Pianist Alex Conde takes up the Quixotic task of not only reminding jazz fans of the importance of bebop pioneer Bud Powell, but he does so by Latinizing the icon’s best known material, bringing a picante’ flavor to the language. The result is a rewarding salsa of sounds and visions.
Conde arranges all of the jazz standards with his team of Jeff Chambers/b, Colin Douglas/dr and percolating percussion provided by John Santos/cong-bong and Sergio Martinez/caj-dje. All of the tunes are arranged by Latin dances, so Mike Olmos brings in his trumpet for the fun “ bulera” of “The Fruit” and Jeff Narell adds steel pans to the calypso’d read of “Wail”. There’s a romantic lilt to the “solea” of “Dusk In Saudi” and old world tango sweeps across the floor with Jose Luis de la Paz’s guitar on the Gardelian “Oblivion” while Paz is intricate on the “buleria” of “Parisian Thoroughfare”. Conde, for himself, is in bebop heaven, joyful on “Tempus Fugit” and torrid on a maniacal solo on “Celia”. This is what jazz is supposed to do, celebrate culture and life, and Conde is a masterful chef at mixing ingredients. Bravo!