Maria Juanez

by Leali,Brad

Overview

Brad Leali's second TCB CD (and third as a leader) is an impressive outing, very much in the tradition of Dizzy Gillespie's best Afro-Cuban jazz big bands, though the alto saxophonist has very much found his own voice. The leader's "Special K" proves to be a potent opener, though Jon Faddis' solo is strangely mixed in the background rather than being prominent like Leali's sizzling alto. His title track begins with a narrative argument between him and a female who is evidently departing, which gets a bit tiresome but fades as a swinging samba brings in the full band. The great Frank Foster arranged Leali's "Priority Soul," a slinky soul-jazz number, while Claus Raible revives the late Lee Morgan's overlooked hard bop gem "Seconds Best" with a percolating chart. Tommy James' inventive scoring of "The Pink Panther" is a bit darker than in its typical settings but swings like mad, driven by the superb brass and reed ensemble work. This is a fun session and it should be of great interest to fans of Latin jazz and bop. ~ Ken Dryden

Product Details

Release Date:	07/05/2024
Label:	Tcb Records
UPC:	0725095269025

Tracks

1. Special K
2. Maria Juanez
3. The Pink Panther
4. Puddin' Time
5. Dos Angelitos
6. Priority Soul!
7. Seconds Best
8. Fallen Feathers
9. Mr. Sneaky
10. Here Come Da Train

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Brad Leali   Primary Artist,Vocals,Sax (Alto)
Frank Green   Trumpet
Dion Tucker   Trombone
Maximilian Swieger   Sax (Baritone)
Keith Loftis   Sax (Alto),Flute,Sax (Tenor)
Flor Marina Gomez   Vocals
Sister Helen Leali   Vocals
Reverend Charles E. Leali   Vocals
Derrick Gardner   Conductor,Trumpet
Jon Faddis   Trumpet
Jason Jackson   Trombone
Sean Jones   Soloist,Trumpet
Tia Fuller   Flute,Sax (Alto)
Jason Brown   Drums
Vincent Gardner   Trombone,Soloist
Grant Langford   Sax (Tenor)
Joe Gonzalez   Percussion
Jack Jeffers   Trombone (Bass)
Alvester Garnett   Drums,Soloist
Claus Raible   Piano,Soloist
Ben Wolfe   Bass
Kevin Louis   Trumpet,Soloist
Rick Germanson   Soloist,Piano
Mark Gross   Sax (Alto),Flute

Technical Credits

Brad Leali   Audio Production,Leader,Composer,Producer
Aaron Spencer   Audio Engineer
Dennis Jeter   Audio Production,Producer
Claus Raible   Audio Production,Arranger,Producer
Jonathan Towns   Audio Engineer
Frank Foster   Arranger
Quincy Jones   Composer
Henry Mancini   Composer
Derrick Gardner   Arranger
Tommy Jones   Arranger
Bill Lee   Arranger
Peter Schmidlin   Executive Producer