene today like Boris Koslov, John Benitez,
Dwayne
Burno and John Pattitucci, amongst others.
These cats are not playing Latin Jazz or Avant-Garde Jazz or any
other style of Jazz except JAZZ. Punto. Hopefully, they'll be back in
the USA in the near future so those of you who are interested can
check them out. I sure hope that their performance @ Dizzy's
made
people take notice and allow them some opportunity to perform
some
more in the USA. Especially in New York (For selfish reasons.)
Also, the room at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola is A#1. It just replaced
Birdland as the best listening "room" to hear and experience
jazz.
Although a $30 admission may seem somewhat steep, it is
reasonable
considering the qualtiy of the musicianship and just the overall
vibe
of the place. No lousy sound problenms or amp feedback in this
place.
100% Perfect acoustics all around. And the view overlooking
Cnetral
Park ain't bad either. Great food as well. Club Dizzy's will
defintiely be one of my regular hang out spots from now on. And
if
that wasn't enough, after the 2 sets of the double bill featuring
Antonio Sanchez Group and Diego Maroto Sextet, audiences
were treated
to a late night after hours session with the John Benitez Quartet
that featured Ernesto Simpson (drums), The Rodriguez Bros:
Robert
(Piano) and Mike (Trumpet), and the great John Benitez (bass).
Check out Dizzy's Club Coca Cola if you haven't already. Gonzalo
Rubalcaba will be coming through and in January '05, the
greatest
vibes player in jazz of my generation, Mr. Stefon Harris and
his "Blackout" ensemble.
BTW-It is very evident, that Latin Jazz is well-represented at the
new home for Jazz @ Lincoln Center. Upcoming concert
performances
and educational clinics and discussion panels will be revolving
around Latin Jazz in January of 2005. Even the menu is well
represented (Anyone ever try a Cubano-Bop BBQ Steak
Sandwich?)
Check it out for yourself, next time you're at Dizzy's.
And if you're able to find it, check out Diego Maroto's new CD
entitled MUNDO PARALELO...
Richie
El saxofonista más energético y arriesgado del panorama jazzístico del país,
Diego Maroto, llega a la escena local. Los alientos fogosos de Maroto
encallarán el próximo 17 de marzo, a las 21:00 horas, en el Hard Rock Live,
dentro del ciclo Jazz Alternativo Guadalajara. Un día antes, Maroto ofrecerá un
show case y entrevista en vivo en el programa radiofónico Solo Jazz,
conducido por Sara Valenzuela, que se transmitirá desde el restaurante Tinto
y Blanco. Ahí la entrada será libre.Pero Diego Maroto no llega solo: con él
arribará una pandilla de algunos nuevos héroes mexicanos del jazz, con
quienes se confabula para ejecutar este estilo de música en la más amplia,
pura y contemporánea de sus acepciones. Aliados incondicionales del bebop,
estos músicos recorren los escenarios desde 2002 bajo el simple alias de
Diego Maroto Sexteto. Al lado del sax tenor y soprano, oriundo de la Ciudad
de México, ejecutan Mark Aanderud (piano), Agustín Bernal (contrabajo),
Gabriel Puentes (batería), Francisco Lelo de Larrea (guitarra) y Rey David
Alejandre (trombón).Diego Maroto y sus colegas regresan a la carga en los
escenarios aztecas, luego de haber marcado un precedente en la historia del
jazz mexicano: estuvieron en la ciudad de Nueva York durante seis días
consecutivos, en el Dizzy's Club, en Lincoln Center, Nueva York; en cinco de
esos shows el boletaje se agotó. El conjunto recibió alentadoras críticas de los
medios especializados y fue blanco de los halagos del maestro Richard
Blondet, en una carta dirigida al foro Jazz Mestizo. "Diego Maroto es un
genio... Sabía que tenía la técnica y un entendimiento profundo del lenguaje
del jazz, pero este tipo es un monstruo... Estos individuos son tan buenos
como los mejores grupos de jazz de Nueva York o tal vez del mundo... “
redactó.Este grupo es convocado por Maroto a principios del año 2002 con el
fin de sonar composiciones propias pensadas para esta dotación. El trío de
Aanderud, Bernal y Puentes llevaban ya un tiempo trabajando juntos, y fue en
la presentación de su disco Common Differences en donde Diego escuchó la
sonoridad que estaba buscando para su quinteto.Posteriormente integró al
trombonista Rey David Alejandre y al guitarrista Francisco Lelo de Larrea. En
sus interpretaciones, el conjunto alterna temas de Maroto con temas
originales de cada uno de los integrantes.Anteriormente, Maroto había
editado un disco en solitario, Mundo paralelo, en el que se hizo acompañar
por músicos invitados que a la postre formarían parte de su sexteto. En ese
disco quedaron también grabadas las colaboraciones del trompetista Joe
D'Etienne y el piano de Eugenio Toussaint.Desde que se formó, el grupo se ha
presentado exitosamente en clubes y festivales de jazz, siendo los más
representativos el ciclo de jazz Arte 02 y Jazz en el Bosque, ambos festivales
organizados por el INBA (Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes). En Noviembre del
2004, Diego Maroto se presentó con su grupo en el Primer Festival
Internacional de Playa del Carmen; posteriormente, en el mismo mes,
estuvieron en la ciudad de Nueva York. Por la gran expectativa y el éxito que
ha tenido esta agrupación, el sexteto de Diego Maroto se perfila como una de
los proyectos más propositivos del jazz en México.
Diego Maroto SextetoCiclo Jazz Alternativo GuadalajaraJueves 17 de marzo a
las 21:00 horas
Contratiempo Jazz Magazine
Con la intensión de ampliar horizontes para impulsar y motivar a las nuevas
generaciones de músicos de jazz a alimentar su visión del mundo, el
saxofonista mexicano Diego Maroto realiza gira por Asia.
El próximo miércoles Diego Maroto se presentará en uno de los festivales de
música más importantes de Asia, “Mosaic Music Festival”, para continuar con
más fechas en Singapore, Kuala Lumpur y en el club de jazz de Bangkok
(Tailandia) llamado "Saxophone”.
A la fecha, Diego Maroto ha tocado con varios proyectos en el club de jazz en
Kuala Lumpur llamado "No Black Tie". Estando allá se confirmó su
participación en el Java International Jazz Festival (Jacarta, Indonesia), además
de haber tocado en los clubes de jazz más importantes de Singapore. Maroto
continuará su estadía en Asia por un mes más.
This trio embodies the spontaneous meeting of 3 musical minds in an
intimate landscape, driven by sheer joy, passion and abandon for music that
is at once free and created for the moment. The music speaks of the artists'
dedication and belief in their art, the veins of their musical thoughts
intertwining so naturally and organically, sparked with moments of abandon
and celebration!
From Mexico City to Singapore, and No Black Tie, Kuala Lumpur, it is as
though the adventure has just begun!
Evelyn Hii, No Black Tie
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