Composer, bandleader and pianist leads the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra through a collection of modern sounding suites, mixing traditional tones of his heritage with modern harmonics. The center piece is a four part “Blue Palestine” opus, opening with a riveting bass into by Ricardo Rodriguez and leading into a passionate trombone solo by Rafi Alkiel. A mix of Middle East and Asian tones make for an urgent pulse for soprano saxist Roman Filiu on Part Two, while the horn sections give spacious delicacies around the piano of Bley’s daughter, Karen Mantler.
The rest of the album includes a rich mix of Afro Cuban on the three part “Dia De Los Mureters” with some complex work on “La Oferta” framing Sergio Ramirez’s lovely guitar and somber horns circumnavigating around “Mambo Cadaverous”. Likewise, a three part “Mundoagua” includes rich flutes and elegiac horns for “The Politics of Water” and the festive percussion call and responding to Larry Bustamante’s baritone sax. Sophisticate Latin and Lady.