Latin Jazz

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The Latin Jazz genre at JMA is a catch all genre for jazz bands that use Latin rhythms, but do not fit our Bossa Nova or Afro Cuban genres. Many of the bands listed here mix rhythms from Brazil, Cuba, Central America and Africa in ways that are not always easy to categorize or define.

latin jazz top albums

Showing only albums and live's | Based on members ratings & JMA custom algorithm | 24 hours caching

ROY HARGROVE Roy Hargrove's Crisol : Habana Album Cover Roy Hargrove's Crisol : Habana
ROY HARGROVE
4.83 | 3 ratings
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ASTOR PIAZZOLLA Tango: Zero Hour / Nuevo Tango: Hora Zero Album Cover Tango: Zero Hour / Nuevo Tango: Hora Zero
ASTOR PIAZZOLLA
4.62 | 4 ratings
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MILTON NASCIMENTO Milton Nascimento & Som Imaginario ‎: Milagre Dos Peixes (Gravado Ao Vivo) Album Cover Milton Nascimento & Som Imaginario ‎: Milagre Dos Peixes (Gravado Ao Vivo)
MILTON NASCIMENTO
4.75 | 2 ratings
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MILTON NASCIMENTO Geraes Album Cover Geraes
MILTON NASCIMENTO
4.40 | 5 ratings
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MILTON NASCIMENTO Minas Album Cover Minas
MILTON NASCIMENTO
4.33 | 6 ratings
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GATO BARBIERI Chapter Four: Alive in New York Album Cover Chapter Four: Alive in New York
GATO BARBIERI
4.50 | 2 ratings
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MILTON NASCIMENTO Miltons Album Cover Miltons
MILTON NASCIMENTO
4.50 | 2 ratings
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CHICK COREA The Spanish Heart Band : Antidote Album Cover The Spanish Heart Band : Antidote
CHICK COREA
4.50 | 2 ratings
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JORGE PARDO 10 De Paco (with Chano Domínguez) Album Cover 10 De Paco (with Chano Domínguez)
JORGE PARDO
4.50 | 2 ratings
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CAL TJADER Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet Album Cover Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet
CAL TJADER
4.50 | 2 ratings
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CAL TJADER Amazonas Album Cover Amazonas
CAL TJADER
4.50 | 2 ratings
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CAL TJADER Cuban Fantasy Album Cover Cuban Fantasy
CAL TJADER
4.50 | 2 ratings
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This list is in progress since the site is new. We invite all logged in members to use the "quick rating" widget (stars bellow album covers) or post full reviews to increase the weight of your rating in the global average value (see FAQ for more details). Enjoy JMA!

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latin jazz Music Reviews

GAEA SCHELL In Your Own Sweet Way

Album · 2023 · Latin Jazz
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js
Gaea Schell is a pianist, flautist and occasional vocalist who has performed with Nancy King, Richie Cole, Marcus Shelby, Albert “Tootie” Heath and many others as she globe trots from the US to Italy, Cuba and Mexico. Her latest album, “In Your Own Sweet Way”, features Gaea working with a small group that includes Jordan Samuels on guitar, John Witala on bass, Greg Wyser-Pratte on drums, Carlos Caro on percussion and Marco Diaz guesting on trumpet and percussion on one track. Schell counts Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson and Eliane Elias as pianistic influences, and the expected post bop language is there, but Gaea has some unique phrasing up her sleeve as some of her melodic improv statements tend to stretch beyond the standard form to create some ear grabbing quirky surprises. Schell does play both flute and piano on here, but she does not double track herself, she is either playing one instrument or the other.

About two thirds of “Sweet Way” falls into the Latin jazz category, including album opener, “Cava dell’Isola”, which sports a montuno that sounds a lot like WAR’s classic, “Spill the Wine”. Gaea’s approach to Cuban style piano is not real strict as she often floats above the precise rhythms. On “El Picacho”, guest pianist Marco Diaz plays the montuno in the more exact Cuban traditions, and Schell responds with the declamatory flute style common in Afro-Cuban jazz. Elsewhere on this album there are several relaxed Latin ballads and soft Bossa style numbers. All of the Latin tracks are Schell originals.

We also get a couple of swingin post bop tracks, including “Sweet and Lovely” and “Perplexity” , and Gaea gives us two vocal numbers as well. Schell has a ‘cool’ vocal delivery as she sings original lyrics that she wrote for her boyfriend on the album’s title track. All of these tracks are good, but there is one hidden gem that might slip by you, that is her almost neo-classical composition, “Danza Nocturna de Flores”, this one really shows Schell’s writing skills and makes it apparent that maybe she should try some work in this direction.

DEBBIE SPRING Tocamos

Album · 2023 · Latin Jazz
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js
Thirty three long years separate Debbie Spring’s first album as a leader and her second one, the recently released “Tocamos”. So what has she been up to over the past couple decades? Well, apparently very busy with several pop and country artists, performing classical music with two orchestras, backing up the Miami Sound Machine and touring with Shakira. Debbie plays the viola, an unusual choice for a jazz musician, but it’s the fact that she is one of the few first call viola players that leads to so much work for her. The viola’s range is usually lower than the violin, but Debbie added a fifth string to her axe so she can get up into violin range. Debbie has a sort of old school ‘gypsy jazz’ sound with a lot of sliding into pitches common with players like Stephane Grappelli and the young Jean Luc Ponty before he went more techno. Debbie cites Jean Luc as a major influence and it shows.

“Tocamos” is a Spanish word that means ”we play”, and that is a theme for this album, people coming together and ignoring their cultural differences so they can play music together. There are many Latin styles present here, plus a little fusion and swing as well. Checking out some various tracks, “Summer” is a relaxed swing groove and it is the track on which Debbie channels the sound of the young Jean Luc. “Bossa Minha” is a bossa nova of course, and features guest guitarist Phil Fest. Title track “Tocamos”, mixes a Brazilian opening section with a piano driven Cuban montuno in the middle section. “Tango Y Mas” is a tango (of course … again) and features Howard Levy on harmonica replacing the expected tango accordion. Possibly the most interesting track though is “Senegal”, a percussion driven jam in 5/4 time that draws from Senegal’s musical culture.

DIANE SCHUUR Diane Schuur Featuring Caribbean Jazz Project : Schuur Fire

Album · 2005 · Latin Jazz
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Matti P
The American singer and pianist DIANE SCHUUR (b. 1953) *sure* sounds as uplifting and charming as she looks. Blind from the birth, she took her first steps as a musician at the age of three, and when she was ten she debuted on stage at the local Holday Inn. I'm not familiar with her earliest albums from 1985 onwards; Schuur Fire was the other of the two newer albums I borrowed from library years ago, and I was immediately charmed by her. Here she's accompanied by The Caribbean Jazz Project led by vibes player Dave Samuels. A perfect match!

'Lover, Come Back to Me' (composed by Oscar Hammerstein II) shows straight away the merry and dance-inviting Latin groove at its best, and Diane demonstrates her flexible vocal skills that IMHO are fully comparable to the great Ella Fitzgerald. James Taylor's 'Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight' turns into a jazz ballad with natural ease. Diane Schuur is known for her habit of picking songs from pop music. Don Gibson's country ballad 'I Can't Stop Loving You' was given a charming samba treatment, and the Latin dance version of Stevie Wonder's 'As' works brilliantly.

The song I was originally most gladly surprised by, comes -- of all bands -- from Duran Duran. My relationship with that band is more or less limited to digging Rio (1982) at my early teens -- and why not still --, but 'Ordinary World' happens to be my fave of the few further DD songs I remember. I may actually prefer the original for the mood, but Schuur's jazzy uptempo version has its own charm.

This well produced album is very easy to enjoy if you're at all into vocal jazz and Latin jazz. If you're looking for music to make you happy and carefree, try this.

TITO CARRILLO Urbanessence

Album · 2022 · Latin Jazz
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Carmel
Tito Carrillo's latest album, "Urbanessence" on Origin Records, is a must-hear. This trumpet player and composer is mixing it up, blending jazz, salsa, Latin jazz, gospel, blues, funk, and soul to create a unique and magical musical experience. Carrillo even included an original track from Phil Koceril to mix things up even more.

Carrillo's ensemble is a powerhouse, featuring himself on trumpet, Troy Roberts on tenor and soprano saxophones, Ben Lewis on piano, Clark Sommers on bass, Jay Sawyer on drums and cymbals, and Victor Gonzalez, Jr. on congas.

The "Fire & Ice" track is off the chain, with feel changes, sick melodies, and wicked dynamics. Carrillo and Roberts work together seamlessly on the front line, with Carrillo's solos being hella fluid and Roberts showing off his skills in technique and motivic development. The whole band is in the zone, bringing the composition to life through exciting solos and ensemble interaction.

And then there's "Crazy, Stupid Fine," which starts with a funky bass line from Sommers. The two horns weave through the theme with harmonic twists and plenty of rhythmic possibilities. Carrillo builds up the energy with his rhythmic patterns, while Roberts' lines get us moving and grooving. Finally, Lewis' smooth single notes bring everything together in a colorful and flavorful way.

Overall, "Urbanessence" is a collection of tracks that captures Carrillo's unique blend of musical styles. He goes beyond the traditional jazz routine to create a sound that's intense, rhythmic, harmonic and textured all at once. It's a celebration of his life journey and his ability to craft something new and powerful from his musical influences. So if you're looking for something fresh and exciting, this album is it!

ANTONIO ADOLFO Octet and Originals

Album · 2022 · Latin Jazz
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js
Antonio Adolfo is one of the top composer/arrangers in Brazil, not only in jazz, but also pop, RnB and all manner of Latin styles. His latest album, “Octet and Originals”, is an album made up entirely of his original compositions, some of which have been recorded before, but now they have been given new arrangements for this new album. It is a very talented octet that Adolfo has assembled here, and their many tone colors bring a mini-big band flavor to the album. Adolfo handles the piano and brings his Bill Evans and Herbie Hancock influenced style to fill out the ensemble.

Rhythmic diversity is a big part of this new album. “Boogie Baiao is so named because the tune shifts from a Brazilian baiao to a stateside RnB boogie for the closing section. “Cascavel” mixes maracatu, calango and sambao and “Emau” is based on the quadrilha, a Brazilian folk dance that is characterized by the accent on the upbeat. “Feito Em Casa” combines baiao and samba, but closes with some grooving soul jazz riffs. Some of the tunes on here are already well known as vocal numbers, but Adolfo decided to re-record them as instrumentals. The original “Heart of Brazil” was sung by Dione Warwick and expressed concern for preserving the rain forests of Brazil. “Pretty World” is a pretty ballad whose lyrical version has been covered by Stevie Wonder, Herb Alpert and others.

“Octet and Originals” should have strong appeal to Adolfo’s large fan base and fans of contemporary Brazilian jazz in general. The large ensemble presented here is capable of so many different shades and tone colors, often sounding much like French classical composers such as Debussy and Ravel, yet pushed by exciting Brazilian and US rhythms and topped by hot jazz solos. All of the soloists are great but special mention should go to the tenor sax and flute work of Marcelo Martins.

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JMA TOP 5 Jazz ALBUMS

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