Patato ~ Masterpiece

"Masterpiece" messidor 15827-2

Patato has only had one solo album until now. And as its title suggests, this one is truly a masterpiece. Recorded mostly in 1984 with an All-Star Band arranged by the argentine pianist Jorge Dalto, 'Masterpiece' runs the gamut from tango to bolero, rumba, bata and Latin jazz. Dalto displays a phenomenal technique and an astonishing expressive force, both in the Latin and in the jazz idiom. During long years, he was a member in George Benson's groups. Unfortunately, he was already terminally ill during the recording sessions, so the album was completed the following year using a different group of outstanding musicians: piano Michel Camilo (the shooting star in Latin jazz in the late 1980s, who has signed with Columbia by now), and saxophone player Ronnie Cuber who gave his brilliant polish to numberless jazz records, gaining fame as well in the borderlands of pop, rock, and avant-garde music, for example recording with David Byrne and Frank Zappa.

Bass player Joe Santiago, like Jorge Dalto, is Patato's long-time companion since the time with the Machito Orchestra. The two drummers Iganacio Berroa and Steve Berrios, bass player Andy Gonzalez, and trumpet player Jerry Gonzalez belong, for a long time now, to the most outstanding artists in New York's Latin jazz scene. They all are in high demand as studio musicians.

'Masterpiece' is more than just another bebop-con-salsa session. Instead, it combines swinging, sophisticated jazz with deep Afro-Cuban roots music in a flowing, multi-stylistic context, reflecting the wit and originality of its leader, Carlos 'Patato' Valdes.

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