Featured Artist: Charlie Sepulveda & The Turnaround
CD Title: Self-titled
Year: 2008
Record Label: Turnaround Records
Style: Latin Jazz / Latin Funk
Musicians: Charlie Sepulveda (trumpet, flugel horn), Eduardo Zavas (piano), Gabriel Rodriguez (bass), Gadwin Vargas (conga), Raul Maldonado (drums), Norberto Ortiz (sax), Felipe Fournier (vibes)
Review:
The refreshing Latin sound of Charlie Sepulveda jazz intermingled with touches of the traditional stuff is quite becoming, to say the least. This is the stuff jazz clubs and bars were made to house. Dance if you’d like (and you’d like!) or simply sit, relax, listen, and enjoy the satiny purities of this quality of jazz. Very melodic and flavorful, like the Latin culture itself, Sepulveda brings his Puerto Rican brand to bear on the jazz world, and I’m sure he always finds it waiting with open arms.
Just how compelling Sepulveda’s music is can be felt in his opening track, “Something Cute,” and in his version of Stevie Wonder’s “Don’t You Worry About a Thing,” as the swaying rhythm simply sweeps you away to a beach to bask in that marvelous Puerto Rican sunshine. That sway can be felt throughout this album, which is surely to be heralded by many as simply a marvelous piece of work by one who’s worked with the likes Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, McCoy Tyner, and Toshiko Akiyoshi. With experience like that, excellence is the only option. Check out original tunes like the lengthy “Si Tu Sabes,” and you will know that Sepulveda has a firm handle on this art form. The quiet romantic sashay is evident in every seductive note and equally mesmerizing as you simply sit back and take it all in.
This one has teasing bites and much flavor. Charlie Sepulveda and The Turnaround do a great job of “signing” this album with their own indelible creative ink. A fine endeavor guaranteed to pay dividends for sure.
Tracks: Something Cute, Don't You Worry About A Thing, Si Tu Sabes, Mr. Jazz, Chang's Song, Bomba Pa' Carmen, Mo Better Blues, Gibraltar, Mirame Mas, Caribeno
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