Bacalao Records to Release
"San Francisco,"
2nd CD by Bay Area Drummer Brian Andres
& the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel,
July 16
"San Francisco,"
2nd CD by Bay Area Drummer Brian Andres
& the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel,
July 16
CD Is Follow-Up to "Drummers Speak,"
Andres's 2007 Debut Introducing the Cartel
Andres's 2007 Debut Introducing the Cartel
June 7, 2013
Drummer Brian Andres's new album with the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel, San Francisco, not only takes its title from the band's home base. The CD, to be released July 16
by the leader's Bacalao Records imprint, also makes a persuasive case
for the assertion that San Francisco has its own distinctive Latin jazz
sound (the classic "San Francisco Tiene Su Propio Son" is included on the disc).
"There's so much
talent in the Bay Area, I wanted to represent the guys in town, their
compositions and playing," says Andres, an Ohio native who relocated to
the area in 1999. "It's a world-class city with world-class musicians,
and I want to let people hear that."
After debuting on Andres's highly regarded 2007 CD Drummers Speak, the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel
became a 9-piece working band whose members were expected to possess "a
deep understanding of Caribbean rhythms and musical forms," Andres
explains in his notes to San Francisco, as well as "the ability to create, improvise, and groove."
Patricio Angulo, percussion; Christian Tumalan, piano; Aaron Germain, bass;
Brian Andres, drums; Jamie Dubberly, trombone; Gloria Amaral, vocals;
Darren Smith, baritone saxophone; Carlos Caro, percussion; Steffen Kuehn, trumpet.
Cartel pianist Christian Tumalan contributes several outstanding arrangements on the new CD, including the lead track "Sand Castles," composed by the Bay Area jazz pianist Eric Muhler, and an Afro-Cuban reimagining of "Black Market,"
the Weather Report classic. And in-demand bassist Aaron Germain is
particularly well represented with three tunes, among them "Higashi Nakano," a contemporary take on cha cha cha, and "Nothing But Trouble," a showcase for trumpeter Henry Hung (a key member of the Asian American Orchestra, another Bay Area institution).
In fact, the collaborative nature of the Bay Area scene is further exemplified by the contributions of trumpeter Steffen Kuehn,
who with Tumalan co-leads the acclaimed Pacific Mambo Orchestra. Rather
than exhibiting a sense of competition, they have "both been very
helpful as musicians and friends and fellow bandleaders," says Andres.
"We've been fortunate
enough to create something that guys really want to be involved in," he
adds, "with challenging music that's a good space for them to showcase
their art."
Born (in 1968) and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of professional musicians, Brian Andres
started playing drums in the fourth grade. After high school, he took
classes at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music but abandoned
formal studies once he landed a full-time gig with veteran bluesman Cincinnati Slim and the Headhunters.
Andres was in the
midst of a thriving career playing rock, funk, R&B, and blues when
he experienced his clave epiphany, courtesy of the Cleveland salsa band Impacto Nuevo.
"It changed my trajectory of where I wanted to go," Andres recalls.
"I've often likened it to the first time I kissed a girl. I just wanted
to do it over and over again. The first time I heard it done well live,
it had me."
He put together a
Latin jazz band of his own, and started buying up whatever albums he
could find, which introduced him to leading Bay Area artists such as
John Santos's Machete Ensemble, Andy Narell, and Pete Escovedo. It was
Bay Area Latin jazz stalwart, the late Dutch-born drummer Paul van Wageningen,
who convinced him to make the move to San Francisco rather than New
York or L.A. by offering real encouragement when Andres came through
town on a visit.
"He was absolute
class," Andres says. "We hung out and played, and he showed me some
things. He said he'd recommend me for gigs, and he was as good as his
word."
Landing in the Bay
Area in early 1999 at the height of the high-tech boom, Andres quickly
found work in an array of Latin settings, playing salsa, Latin funk, and
Latin jazz. He undertook his first recording under his own name in 2007, motivated by his love of the multidimensional writing of Latin jazz pioneers Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri. The result was Drummers Speak.
Andres has maintained
ties with his home state and frequently returns there to work. Next
month he'll perform as part of Cincinnati Slim & the Headhunters at
the Dayton Blues Festival (7/21) and in Springboro OH (7/23), as well as with his own Latin Jazz Quintet at Washington Platform in Cincinnati 7/19. Come August, he'll play three hometown dates with the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel-Fountain Square 8/22 and the Blue Wisp 8/23-24.
www.brianandres.com
Watch "Sand Castles" live:
Interview with Chip Boaz: Latin Jazz Corner
Media Contact:Terri Hinte
510-234-8781
hudba@sbcglobal.net
www.terrihinte.com
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