The latest release from alto saxophonist and Puerto Rico cultural ambassador Miguel Zenón, the stunning Sonero: The Music of Ismael Rivera, pays homage to a Puerto Rican cultural and musical icon, known affectionately as Maelo by his fans, whose originality and improvisational genius enriched and extended the bomba and plena traditions. The album features songs from Rivera’s repertoire, focusing on the Great Latin American Songbook through the lens of jazz. Zenón brings his remarkable quartet—with Luis Perdomo on piano, Matt Penman on bass (subbing for Hans Glawischnig), and Henry Cole on drums—to the Gig Performance Space in Santa Fe on November 13 and the Outpost Performance Space in Albuquerque on November 14. Musically Speaking had the opportunity to speak to Zenón about the project.
MS: When we last talked, one thing you said to me was that you think about rhythm almost in a melodic way—rhythmic melodies. I imagine that must have been very helpful in putting this rhythmically complex music together.
MZ: Yeah, in a way, it helps, like you said. I’ve been playing with the same guys for a long time, and it helps that there’s a certain familiarity there, not only in terms of playing together, but also they’re familiar with the kind of stuff I like to do when I write and arrange, and that definitely made it easier. Like you said, this music has a certain amount of complexity, and it takes a certain amount of time to pull it together.
MS: Yeah.
MZ: It requires some dedication from the musicians. But at the same time, because we’re working with rearranging these tunes, which for some people are very popular and very meaningful, it really helped that a lot of the guys in the band were familiar with the original versions of the tunes. So they could hear where those ideas were coming from, and they could kind of put the two together. That definitely made the process a lot easier.
MS: That’s interesting—what you said about these tunes being very important and meaningful to people, very familiar to people. Many jazz players will go the Great American Songbook for their inspiration. It seems to me that you’re going to the Great Latin American Songbook for your inspiration.
MZ: Well, yeah. I mean, we listened to a lot of those records from the past. Definitely, when Bird and Sonny Rollins and Coltrane and Miles were making those records, they were taking tunes that were popular at the time or had been very popular at some point, and they had a specific relationship with the tunes. They had seen a movie or a play or had heard the tune on the radio or danced to the tune.
MS: Right.
MZ: So for me, as much as I love the Great American Songbook and love playing on those tunes, it’s not the same kind of relationship, you know. I didn’t grow up with that music. It wasn’t part of my upbringing or my development as a person growing up in Puerto Rico.
MS: Right.
MZ: This music, I do have a relationship with it. When I play these tunes, I can hear the lyrics. I remember the first time I heard them or danced to them or the first time my parents played them for me. Like you said, it’s kind of like finding that relationship. In the same way that people connect with the Great American Songbook, I connect in a more personal way to the songbook coming from Puerto Rico or Latin America.
MS: One thing that struck me on this album: you are playing rearrangements, but you are playing songs. So there’s a kind of singing quality inherent in the material that you bring out in your playing. Several times in my notes, I wrote “Miguel is singing.” I think that helps people like me, who are less familiar with this music, to engage with it.
MZ: Yeah, all this music is originally vocal music. Part of the challenge for us for bringing that music into what we do—obviously the instrumentation is totally different, the size of the band—we have to find ways to replicate some of the original ideas. A lot of times, the saxophone ends up taking the place of the vocalist.
MS: Right.
MZ: Maelo was such a personal guy, the way he used his voice. He almost acted as an instrument in a way—like a percussionist or a horn sometimes. It was nice to kind of find that connection between what he was doing vocally, but also the way he was using improvisation in his vocal in a creative way.
MS: You talked about what Maelo brought to the music, but one thing that he brought—on a more humorous note—he was a pretty good dancer. You don’t have a vocalist. Do you have dance moves, Miguel?
MZ: (laughs) I have dance moves if I need to. But I won’t be doing that on stage. If you catch me at a salsa show, I’ll be having some dance moves.
MS: I loved to watch the man move on the videos I found on You Tube. It brought a whole other dimension to the music, being able to see him perform.
MZ: Yeah, he really internalized the music, you know, in everything he did. He was that kind of artist.
MS: What’s been the response of the Puerto Rican community to this album?
MZ: It’s been great. To be honest with you, I think this album, more than some of my other albums, has opened a specific kind of door to an audience that maybe wasn’t there before, and that’s the sort of die-hard salsa audience. That audience, a lot of times, they might gravitate to more middle-of-the-road Latin jazz, almost instrumental dance music. They’ll be attracted to that, but what we do is not that.
MS: Right.
MZ: In this case, they’re attracted to hearing instrumental versions of these tunes, which are, like I said, so important to so many people, especially people who love salsa music. I’ve gotten a lot of feedback from that audience from all over Latin America—people from Colombia, Peru, people from Puerto Rico obviously. People have reacted to it so positively.
MS: You’re not just introducing people to this sonero, but you’re also introducing some of us, anyway, to these composers, who aren’t everyday names in most households in North America. It opens a whole new world of music, people like Bobby Capó, “El Negro Bembón,” what a fabulous song; Javier Vasquez— Oh, man, “Traigo Salsa,” I can’t get that out of my nose. It has such a scent. These are fabulous tunes.
MZ: They really are, and one thing about all these composers, these guys are the Gershwins of Latin America. So many hits, so many tunes that people relate to, and these tunes that we recorded and others that we didn’t were written specifically for Maelo, so he was sort of the instrument for the composers. It’s great to explore the songbook.
MS: I see Hans isn’t coming. Is he in good shape?
MZ: Yeah, he’s OK. He’s been working a lot in Europe. He’s been working with this big band based in Frankfurt. He spends a good chunk of time over there, and this is just one of those times he couldn’t get out of the commitment he had.
MS: Do you have a favorite on this album?
MZ: Oof. Not necessarily. But I will tell that there’s a song on the album called “Las Tumbas.” It’s not my favorite or anything like that, but I have a personal connection because it was the first one I heard from Maelo’s repertoire when I was a little kid. I remember being really stricken by the melody and his voice. I was young, maybe about nine or ten. When I thought about putting this project together, this is the one tune that had to be there. I could just really hear it.
MS: That song knocked me out. Luis’s lament at the beginning is just incredible, but your declamation kind of raised the hairs up on the back of my neck. It’s a beautiful performance of a powerful song.
MZ: Thank you, man.
MS: Thank you, Miguel, for the music and your time today. I’m looking forward to seeing you here.
MZ: Yeah, we always look forward to going over there. We’re really excited about it.
Miguel Zenón Quartet
Wednesday, November 13, 7:30 p.m.
Gig Performance Space
1808 Second Street, Santa Fe
Tickets: $28
For tickets or more information, click here.
Thursday, November 14, 7:30 p.m.
Weil Hall at the Outpost Performance Space
210 Yale SE, Albuquerque
Tickets: $25 (member/student); $30 (general)
For tickets or more information, click here, or call 505-268-0044.
© 2019 Mel Minter