Jerry Gonzalez y el Comando de la Clave

SSC1228 2011-08-30

Track List

Someday My Prints will Come (Back from the FBI) - 8:23
Resolution - 9:59
Equipoise - 6:58
Tenderly - 11:11
Obsesion - 11:28
Love for Sale - 8:28
In a Sentimental Mood - 7:10
Avisale a mi contrario - 4:22
Peace - 9:10

Musicians

Jerry Gonzalez - trumpet, flugelhorn, conga
Javier Masso ""Carmello"" - piano
Alain Perez - acoustic bass, vocals
Kiki Ferrer - drums
Alberto "" Chele"" Cobo - clave
Diego ""El Cigala"" - vocals
Israel Suarez "Pirara" - Cajon

After a fruitful musical life in New York performing with the likes of Tito Puente, McCoy Tyner, Eddie Palmieri, Dizzy Gillespie, Jaco Pastorius, Kirk Lightsey, Israel Lopez ""Cachao"", Freddie Hubbard, El Conjunto Libre of Manny Oquendo, and - most importantly - my group Fort Apache, I landed in Madrid in the year 2000 on a tour organized to support Fernando Trueba’s movie ""Calle 54"".

One of the musicians that I encountered upon my arrival and had begun looking for musically stimulating places was Federico Lechner, the Argentine pianist. He took me to Café Berlin, a locale where musicians of numerous styles would hang out after their own gigs to listen to each other and have their last drink. That was the closest thing to New York's musical ambiance that I had found and it naturally became my new home in Madrid.

It took me some time to select musicians to form my own group in Spain. At Café Berlin, I connected with Javier Massó ""Caramelo"" and Alain Perez, both Cuban musicians, with whom I spent nights improvising jazz with rumba. In the beginning, it was the three of us along with percussionist Israel Suárez ""El Piraña"". Kiki Ferrer would later join us on drums. I was selecting the tunes and showing my partners how to interpret them with a rumba style like that of ""Los Muñequitos de Matanzas,"" the band that informed my rhythmic roots. I’ve always said that if John Coltrane had known ""Los Muñequitos de Matanzas,"" the rhythm section would have been perfect for him.

During the following years of performing together, we accomplished something that had been in my mind for a long time. I could lead the musical direction with looseness and pleasure while the group was learning simultaneously to respect the music and each other. This album, recorded in a day and a half, would be the result of this process.

Along with the music of our group El Comando de la Clave, we have added in a selection featuring my brother, Diego ""El Cigala"". He sang ""Avísale a mi contrario que aquí estoy yo,"" which when translated means, ""Warn my opponent that I'm here."" This should be a clear message to those that for years pretended to be our friends. I love my band mates. Something special has developed between us, a very unique style. Like ""Cachao"" said: "There's nothing like my rhythm."