When people speak of
Latin jazz, they're usually referring to a blend of
bop and
Afro-Cuban rhythms --
Cal Tjader,
Dizzy Gillespie,
Poncho Sanchez, and
Mongo Santamaria are some of the names that immediately come to mind when one hears the term
Latin jazz. But
Latin music is vast; the cultural contributions of Latinos range from Mexican
ranchera to Brazilian
samba to Spanish
flamenco to Argentinean
tango. So technically,
Latin jazz could be anything from
bossa nova to
Miles Davis'
Sketches of Spain. Although everything on
Chico Freeman's
Oh, by the Way has some type of
Latin influence, not all of the selections are
Afro-Cuban-minded.
Afro-Cuban rhythms are a high priority on this
post-bop CD; the
post-bop/
Afro-Cuban fusion is especially appealing on
"El Mensaje," "541," and
"Old San Juan." But other times, saxophonist/pianist
Freeman favors more of a
post-bop/Spanish blend -- on
"La Luna" and
"Guitar," the saxman/pianist and his
Guataca band demonstrate that
post-bop and
flamenco are an attractive, perfectly logical combination. Although most of selections are instrumental,
Freeman features rapper
Akil Dassan on
"Mambo Rap" and
"Business as Usual" (which almost sounds like
Eminem hooking up with an
Afro-Cuban band). The interesting thing is that
Freeman uses
Dassan in much the same way that saxophonist
Bill Evans featured
KC Flightt and
Ahmed Best in the '90s; instead of being totally
electronic,
Freeman gives
Dassan some honest to God musicians to interact with. Much to his credit,
Freeman provides an album that is unpredictable and broad-minded but doesn't sound disjointed or confused --
Oh, by the Way, for all its diversity, has a certainly continuity. When a Spanish-influenced piece follows an
Afro-Cuban-influenced piece -- or when a
rap offering follows an instrumental --
Freeman is obviously on top of things. This excellent CD is as focused as it is diverse. ~ Alex Henderson
![Buena Vista Social Club [25th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/4050538672206_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Buena Vista Social Club [25th Anniversary Edition]")
