One of the leading jazz artists from Latin America and perhaps best known as a member of the SF Jazz Collective, award-winning Venezuelan composer and pianist Edward Simon makes good use of both his jazz chops and his Latin background on his latest release, Las Femeninas, Songs of Latin American Women, which features jewels from the Latin American songbook—all by female songwriters—in exquisite jazz settings. In addition to those songs, Simon’s Latino Soy suite graces the album with three original compositions. Simon’s trio, with Reuben Rogers on bass and Adam Cruz on drums, will bring that music to the Outpost this week, along with two guest artists, Grammy-nominated Mexican vocalist Magos Herrera and Venezuelan percussionist Luis Quintero.

Following the success of his 2016 album, Latin American Songbook, for which Simon arranged popular Latin tunes for piano and jazz trio, the pianist collaborated with Herrera in a week-long residency in 2017 on a tribute to the late Argentine singer Mercedes Sosa. That project inspired Simon to work with Herrera on vocal songs from Latin America. Excited by the opportunity to work in a jazz setting with Simon, Herrera suggested a number of songs by Latina composers. Simon brought his deft trio arrangements to tunes from both established and emerging songwriters, including Violeta Parra (Chile), Marta Valdés (Cuba), Chabuca Granda (Perú), Elizabeth Morris (Chile), Rosa Passos (Brazil), Georgina Hassan (Argentina), and Joyce Moreno (Brazil). Quintero joins as percussionist, and Brazilian guitarist Romero Lubambo guests in on two tracks.

The result is Las Femeninas, which continues Simon’s mission to introduce the rich musical culture of Latin America to the world at large. “There’s a lot to discover and explore,” Simon told me in a recent telephone interview. “A lot of this music is music that we have grown up listening to, but I have to admit to you that I myself learned a tremendous deal and discovered a lot of artists I wasn’t even familiar with in the process of making this album.”

The influence of Spain runs throughout the album and is perhaps most clearly felt in “Bulería,” part of Simon’s suite, which draws on the rhythmic pulse of this flamenco palo, or genre, underscored by Quintero on the cajón. “In Latin America, we combine [the Spanish influence] with the African tradition,” says Simon. “The African rhythms that we have inherited from western Africa and the Caribbean are designed to put people in a trance.” The pulse of those mesmeric rhythms are clearly felt in the Afro-Peruvian rhythm of Granda’s “La flor de la canela” and in the bossa nova and the samba, respectively, of Moreno’s “Femenina” and Passos’s “Dunas.” The bolero, born as part of the trova tradition in Cuba and popular across Latin America, is well represented by Valdés’s “Palabras” and “¿Hacia dónde?” written in the bolero subgenre of “bolero feeling,” which, says Simon, is characterized by more adventurous, sophisticated, and complex harmonies.

The three compositions of the Latino Soy suite are separated on the album. “Mujer remolino” is immediately followed by “Naked Sky,” but “Bulería” appears a couple of tracks later. “That’s something to make the sequence of the album a better flow from beginning to end,” says Simon, who notes that the three tunes do not share thematic material. “Mujer remolino,” dedicated to the Mexican shaman María Sabina, features a flowing wordless vocal line and incorporates a section of spoken word that uses some of what Sabina would say in a healing ceremony. “Naked Sky,” with English lyrics from Herrera and a piano solo spangled with lovely harmonies, takes an anthemic turn.

Simon’s characteristically elegant, well-balanced, and sophisticated arrangements and improvisations, which the ear welcomes; Herrera’s warm, expressive voice; and the deft performances of one and all make for a delightful and satisfying musical experience for the album’s first 10 tracks. On the 11th, however, the duo of Simon and Herrera deliver a spellbinding duet performance of Valdés’s deep and beautiful song “¿Hacia dónde?” that takes the project to a goosebumps-on-the-arms-and-back-of-the-neck level.

For those who are familiar with this passionate music, the album presents an entertaining reimagining. For those unfamiliar with the music, it offers a tantalizing invitation to explore a rich musical storehouse.

Edward Simon Group
featuring Magos Herrera
June 10 at 7:30 p.m.
Weil Hall
Outpost Performance Space, Albuquerque
Tickets $30/$25 for members and students, available here

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© 2023 Mel Minter