RAY MANTILLA - MAN-TI-YA (2004)
Ray
Mantilla Percussion/Leader
Willie Williams Soprano and tenor saxes
Enrique Fernandez Baritone saxophone and flute
Guido Gonzalez Trumpet
Edy Martinez Piano
Cucho Martinez Bass
Bill Elder Drums
Apple Turnover
5:16
Mother's Day :37
TBA 2:56
Hop Scotch 7:34
The Man I Love 5:23
African Holiday
4:52
Eight Ball 7:30
Go Between 2:45
Mantillon 7:10
Mantilla's Jam Too
5:38
more tracks can be heard on Vinilemania's Radio Channels
review By Javier Antonio Quiñones Ortiz - courtesy www.allaboutjazz.com
Man-Ti-Ya is the
latest launch of percussionist Ray Mantilla's Space Station,
featuring a full-size sounding septet. As usual, Mantilla recruits
skilled musicians for his releases. On this occasion, highlights
include veteran pianist "Eddie" Martínez, who enhances this
recording not only with his remarkable performance, but also through
his arrangements; saxophonist Willie Williams, who distinguished
himself with trombonist "Papo" Vásquez; and flutist and woodwind
player Enrique Fernández, who issued Melodía para congas—one of the
salient Latin jazz notes of the late 90s, with living legend Carlos
"Patato" Valdés as s special guest.
"Hop Scotch" might very well be the deepest musical exploration in
this recording. Fernández rearranges the Joe Chambers composition to
include absorbing, swift, tight horn lines upon which excellently
phrased and timed solos by Williams on soprano and Martínez on piano
serve as a prelude to an exchange between Bill Elder's brushed drums
and the leader's somewhat free congas. Its stress-free tempo belies
its intensity and depth of expression.
The Gershwins' "The Man I Love" is an expected gem of musicality,
interpreted here as a jazzy bolero. Once again, Williams' reed work
shines through with sensibility, a great and tasty sonic range,
superb ideas and technique. Martínez brings the melodic feast to its
rightful level, and Fernández's flute is a flowering caressing touch
through and through.
The core of the date, however, has material analogous to Afro-Cuban
fare from the rumba family, which readily lends itself for big band
treatment. "Mantillon," "African Holiday," "Mother's Day," and "Eight
Ball" illustrate this point rather well. Mantilla's few recordings
never disappoint. This one is not an exception. The lessons learned
with figures such as Charles Mingus, Max Roach, Art Blakey, and
Cedar Walton, among others, seem both obvious and quite satisfying.
