review by Francesco
Emmanuel
courtesy
The Muse's Muse
South Beach is a
5-song instrumental masterpiece by Frank Villafañe. The songs are
well crafted, superbly produced and if they don’t get you off your
chair and dancing, well, something is wrong with you! Seriously!
Frank Villafañe is a Latin-Jazz pianist, composer and arranger and
plays con clave in the styles of Eddie Palmieri, Peruchin and Sergio
Mendes.
The album is a mix of both Brazilian and Afro-Cuban percussion,
taking Puerto-Rican and Cuban rhythms along with elements of NY
Salsa, Jazz and Brazilian Baion and Samba/Batucada. The grooves are
just infectious from beginning to end.
On this EP, Frank composed, arranged and played all the parts to
every single song, he also recorded this lil gem in his home studio.
So, clearly Frank knows what he’s doing.
The feel from each song gives the impression that this is a live
recording, straight off-the-floor, it’s that good! Each track has a
great flow to it, no heavy pre-production here, and it sounds like
no use was made of digital software to recreate certain
instrumentation.
The use of organ in the verse of the title track (which was featured
on MusicTech Magazine’s web site) changes to a great piano melody
line for the chorus. There’s some fancy finger work here. Again,
Frank switches to piano in the bridge for a very tasteful solo.
‘Deco Drive’ trades-off melody lines between the Rhodes electric and
a Grand acoustic piano, there’s samba whistles and solid percussion
throughout the song. ‘Can’t Find Love’ has this repetitive Tumbao,
subtle and sweet.
‘Antojos De Mi Tierra (Yearning for Home) is dedicated to Frank’s
grandmother, who emigrated to the US from Puerto Rico in 1950. The
song portrays just how much she missed her homeland. It includes
Latin percussion in the forms of Mambo and Bomba (Cuban and Puerto
Rican rhythm respectively). The bass solo opens with hints of
Lamento Borincano, a famous song by Puerto Rican great Rafael
Hernandez. The album finishes off with a mid-tempo, Latin-jazz
version of the Christmas Carol ‘I Heard the Bells’. The album is
short and sweet.
Frank was born in Bremerhaven, Germany to Mike and Elfriede
Villafañe, but grew up all over the United States and Europe. Frank
was introduced at an early age to Latin, Jazz, Calypso, Folk and the
Classics and began playing piano at the age of 8.
At 12, Frank moved to Puerto Rico and got exposed to Salsa.
Frank’s 7th grade teacher provided musical direction when he heard
an original copy of Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag. Moving back to
the US, at Whiteman AFB, Missouri, Frank quickly acquired the art of
Ragtime. He had his first paying gig at 14, playing Ragtime
favorites for the WAFB Officers Club.
His father encouraged him to listen to many great Latin pianists,
including Sergio Mendes (of Brasil 66 fame) and Cuban legend Pedro
‘Percuchin’ Justiz.
At Rutgers University, Frank began playing piano for Jazz & Latin
conjunto bands and orchestras, while studying under the renowned
Kenny Barron and Walter Bishop Jr. Immersed in theory and keyboard
harmony classes; he also studied with Ted Dunbar, Frank Foster and
Larry Ridley.
Frank has opened for (one of his influences) Eddie Palmieri in 2000
& 2005, and performed at the prestigious Red Bank RiverFest Jazz
Festival 2001 & 2005. In between performing and recording, Frank
composes all his music at his home studio.
There are some albums you like immediately, and this was one that
got me going right away. If you’ve never taken a trip to South
Beach, Frank Villafañe’s latest will take you there, only problem is,
you may not wanna leave.
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