Search - Ray Barretto :: Portraits in Jazz & Clave

The clave is the polyrhythmic foundation of Afro-Cuban music, and on Portraits in Jazz and Clave, veteran conga drummer Ray Barretto applies a Latin jazz touch to classics by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Wayne Shorter, and John Coltrane. Barretto's New World Spirit band--which he formed in 1992--is joined here by guest soloists Joe Lovano on tenor saxophone, Steve Turre, Kenny Burrell, and Eddie Gomez. Among the more unusual arrangements are Ellington's "The Mooche," which opens with Turre on conch shell, and Coltrane's "Like Sonny," which features the bustling tenor tandem of Lovano and New World Spirit band member Adam Kolker. Not surprisingly, an excerpt from the classical suite "El Amor Brujo" sounds a bit stiff by comparison. Barretto's expert congas are down in the mix, more like jazz than salsa, but he still manages to cook on "Octupada," from Duke's Latin American Suite. -- Rick Mitchell