Cry Me a River

by Hilario Duran, Hilario Duran & His Latin Jazz Big Band

Overview

The last time Cuban-born, Canada-based pianist Hilario Duran released a big band album with 2006's From the Heart, he picked up a Grammy nomination and won the Juno Award for Best Contemporary Jazz Album. Seventeen years later, he delivers his follow-up, 2023's Cry Me a River, his second album to feature his 19-piece Latin Jazz Big Band. A virtuoso performer, composer, and bandleader, Duran initially garnered acclaim in the 1970s after taking over the piano chair from Chucho Valdes in Cuba's famed Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna. From there, he spent over a decade with trumpeter Arturo Sandoval before settling in Canada. He has distinguished himself since then as one of the leading lights of Latin and Afro-Cuban jazz, continually broadening the stylistic traditions he grew up with and weaving in post-bop jazz and classical harmonies. Cry Me a River expands upon this legacy as Duran brings together his varied influences into a cohesive and sophisticated style. Cuts like the opening "Paca por Juanito" and "Mambo y Tumbao" are exuberantly kinetic Latin jazz dance numbers that nicely update the sound bandleaders like Tito Puente popularized from the '50s onward. We also get the dusky romanticism of "Claudia," a lyrical ballad played emotively by alto saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera, a longtime associate of Duran. Also making vital contributions are his longtime drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez and bassist Roberto Occhipinti, the latter of whom lays down a funky acoustic groove on the hip-hop-meets-hard-bop tribute to Charles Mingus, "I Remember Mingus." Elsewhere, Duran carves out plenty of solo space for his band on his arrangement of Dizzy Gillespie's classic "A Night in Tunisia," and combines swinging jazz with the romantic classical work of composer Frederic Chopin on "Fantasia Impromptu." Central to the album is Duran's cover of the standard "Cry Me a River," made famous by singers like Ella Fitzgerald and Julie London, and which he uses here to showcase the equally vibrant talents of singer and violinist Elizabeth Rodriguez. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	09/22/2023
Label:	Alma Records / Alma Records
UPC:	0880504908329

Tracks

1. Pacá por Juanito
2. Mambo y Tumbao
3. Claudia
4. I Remember Mingus
5. Cry Me a River
6. Night in Tunisia
7. Wild Blues
8. Esperando la Carroza [Waiting for the Float]
9. Fantasia Impromptu

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Hilario Duran   Primary Artist,Piano
Hilario Duran & His Latin Jazz Big Band   Primary Artist
Jorge Luis "Papiosco" Torres   Congas,Percussion
Kelly Jefferson   Clarinet,Sax (Tenor)
Roberto Occhipinti   Bass,Double Bass
Andy Ballantyne   Clarinet,Sax (Alto),Flute (Alto)
Jake Thomas   Director
Evaristo Machado   Vocals (Background)
Elizabeth Rodriguez   Violin,Vocals
Christian Overton   Trumpet,Trombone
Karl Silveira   Trombone
Magdelys Savigne   Congas
Alexander Brown   Trumpet
Luis Mario Ochoa   Guitar
Rob Somerville   Trombone
Okan   Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Jeff King   Clarinet,Sax (Tenor)
Peter Hysen   Trombone (Bass)
Marc Rogers   Bass,Double Bass
Poly Coussee   Sax (Baritone),Clarinet (Bass)
Poli Cousee   Sax (Baritone)
Luis Deniz   Sax (Alto)
Paquito D'Rivera   Clarinet,Sax (Alto),Featured Artist
Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez   Drums,Featured Artist
Colleen Allen   Flute,Saxophone,Sax (Alto)
Kevin Turcotte   Trumpet
Alexis Baro   Trumpet
Roberto Riveron   Bass
Brian O'Kane   Trumpet

Technical Credits

Hilario Duran   Arranger,Composer,Recording Arranger
Jake Thomas   Editing
Lisa Cardinali   Assistant
Olivia Cardinali   Photography
Mike Gnocato   Assistant Engineer
Zach Pepe   Assistant Engineer,Associate Remixing Engineer
Taras Blyzniuk   Engineer
Arthur Hamilton   Composer
Donny Dasilva   Studio Manager
John "Beetle" Bailey   Engineer,Recording,Mixing Engineer
Hilario Duran & His Latin Jazz Big Band   Composer
Frederic Chopin   Composer
Harry Hess   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Frank Paparelli   Composer
Dizzy Gillespie   Composer
Peter Cardinali   Producer
Hugh Syme   Design,Art Direction,Illustrations
Chucho Valdes   Composer