Versatile invigorating World jazz Julian Gerstin – THE OLD CITY: The lineup on the video performance of the title track, “The Old City”, is slightly different from the players on the album (Anna Patton, clarinet, Don Anderson, trumpet, Eugene Uman, piano, Wes Brown, bass, Ben James, drum set, Julian Gerstin, percussion with Carl Clements, flute, Jon Weeks, saxophone, Jon Wheeler,trombone, Lissa Schneckenburger violin, Keith Murphy guitar, Matt Fass, accordion, Todd Roach Iranian percussion), but it still captures the unique flavor and flow of Julian’s splendid World jazz tunes…
…since you’re on YouTube already, be sure you SUBSCRIBE to Julian’s channel… lots more creativity to witness there.
What I noted in my review of his earlier “The One Who Makes You Happy” release is that his playing is full of JOY and high-energy talent, through and through… this new release keeps that joyful vibe going in a big way, as you’ll hear on the Cuban descorga/jam “Jugo de mambo” (samples aren’t up yet, I’ll come back and add them when I’m notified that the album has gone live), one of my favorite Latin jazz tunes for 2018!
Julian’s dynamic and lively percussion on “Pwan lajan-lan”, based on dance music from Martinique, will have you up on your feet within the first few notes… the driving force(s) of the universe are quite apparent on this excellent tune.
My personal favorite of the ten tunes offered up for your aural enjoyment is a blues tune based on a Colombian dance form, titled “Cumbia sin cambio”… I’ve no doubt you’ll be hearing this in regular rotation on your favorite Latin jazz stations soon.
I give Julian and his players a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) rating of 4.98 for this excellent album. Check Julian’s website for updates on the release of this exciting musical adventure. Rotcod Zzaj
