Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix: Brian Andres And The Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel

Latin Jazz has become a major piece of music scenes across the country and we’ve come to associate certain artists with different areas. Band leader names pop out from each area as we remember musicians like Bobby Sanabria and Arturo O’Farrill from New York, John Santos and Rebeca Mauleon from San Francisco, as well as Poncho Sanchez and Bobby Matos from Los Angeles. These names arise due to the individual musicians’ major contributions to the local Latin Jazz scene, a fact to be respected and remembered. In our recognition of these artists, we sometimes forget the musicians that work behind the scenes to support these band leader’s visions. They contribute their performance abilities, their composition and arranging skills, and their general musicality to each project; in a way, they are just as responsible for the product as the band leader. There are even a number of musicians that work behind the scenes, filling out local gigs that never get recorded. All these musicians that work in the trenches, providing undying dedication to the scene. Sometimes these musicians grow into band leaders and at other times they make a career supporting other artists. Regardless of their direction, they act as the heart blood of any area’s music community and deserve our attention.

Drummer Brian Andres has become an important piece of the Bay Area music scene in the past few years, strengthening a number of projects and stepping into the spotlight as a band leader. Andres has reached a wide audience as a member of Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalapeno Band, a popular Bay Area band that performs a flexible mixture of Latin styles, rhythm and blues, rock, and more. Latin music fits prominently into his performance schedule, keeping him busy with John Ulloa’s Latin Jazz group, the salsa band Orquesta D’Soul and more. A flexible musician, Andres swing hard in a traditional setting as well, a fact evidenced on pianist Eric Muhler’s recent release The Jury Is Out. In 2007 Andres released an outstanding recording with his own Latin Jazz group The Afro-Cuban Cartel, Drummers Speak. This album showed a different side of several important Latin Jazz percussionists; it featured only songs composed by drummers. The album also brought together some of the brightest musicians on the Bay Area’s current Latin music scene including pianist Christian Tumalan, percussionist Carlos Caro, bassist Saul Sierra, and more. This project showcased Andres’ strong understanding of the style, a serious insight into repertoire and history, as well as a young group of musicians ready to make a major statement on the modern Latin Jazz scene. Andres maintains a diverse and busy schedule that infuses some life into the Bay Area scene; he is one of those musicians that deserves more attention.

Today’s Weekly Latin Jazz Video Fix is dedicated to the Andres and the Afro-Cuban Jazz Cartel, in celebration of the great work from this Bay Area drummer. These three performances come from the group’s summer 2009 performance in Sonoma, California, featuring some lively music in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Each video features a different song - Francisco Aguabella’s “Estampa Cubana,” Ray Barretto’s “Song For Chano,” and “Sand Castles.” It’s a great insight into a young group of musicians attacking Latin Jazz with a modern and exciting approach.
http://www.chipboaz.com/blog/2009/12/22/weekly-latin-jazz-video-fix-brian-andres-and-the-afro-cuban-jazz-cartel/