Listening to the exquisite playing and arranging of the Afro Bop Alliance is always an experience. The mix they've achieved is so balanced you never feel the music is too Latin to be Jazz, or too Jazzy to be Latin.
The 2008 Latin Grammy Award winners for Latin Jazz Album of the Year, return with their all-star fueled big band for another powerful recording of dynamic new compositions. With special guests including Dave Samuels and Roberto Quintero, they perform works by Luis Perdomo, Hector Martignon, Dave Samuels, Mike Pope and Vince Norman.
Track Listing:
1 Golpe de Cumaco (Impression 10) 6:09
2 El Niño 7:20
3 The Gathering 5:42
4 The Floating World 5:56
5 The Avid Listener 7:01
6 Cherry Blossom 6:57
7 Along Came Betty 6:24
8 El Otoño 6:19
9 Viva Cepeda 6:45
Performers:
Afro Bop Alliance is:
Steve Williams - lead alto, soprano sax
Andy Axelrad - alto sax
Luis Hernandez - tenor sax
Vince Norman - tenor, sop., baritone sax
Darryl Brenzel - baritone saxophone
Chris Walker - lead trumpet
Alex Norris - trumpet
Greg Reese - trumpet
Tim Stanley - trumpet
Ben Patterson - trombone
Joe Jackson - trombone
Rhoades Whitehill - trombone
Jeff Cortazzo - trombone
RHYTHM:
Harry Appelman - piano
Tim Murphy - piano (4)
Jim Roberts - guitars
Mike Pope - basses
Joe McCarthy - drums, bells, timbale
Roberto Quintero - congas, percussion
Dave Samuels - vibes & marimba
Production Info:
Produced by Joe McCarthy
Co-Produced by Bob Dawson
& Vince Norman
Recorded by Bob Dawson
Recorded at Bias Studios, Springfield, VA
on August 16, 2010
Mastered by Mike Monseur & Bob Dawson
Cover art by Marco Patino
Cover design & layout by John Bishop
Reviews of Una Mas
TheJazzWord.com (John Barron)
The Afro Bop Alliance, based in Annapolis MD, is an energetic big band specializing in contemporary approaches to the rhythms of Latin American music with a strong jazz emphasis. Led by drummer Joe McCarthy, the group won a Latin Grammy Award in 2008 for their release with Vibraphonist Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project. The alliance is po ...
All Music (Adam Greenberg)
Una M�s is an outstanding set of Latin jazz from the D.C. area's finest Latin big band. The band makes use of surprisingly complex arrangements of largely new compositions, both Latin pieces transformed into somewhat jazzier arrangements (as in the opening "Golpe de Cumaco") and jazz pieces given a Latin flavor (as in main arranger Vince Norman's " ...
JazzTimes (Bill Milkowski)
Drummer Joe McCarthy and saxophonist-arranger Vince Norman have been leading the Afro Bop Alliance for over a decade. Following their Latin Grammy Award in 2008, they put together an all-star big band for 'Una Mas,' the group's debut on OA2. This potent collection includes stellar renditions of luis Perdomo's dynamic "Golpe de Cumaco," Joey Calde ...