Ray Barretto Homage To Art CD

Where does one go from the top? Ray Barretto through his years collaborating with the most important names in jazz and giving some of salsa's most notable musicians their start has become the most notable conguero around. No one has done so much for the role of the instrument, either by way of notoriety or for its musical role. Where does one go from being the most notable living conguero? In Barretto's case, the answer is that, like a true master, you pay tribute to the masters who went before you. In his 2003 Homage to Art (Blakey & the Jazz Messengers) Barretto looks back on some of his favorite compositions from his days as a fellow percussionist/bandleader. It is becoming a well-worn path to cover material from our jazz forefathers thanks to artists like Conrad Herwig, Brian Lynch and others, who've done a fine job reworking classic material to swing en clave, but the opportunity to hear it done by one of Latin jazz's genuine pioneers is rare and precious. With a lineup of New York's cream of the crop, including Luis Perdomo, Miguel Zenón, Hans Glawischnig and the slightly lesser known Vince Cherico and John Baily, Barretto's tribute is far from a museum piece. The concept is established and Barretto is a king, but the music is still plenty fresh and daring. When a master pays homage to a master, it's something worth hearing. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez

Live Recording

Recorded at Systems Two, Brooklyn, New York in August 2002. Includes liner notes by Ira Gitler.

Personnel: Ray Barretto (congas, percussion); Miguel Zenón (alto saxophone); John Bailey (trumpet); Luis Perdomo (piano); Vince Cherico (drums).

Audio Mixers: Joe Marciano; Ray Barretto.

Liner Note Authors: Alain Gerber; Ira Gitler; Ray Barretto.

Recording information: Systems II Studios, Brooklyn, N.Y.C (08/22/2002-08/25/2002).

Photographer: Jean-Jacques Pussiau.

Arrangers: Hans Glawischnig; John Bailey ; Luis Perdomo; Michael Mossman.

Personnel: Ray Barretto (conga, percussion); Miguel Zenon (alto saxophone); John Bailey (trumpet); Luis Perdomo (piano); Hans Glawischnig (bass); Vince Cherico (drums).

JazzTimes (6/03, p.113) - "...HOMAGE TO ART is Barretto's uplifting tribute to his old friend, giving the Jazz Messengers' hard-bop tunes an Afro-Cuban framing....This is the best jazz album Ray Barretto has ever made..."