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| Grammy-nominated Jay Rodriguez releases "Your Sound: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola" on Whaling City Sound You might hear Jay Rodriguez and wonder, "Is there anything you can't do?" The fact is, it might be tough to track down something along Jay's musical continuum that he hasn't done. In fact, he may be one of the busiest men in jazz, and one of the few playing most all the reeds as a leader and sideman with a wildly diverse cadre of musicians, synthesizing these experiences within his own projects. Rodriguez's original work is daring, groovy, breathtaking and soulful, sometimes all at once. Your Sound: Live at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola, captures all of that exhilarating rawness in real time. It is loose and lovely, with both rough and smooth edges and flourishes that reflect his ample international experience. Songs like the opener, "Ghost Dancer, " kick off forcefully, with a propulsive bass and a frisky tropical feel, while on the flip side, Rodriguez lays into romance, with a flute tour de force on "When the Stars Fell." The record closes with a bold cover of "Kiss and Say Goodbye." Accompanied by Billy Harper on tenor sax, Larry Willis on piano, Eric Wheeler (also on Greg Murphy's Summer Breeze) on bass, JT Lewis on drums, and percussionist Billy Martin (of Medeski, Martin & Wood), Rodriguez frees himself up to showcase his work on saxes, flutes, and bass clarinet. The result is magical. Over his career, Rodriguez has tackled composition, arranging, accompanying, and leading. It is high time for the world to hear all the wonderful things Jay Rodriguez—musician, personality, iconoclast, and innovator—has to offer. A versatile bandleader, with flute, clarinet and saxophone chops, the Colombia-born, New York City-bred musician is profoundly talented and incredibly prolific. He graduated with the highest honors from New York City's renowned High School for the Performing Arts and continued his studies at Manhattan School of Music and The New School's School of Jazz. Since then he has had musical adventures in salsa with Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, Paquito D'Rivera, pop/hip-hop with Prince, Guru, the Wu-Tang Clan, DJ Premier and Groove Collective, straight-ahead with Doc Cheatham, Mingus Big Band, Chucho Valdes, David Murray, Craig Harris, Jason Miles and Miles Davis. He has played alongside Joe Lovano, Gil Evans, Elvis Costello, Stevie Wonder, Bernie Worrell and Joan Osborne, to name a few. Awards follow that kind of pedigree, and so should your attention. Rodriguez is quite simply a giant talent and Your Sound is just the beginning of his story. write your comments about the article :: © 2018 Jazz News :: home page |