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Rifftides

Doug Ramsey on Jazz and other matters...

Zenon Quartet On Fire

Because nature insists on taking its course, there has been much here lately about people who have passed on. Inevitably, there will be more.

It is time to affirm life. I encountered video of alto saxophonist Miguel Zenon doing just that last summer as he toured Spain. Because of the surrealistic opening minute or so and the sideways camera perspective throughout, I nearly talked myself out of showing you this, but the excitement and content of the performance carried the day. Zenon, pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig (heard, not seen) and drummer Eric Doob played “Olas y Arenas” by Sylvia Rexach, the influential Puerto Rican songwriter of the 1950s. The piece also appears on Zenon’s most recent CD, but not with quite the exhilaration of this July, 2011, version at the Jimmy Glass Jazz Bar in Valencia. The enthusiasm of the audience deserves a share of the credit for elevating the performance.

¡Olé!

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Doug Ramsey

Doug is a recipient of the lifetime achievement award of the Jazz Journalists Association. He lives in the Pacific Northwest, where he settled following a career in print and broadcast journalism in cities including New York, New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland, San Antonio, … [MORE]

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