KALINHA'S SERENADE

FRA FRA SOUND - KALINHA'S SERENADE
(NL, SURINAM, NL ANTILLES, US - 1992-94)

First album  by Holland-based FRA FRA SOUND, an International  little big band composed of musicians from Surinam and the Netherlands Antilles, Mexico (tenor sax Efraim Trujillo) and the US (trumpet/ fluegelhorn player Charles Green).


What does FRA FRA mean?
There is no literal translation for the concept of "Fra Fra Sound".  It has to do with balance, equilibrium.  The balance within the variegated Surinam culturethat is connected with the country's multiracial character, its history of coming into existence and the unique location between the Caribbean and the Latin-American hinterland. Additionnally, there is an ethnic group in northwestern Ghana known as "Fra Fra", which refers to the strong historical and cultural ties between West Africa and Surinam. (from the CD notes)
Band members:


Charles Green   trumpet & fluegelhorn
Efraim Trujillo   tenor saxophone (1 & 8)
Patrick Sedoc    guitar
Vincent Henar  bass
Robin van Geerke  piano & keyboards
Carlo Ulrichi     conga, timbales, bells & percussions
Guno Kramer   drums


Guests:


Ponda O'Bryan : percussions (2-3-9)
Kenrick Gunther: conga & percussions (7-9)
José Lopretti: piano & synthetiser (7-8)
Jeff Gordon : tenor sax on all tracks except 1 & 8
Sharif Wagidhossain: alto sax (7)
Ronald Esseboon: tenor tuba (7)

Tracks:


1. Rhythm for the Fox
2. Pikin'Uma
3. Jangaman
4. Tuckayana Shout
5. Kooked Little Man
6. Little People
7. All Blues
8a A Zulu Folktale
8b. When the crocodlie smiles, beware!
9. Szopo

Check YouTube for live performances of Fra Fra Sound and Fra Fra Big Band.


Next post will be a rare 25 cm of Belgian 50s Be Bop feat. Bobby Jaspar ... coming soon!  

THIS IS FOR ALBERT

NUEVA MANTECA - BLUESONGO (NL, 1992)

It's the drawings on the cover that first caught my attention when I saw this CD in a discount bin some fifteen years ago.  I would probably have bought the CD no matter what the music was, just for those superb cartoons by Joost Swarte, a Dutch cartoonist / comic strip writer who is recognised as a master of the "ligne claire", a style based on Hergé's classic strips (Tintin, Quick & Flupke ...).


I didn't know much what to expect but the music blew me!  What a superb band!  If you've been on this blog before you are probably already familiar with Nueva Manteca (see post dated January 11,2011).

My favorite tracks are the title track (Bluesongo), Speak Low, a standard that has a natural Latin feel, Victor Feldman's Seven Steps to Heaven and a great rendition of Joe Zawinul's Young and Fine. But the whole album is highly enjoyable. Awesome percussion section, the best in Europe by far.










Credits:
Toon de Gauw / Jarmo Hoogendijk: trumpet
Ben van den Dungen: tenor and soprano sax
Boudewijn Lucas: electric bass
Lucas van Merwijk: drums, percussions, Bata drums
Martin Verdonk: tumbadora, quinto, chekere, Bata drums
Nicky Marrero : timbales, timbalitos, bongos, guiro
Jan Laurens Hartong: leader, arranger, piano


Link in comments. 

Check them on YouTube, there are some superb moments (including a live version of Bluesongo).

PORGY & BESS GO LATIN!

NUEVA MANTECA - PORGY & BESS (NL, 1993)

If you have enjoyed my very first posting, you will like this one too as it features both Jarmo Hoogendijk and Ben van Dungen. This album was issued in 1993 on the short-lived Lucho label and is currently OOP.

Super interpretation of Gershwin's Porgy & Bess in a Latin-Jazz / Salsa setting by Dutch band Nueva Manteca, featuring Jan Laurens Hartong piano, leader, Ton De Gouw trumpet, Jarmo Hoogendijk trumpet, Ben Van Dungen saxophone, Boudewijn Lucas bass and bass guitar, Lucas van Merwijk drums, Martin Verdonk percussion, Nils Fischer timbales and guest player Alaor Soares Brazilian percussion player. 


Led by pianist Jan Laurenz Hartong (c.1941, Netherlands), eight-piece band Nueva Manteca are a Netherlands-based Latin jazz outfit who produce a highly authentic distillation of Latin music and also embrace traditions such as Arabic, classical, Dutch Antillean and salsa. As Hartong told the press in 1996, ‘It’s the same situation as hearing a Korean violinist playing a Beethoven concerto. It’s already accepted in the jazz world. In the whole world music development, a lot of people are digging into all kinds of cultures.’ Hartong began playing dixieland piano at the age of 12, before progressing to bebop by 15, at which time he began to work professionally. He played alongside Jan Hammer and Joachim Kühn in a 1966 international jazz festival judged by Cannonball and Nat Adderley where he won a medal.

A fan of Latin music since his childhood, Hartong formed a 10-piece salsa band in Rotterdam in 1983. He also visited the music’s home in Cuba in 1984 and 1987, which led to him switching to a Latin jazz style and changing his group’s name from Manteca to Neuva Manteca. For the first three years of the group’s existence he was joined by highly respected New York timbales player Nicky Marrero. The group won its live reputation playing festivals throughout Europe, also performing alongside guest artists including Giovanni Hidalgo, Juanito Torres, Orestes Vilató, Armando Peraza and Bobby Sanabria as part of the state-sponsored Nueva Manteca Meets The Legends series. 

(Source: http://www.oldies.com/artist-biography/Nueva-Manteca.html )

Link in comments.

Highly recommended!