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| Jose Negroni & Aquiles Baez at the Jazz Gallery The Jazz Gallery in lower Manhattan will present “A Taste Of Cacao" featuring the Puerto Rican, Miami-based pianist Jose Negroni one night and the Venezuelan, New York City- based guitarist Aquiles Baez the next as they each showcase new CDs released by the acclaimed Venezuelan jazz and world music label Cacao Musica. NEGRONI's TRIO will appear Thursday, March 6 performing music from his new Cacao Musica CD “Father & Son." THE AQUILES BAEZ QUINTET will appear Friday, March 7 and perform music from his new Cacao Musica CD “La Patilla (The Watermelon)." Venezuelan vibraphone virtuoso & Cacao Musica recording artist ALFREDO NARANJO will appear as a special guest. Aquiles Baez - La Patilla (The Watermelon - CME 009) On La Patilla the Venezuelan guitar virtuoso and cuatro master Aquiles Baez presents 12 new harmonically sophisticated compositions that showcase his talent as an instrumentalist and arranger of innovative, genre-defying pieces fusing jazz, classical and Latin American folk music. In addition to his previous recordings as a leader, Bez has appeared on Grammy nominated CDs by Danilo Prez and Paquito d'Rivera and collaborated with John Patitucci, Richard Bona, Luciana Souza, Fareed Haque, Giora Feidman and Mike Marshall, among others. He was also involved in the acclaimed documentary “Calle 54" by Fernando Trueba. Baez studied at the Simn Bolivar Conservatory in Caracas, the New England Conservatory and Berklee College of Music. He received the Premio Nacional del Artista for best arranger of the year in Venezuela; Berklee's William Leavitt Award and other honors for movie soundtracks and dance and theatre scores. Clarinetist Anat Cohen guests on 5 tracks. Negroni's Trio - Father & Son (CME 010) Miami-based, Puerto Rican pianist Jose Negroni's last CD, “Piano/Drums/Bass," was a Grammy nominee for best Latin Jazz album of 2005. His Cacao Musica debut further solidifies his international reputation as a virtuoso player and a versatile composer and arranger. Joined by his son Nomar on drums (hence the CD's title) and Marco Panascia on bass the recording showcases the pianist's versatility as a player and arranger. Percussionist Alex Acua, vocalist Mara Nahma and cuatro virtuoso Quique Domenech appear as a quest on one track each. Praise for 'Piano/Bass/Drums' Released in 2005 by Negroni's Trio Packs a wallop of fiery Latin jazz licks...the best piano trio disc I've heard in some time! - Audiophile Audition An excellent modern Latin jazz CD. - Dick Crockett Negroni sparkles with unrestrained passion. His forceful keyboard work brings each interpretation into view head-on, with no holds barred. - All About Jazz The music ranges from originals to cleverly reworked jazz standards. Negroni's improvising, heavily based in the European classical tradition, sparkles with intelligence.- Peter Watrous, Descarga (Editor's Pick) A post-bop trio capable of playing both Afro-Cuban jazz and non-Afro-Cuban Latin jazz. Negroni [is] a hard-swinging virtuoso whose influences range from Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett to Michel Camilo, Eddie Palmieri and Chucho Valdes. - All Music Guide The U.S. retail street date for “La Patilla" and “Father & Son" is Tuesday March 4. The Caracas, Venezuela-based jazz, world and Latin music label Cacao Musica entered the North American market with the November 27th release of CDs by the legendary percussionist Changuito, the prolific drummer Horacio “El Negro" Hernandez, virtuoso vibraphonist Alfred Naranjo, the folk singer Vidal Colmenares from Venezuela's “llano" region and the alternative pop band Santos Viejos (Old Saints). Responsible for the founding of the label as well as for the concept, vision and dedication driving it are two Venezuelans from very different walks of life who joined forces to make their common goal of presenting their country's music on the world stage a reality: Drummer and veteran broadcaster Omar Jeanton -- whose Cultural FM Network owns 4 radio stations in Venezuela -- and the professional baseball player Bobby Abreu, presently a star on the New York Yankees who share a deep passion for music in general and for the various styles both native to and being developed today in Venezuela in particular. In addition to being a musician and radio personality, Jeanton is the founder and owner of Jazzmania Music, a boutique record store specializing in Jazz, Latin Jazz, Brazilian Flamenco, Fusion, World Music and other styles that is a Mecca for record collectors from Caracas, Venezuela and South America. According to Jeanton: “Cacao's mission is to produce and market internationally an eclectic catalogue of CDs and DVDs spanning diverse musical genres and styles including jazz, Latin-jazz, fusion, Afro-Latin, Afro-Venezuelan, pop, folk and instrumental music. Venezuela is home to some of the greatest musicians in the world and they are finally starting to appear on the world stage. Cacao intends to play a major role in raising the international profile of these magnificent artists who have remained unknown and obscure for far too long." Abreu explains his involvement as follows: “I love all kinds of music and my dream to be part of a company where I can help the richness of Venezuelan music receive more attention around the world has come true with Cacao." Cacao has developed a distinctive visual identity for itself -- each title in its catalogue is bound with a spiral spine so each album resembles a notebook or cahier. All CDs are accompanied by an extensive booklet containing informative essays commissioned from noted South American writers and are illustrated with original artwork and photographs. Cacao's audiophile CDs and associated DVDs are currently available in selected Barnes & Noble stores around the U.S. The CDs have a suggested list price of $16.99 and will be distributed to “brick-and-mortar" write your comments about the article :: © 2008 Jazz News :: home page |