Friday, May 2, 2014

CD Review: Alex Garcia's Afromantra's 'This Side Of Mestizaje'

Alex Garcia's Afromantra
This Side Of Mestizaje
Afromantra Records

Alex Garcia is Chilean-born, influenced by Cuban and Peruvian melodies, and now based in New York, where he has mastered Latin jazz, percussion, and world fusion with his latest release, This Side Of Metizaje. The title of the album connotes mixed ancestry of the Spanish variety, which is quite evident throughout the tracks. The tracks are wholly instrumental without any vocal accompaniment. The music is steeped in jazz and jam session overtones with punchy percussion and horns eloquently frolicking along-side the fluid bass, piano, and keys. The music is relatively laid-back with some poignant melodies and rhythms that get the heart racing and the feet moving. Alex, a prodigy on drums, enlists the help of soprano sax-man, Ole Mathisen, Fender Rhodes maestro, Mick Eckroth, and electric bass connoisseur, Ariel De La Portilla. The entire group forms a cohesive unit of musical deliciousness that never gets old. Discover it today! ~ Matthew Forss

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