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Diego Urcola Quartet: El Duelo

By Mark Sullivan
November 2, 2020
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The cover of this album shows

Diego Urcola

trumpet
b.1965

" data-original-title="" title="">Diego Urcola (trumpet, flugelhorn) and

" data-original-title="" title="">Paquito D'Rivera (alto saxophone, clarinet) back-to-back, as if about to engage in the titular duel. But the sound is that of two veteran players jointly taking a leap into the unknown. A quartet without piano is an unusual setting for both of them. D'Rivera's liner notes mention

Gerry Mulligan

saxophone, baritone
1927 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Gerry Mulligan's quartet with

Chet Baker

trumpet and vocals
1929 - 1988

" data-original-title="" title="">Chet Baker (represented by " I Know, Don't Know How"), but

Ornette Coleman

saxophone, alto
1930 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Ornette Coleman's quartet is another, more surprising reference (with the classic "Una Muy Bonita").

The title tune (composed by Argentine pianist

Guillermo Klein

piano

" data-original-title="" title="">Guillermo Klein) opens the set with an unsettled start and stop feel, and energetic playing from the whole band. "Tango Azul" is the first of three Urcola originals, its tango rhythm inspiring brilliant clarinet playing from D'Rivera. "Una Muy Bonita" was originally recorded on Coleman's Change of the Century (Atlantic Records, 1960). This interpretation is bracing, a brash statement of commitment to the freedom of playing without a harmonic instrument, and possibly even freer than the original.

Classic modern jazz is also well represented.

Duke Ellington

piano
1899 - 1974

" data-original-title="" title="">Duke Ellington's "Caravan" is recast as a tango in a medley with Argentinian composer

Osvaldo Pugliese

" data-original-title="" title="">Osvaldo Pugliese 's "La Yumba," complete with a striking shift from tango to swing during the bridge. Some of the choices are deep cuts, like

Kenny Wheeler

flugelhorn
1930 - 2014

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Wheeler's "Foxy Trot" and

Wayne Shorter

saxophone
1933 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Wayne Shorter's "Sacajawea (Theme)" from Alegr��a (Verve Records, 2003). The album closes with a trio of well known jazz standards:

Dizzy Gillespie

trumpet
1917 - 1993

" data-original-title="" title="">Dizzy Gillespie's "Con Alma;"

Benny Golson

saxophone, tenor
1929 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Benny Golson's "Stablemates;" and an energetic Latin version of

Thelonious Monk

piano
1917 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Thelonious Monk's "Bye-Ya."

If El Duelo was an experiment, it is resoundingly successful. Full of surprises, with terrific playing all around. Encore, please!

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Track Listing

El Duelo; Tango Azul; Una Muy Bonita; La Yumba/Caravan; Pekin; The Natural; Buenos Aires; Foxy Trot; I Know, Don't Know How; Libertango; Sacajawea (Theme); Leyenda; Con Alma; Stablemates; Bye-Ya.

Personnel

Diego Urcola

trumpet

Paquito D'Rivera

clarinet

Eric Doob

drums

Hamish Smith

bass

Additional Instrumentation

Diego Urcola: trumpet, flugelhorn; Paquito D'Rivera: alto saxophone, clarinet.

Album information

Title: El Duelo | Year Released: 2020 | Record Label: Sunnyside Records

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