Richie Zellon Metal Caribe CD

Zellon's 1998 outing finds him taking on both familiar and unfamiliar directions in jazz performance -- applying Latin twists and jazz notions to such pieces as an excerpt from Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf," Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love," "The Twilight Zone" theme, and Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water." Much of the time, the originals are the starting point for improvisation in time signatures not originally associated with those songs, but it is enough to make the performances interesting to hear. Zellon also lets loose briefly on the title track, though his guitar and cuatro work elsewhere tends to be more restrained, with a lot of solo time being handed over to other players on the disc. An enjoyable disc with a nice sense of humor. ~ Steven McDonald

"On a program that stretches the boundaries of Latin and jazz into tantalizing new contours, Richie Zellon has entered a zone where strikingly dissimilar rhythms from throughout the Americas blend magically with unanticipated melodic detours and buoyant jazz improvisations to create a dazzling new idiom."Mark Holston -Jazziz"On Metal Caribe, Zellon produces his most well-travelled, seamless effort yet, illustrating the common threads in music and cultural experience through endlessly surprising compositions and arrangements." -JazzTimes"...Zellon transcends the Cuban and/or Brazilian confines established by most Latin jazz practitioners." - Latin Beat"Zellon makes a compelling case for Latin jazz as a new kind of international language on Metal Caribe." -Hispanic"If there is one contemporary musician who truly personifies the successful synthesis of the myriad pan-American genres into unconventional and compelling new forms, it is undoubtedly Lima, Peru-born guitarist, composer, and all around music alchemist Richie Zellon" -Americas"En un programa que ensancha las fronteras de lo Latino y del Jazz a nuevos y seductores niveles, Richie Zellon ha entrado a una zona donde ritmos, notablemente diferentes de toda America, se mezclan magicamente con inesperadas vueltas melodicas y boyantes improvisaciones de Jazz para crear un nuevo y deslumbrante idioma."Mark Holston -Jazziz"...Zellon traciende los confines Cubanos/Brasileros establecidos por la mayoria de ejecutantes de Latin Jazz."- Latin Beat"En Metal Caribe, Zellon propone al Latin jazz como un nuevo tipo de lenguaje internacional ."-Hispanic"Si existe un músico contemporáneo que personifique verdaderamente la exitosa síntesis de los innumerables generos panamericanos en nuevas formas vibrantes y no convencionales, ese es sin duda el guitarrista, compositor y alquimista musical limeño Richie Zellon." -Americas