Home » Jazz Articles » Album Review » Gino Amato: Latin Crossroads

Gino Amato: Latin Crossroads

By Richard J Salvucci
October 24, 2024
View read count

The urge to take advantage of a successful commercial genre never really dies. Back in the 1960s, a studio orchestra nominally assembled by bandleader

Glen Gray

b.1906

" data-original-title="" title="">Glen Gray released a recording, Sounds of the Great Bands in Latin (Capitol, 1964). It took tunes like "Early Autumn" or "A String of Pearls" and added a "Latin" flavor with jazz enhancements. No doubt, this was an early recognition of the success of

Cal Tjader

vibraphone
1925 - 1982

" data-original-title="" title="">Cal Tjader. The vinyl may or may not have done well, but it marked the last of the Sounds of the Great Bands series. The music was on the kitschy side, but the players were top notch Los Angeles studio types and the label was well known. Somewhere, someone must have a copy. That person may occasionally listen to it.

It is a bit in the same vein, is this recording, "a seamless and monumental blend of otherwise diverse Jazz, Pop, American Standard, Latin and Classical genres." There is certainly nothing wrong with hearing an update of "Concierto de Aranjuez" featuring

Lew Soloff

trumpet
1944 - 2015

" data-original-title="" title="">Lew Soloff and

Randy Brecker

trumpet
b.1945

" data-original-title="" title="">Randy Brecker, even if Soloff passed in 2015. Flutist

Dave Valentin

flute
1952 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Dave Valentin ("Tonight") died in 2017, so a listener may be excused the slightly unsettling feeling of treading through a garden of graves. It is 2024, and some of this has clearly been in the can for a long time. And the performances, although certainly competent, are, at times, bit quirky.

Janis Siegel

vocals
b.1952

" data-original-title="" title="">Janis Siegel ("Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered") manages to render her own version of the once-prurient lyrics, although the whole is, well, de gustibus and not exactly her style. Singer

Margo Reymundo

vocals

" data-original-title="" title="">Margo Reymundo at least has prior experience in a similar crossover venture with pianist

Oscar Hernandez

piano
b.1954

" data-original-title="" title="">Oscar Hernandez in The Roots of Rey (Origin, 2017) and the material from "West Side Story" ostensibly involved Latinos.

Perhaps, not surprisingly, some of the material works better in this format than others. In an anthology of this size and sheer complexity (a string quartet, a string section, dozens of musicians, multiple studios), it is really too much to expect much consistency of style to emerge, other than in the broadest sense. Aficionados of the genre are probably the most suitable audience.

Learn more about our star rating system

Track Listing

Blackbird; The Summer Knows; One The Street Where You Live; Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered; Showever the People; Aranjuez; Bad Things; 'Round Midnight; Tonight;Romeo and Juliet; Green Flower Street.

Personnel

Gino Amato

piano and vocals

Janis Siegel

vocals

Robin McKelle

vocals

Margo Reymundo

vocals

Claudette Sierra

vocals

Arnold mcculler

vocals

Kevin Osborne

vocals

Dave Valentin

flute

Lew Soloff

trumpet

Randy Brecker

trumpet

Bobby Porcelli

saxophone

Joe Locke

vibraphone

Samuel Torres

percussion

Chino Nunez

percussion

Oscar Hernandez

piano

Ruben Rodriguez

bass

Vince Cherico

drums

Andrea Brachfeld

flute

Louis Bonilla

trombone

Roger Rosenberg

saxophone, baritone

Additional Instrumentation

Matt Cusson: bkg vocals; Pablo Nu��ez: percussion; Raul Agraz: trumpet; Kevin Bryant: trumpet; Bob Milikin: trumpet; Mike Rodriguez: trumpet; Daniel Miller: cello; Jacob Lawson: violin; Sylvia D��Avanzo: violin; Eric Hammelman: violin; David Cresswell: violin; Entcho Todonov: violin; Belinda Whitney: violin; Maxim Moston: violin; Avril Brown: violin; Jonathan Dinklage: violin; Chris Cardona: violin; Nathalie Cummins: principal violin; Stephanie Cummins: cello; Alex Kadran: cello; Wolfram Kossel: cello; Antoine Silverman: violin/contractor; LaTanya Hall: bkg vocals; Laurel Mass��: bkg vocals; Clint de Ganon: drums; Will Lee: bass; Oscar Hernandez: Fender Rhodes; Ira Siegel: guitar; Jeremy Bosch: flute; Manuel Ruiz: trumpet; David Mann: alto sax & solo; Tom Timko: tenor sax; Doug Beavers: trombone; Hector Martignon: piano; Sean Jones: trumpet; Ozzie Melendez: trombone; Dave Bargeron: trombone; Gary Valente: trombone; Ken Hitchcock: alto sax; Mitch Frohman: tenor sax; Lou Marini: alto flute, alto sax solo; Alan Grubner: violin; Bryan Carrott: vibes; Kevin Bryant: trumpet; Manuel ��Maneco�� Ruiz: trumpet; Chris Rogers: trumpet; Dan Levine: trombone; John Benthal: guitar; Mike Mossman: trumpet; Leonardo Suarez: 1st violin; Jon Weber: 2nd violin; Alejandra Mahave: viola.

Album information

Title: Latin Crossroads | Year Released: 2024 | Record Label: Ovation Records

PREVIOUS / NEXT

Aaron Goldberg: It's Impossible To S...
< Previous

Mayo, Ramamurthy, Fedchock, Novoa An...
Next >

Support All About Jazz

All About Jazz has been a pillar of jazz since 1995, championing it as an art form and, more importantly, supporting the musicians who make it. Our enduring commitment has made "AAJ" one of the most culturally important websites of its kind, read by hundreds of thousands of fans, musicians and industry figures every month.

Go Ad Free!

To maintain our platform while developing new means to foster jazz discovery and connectivity, we need your help. You can become a sustaining member for as little as $20 and in return, we'll immediately hide those pesky ads plus provide access to future articles for a full year. This winning combination vastly improves your AAJ experience and allow us to vigorously build on the pioneering work we first started in 1995. So enjoy an ad-free AAJ experience and help us remain a positive beacon for jazz by making a donation today.