Rumba bop

Moving with Oquendo and Herwig

by Ed Hazell

The best Latin jazz balances folkloric Afro-Cuban roots with the progressive melodies and harmonies of American jazz. Two recent albums, On the Move! (Muevete!) (Milestone), by Manny Oquendo and Libre, and The Latin Side of John Coltrane (Astor Place), by trombonist Conrad Herwig, pull off this balancing act with special brilliance and aplomb.

Manny Oquendo and Libre update old-fashioned Afro-Cuban dance music better than any Latin band today. Recorded live in San Francisco, On the Move! (Muevete!) spans a wide range of Latin dance styles, including a cha-cha and a guaracha/rumba by Oquendo, and a mambo-jazz version of the bebop classic "Lester Leaps In." Every track pulses with interlacing Afro-Cuban counter-rhythms that gives the music a joyous abandon stronger than worldly care.

Timbales player Oquendo, who's played with virtually every important Latin musician of the past 50 years, from Chano Pozo to Eddie Palmieri, is the band's rhythmic linchpin and its direct line to the heart of the Afro-Cuban music tradition. On "Oquendo y Libre" and "Muevete un Poco," he rivals jazz drummer Max Roach for his ability to carve bold melodic statements and place single notes to generate maximum tension and excitement. Oquendo's drumming is pure poetry, with finesse, taste, clarity, and a deep resonant sound that let him speak volumes with just a few strokes of his sticks.

Under the musical direction of bassist Andy Gonzalez, the band forge vital music out of their decades-old material. Vocalists Herman Olivera and Frankie Vazquez sing with enough conviction to make even lightweight songs matter. The arrangements are full of nontraditional, jazzy harmonies voiced to let the personalities of the four-trombone brass section -- Dan Reagan, Angel "Papo" Vazquez, Leonard Pollara, and Wayne Wallace -- shine through. Reagan gets the lion's share of solo space, showing off his huge, burly tone and declamatory improvisations on "Oquendo y Libre" and on a lengthy mambo medley.

Trombonist Conrad Herwig has long had one foot in jazz and one foot in Afro-Cuban music. He brings them together brilliantly on The Latin Side of John Coltrane. Aided by musicians who share his dual skills, including trumpeter Brian Lynch, saxophonist Ronnie Cuber, and pianists Eddie Palmieri, Danilo Pérez, Edward Simon, and Richie Beirach, Herwig has produced a classic Latin jazz album.

Putting Coltrane's music together with Afro-Cuban rhythms seems so obviously right that you wonder why no one has done it before. They share common African roots. Some of the most compelling African and Afro-Cuban rhythms are used in religious ceremonies, and Coltrane himself was a deeply spiritual man and artist. Of course, bringing Coltrane's compositions into direct contact with Afro-Cuban rhythms is not entirely a straightforward process. For example, the Latin beat energizes "Blue Train" and pulls melody into a different shape.

More than a clever concept album with fiery percussion (by José Claussell, Richie Flores, Milton Cardona, and Adam Cruz), this release also offers some exceptional soloing. Herwig reveals an impressive ability to develop ideas sequentially and at length. Rather than dazzle listeners with complexity and speed, he relies on a keen sense of dramatic structure to give his lines in "Afro Blue" and "Impressions" maximum impact. His tone is warm and full throughout its range, and his notes never loose their shape or bright burnish, even at the fastest tempos. On "After the Rain," a duet with Beirach, he sustains a solo of melodic simplicity and emotional directness.

The pianists are also important contributors. As a soloist, Palmieri is vivid, if sometimes too episodic and maddeningly elliptical; in the rhythm section, however, he's relentlessly inventive and inspires some of the album's most exciting playing on "Blue Train" and "Impressions." Perez fares better as a jazz soloist; his montuno vamps display impressive complexity and power. Along with Rhumba para Monk, the Fort Apache Band's settings of Thelonious Monk tunes, The Latin Side of John Coltrane ranks as one of the best Latin jazz albums of the decade.

Manny Oquendo and Libre play Scullers this weekend, April 18 and 19. Call 562-4111.