Soneando Trombon

From the Label
LINER NOTES-JIMMY BOSCH: SONEANDO TROMBON

“Ladies and Gentlemen- the Music of the Future!”

That’s a remark made to an 1860’s British music hall audience by a clown whose performance of the trombone theme from Richard Wagner’s “Pilgrim Chorus” was an aural equivalent of a drunk trying to walk a straight line; the person who recalled this performance and the wisecrack that followed it was writer George Bernard Shaw. Presumably the clown’s intention was to work the notorious modernist Wagner for some cheap laughs by “playing” his music on an instrument caught in the popular consciousness between church pieties on the one hand and barnyard hokum on the other. This performer was unintentionally prophetic; the trombone flourished in an unprecedented way during the twentieth century. The album you’ve just bought is a product of this prophecy come true.

By the late Renaissance the Italian word tromba exists with the augmentative suffix one. “Trombone” is just another way of saying “big trumpet” but with a critical difference: the slide, both a blessing and a curse. The downside involves a lack of ease in executing many passages and melodic lines and in moving around the horn with any real facility; changing from one note to a neighboring one provides a wealth of possibilities for unmusical connective glissandos and other effects suggesting animals in various stages of agony or ecstasy. The infinite gradations of tone between each note of the chromatic scale is also a great resource. For a player endowed with keen pitch sense and strong melodic feeling the slide allows an exquisite form of legato. If you combine this ability to bend notes almost any way imaginable with the different articulation styles and dynamic range made possible by the trombone’s membership in the brass family, you’ve got an idealized version of the human voice itself. In previous centuries the trombone existed as a complete family like the recorder or saxophone; soprano, alto, tenor and bass trombones corresponded to the basic categories of the singing voice. The trombone family was used extensively to reinforce voices in church choirs; fitting unobtrusively into the tonal picture was the order of the day. Nineteenth century composers used the trombone section to provide chorale-style affirmations of faith, or discrete chordal backgrounds; the squeaky-clean phrasing and solemn qualities associated with the trombone was cultivated by the Austro-German symphonists. The early twentieth century improvised musical styles that evolved into jazz afforded its practitioners unprecedented freedom of expression; by definition, an improvising musician is freer to creatively use the natural sound and resources of an instrument compared with a re-creative musician who is committed to performing composed music as an act of perpetuating the past. The trombone is one of the greatest beneficiaries of this revolution. The whoops, hollers, growls, ‘glisses’ and smears that it does so well no longer had to be relegated exclusively to circus bands and novelty performers; they became integrated into a trombone tradition that connects the first dixielanders to today’s avant-garde.

This tradition draws upon the trombone’s resources with rich variety. Trombonist Jimmy Harrison electrified 1920’s Harlem audiences by demonstrating that Louis Armstrong’s style could be adapted to his own instrument. The subtle slide adjustments and breath control of Tommy Dorsey created a legato stylethe envy of most singers and the model for an obscure saloon singer from Hoboken, New Jersey named Frank Sinatra. Jack Teagarden’s facile slide technique was complimented by his blue-inflected melodic style; J.J. Johnson’s technical innovations made it possible to play bop on the trombone with a minimum of faking. The musician most responsible for re-creating these styles in the context of Afro-Cuban music is Barry Rogers.; his explosive solos and brilliant arrangements for Eddie Palmieri’s La Perfecta unit made an unmistakable impact on the 1960’s Latin dance music that eventually became known as Salsa.

Jimmy Bosch is the heir to these traditions through talent, temperament and choice of role models. Anyone who’s good enough to hang in with Manny Oquendo y Libre expands their knowledge of rhythm and learns to use a minimal number of note for maximum expression through cunning placement within the two measure framework of clave. As a twenty year veteran Jimmy is one of the outstanding alumnae of the Oquendo Conservatory. One of his great regrets is that he didn’t get to work more with Barry Rogers;nevertheless, he’s learned the Gospel According to Barry and preaches it every time he picks up his horn.It’s to Jimmy’s great credit that he plays with Barry’s conviction and drive without slavishly copying the stridency that characterized the Rogers sound during the early years of La Perfecta. Much of Jimmy’s individuality of sound is due to his natural ease of playing. This ease is evident just from watching him;a photograph of his face while playing could be used in any instrumental textbook as an example of perfect natural embouchure setting for playing any brass instrument. Jimmy looks at his natural aptitude for the trombone as an unexplainable gift. In 1996 he told me “I never really learned to practice with discipline and do the daily things like most musicians who practice four or five hours a day. I’ve basically put the

horn up to my face and my whole attitude, my whole scope and thinking is that I just get to play with passion and love and it comes out and that’s what happens”. What comes out includes some of the hottest trombone solos being played today-and not just in the salsa field. His riffs build intensity through repetition and through subtle interaction with fellow musicians; his repeated note figures can sound like a divinely inspired telegraph operator. He can easily push his naturally beautiful sound to a sizzling edginessa la Generoso “Tojo” Jimenez; his articulation runs the gamut from clean precision through many funky inflections available to trombonists through manipulation of the slide and tongue. Jimmy is as happy playing background figures with his fellow horn players as he is taking solos; he fronts his own group with a leader’s ability but without a leader’s ego.

Uniquely in tune with his instrument, Jimmy Bosch is uniquely able to respond to its heritage. As we near the end of the century of the trombone’s first real flowering it’s clear that played by the likes of Bosch it’s in very good hands for the next. Bernard Shaw’s music hall clown was right; the trombone was destinedto play the Music of the Future. Listening to Jimmy Bosch-Soneando Trombon gives a very good glimpseof the trombone’s future.

David M.Carp

Soneando Trombon,Johnny Bosch,Ryko Latino,Latin,Latin Jazz,Latin Music,Salsa,Tropical

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Tracks:

Descargarana
Otra Oportunidad
Crisis De Identidad
Muy Joven Para Mi
Gaviota
La Soledad
Padre Soy
Cha Cha Gabriel
Erben On The Phone
Jimmy's Bop

Customer Reviews:

Jimmy Bosch Thanks .......2005-01-25

Thank you for the bottom of my heart!!! You are a true inspiration and for this I love you. Your music has touched my life and my family. We love to dance and sing to your music. My favorite is Jimmy's Bop, Otra Opportunidad and Padre Soy although "madre soy" I can identify with the lyrics.

The absolute best!!!.......2001-06-11

I have never written a CD review before, but I figured that I would be doing an injustice to all music lovers if I were to not express how wonderful this music is. I have owned SONEANDO TROMBON since it was released in '98. It is still my favorite album. Since then, not a week has gone by that I don't find myself singing "Otra Oportunidad" at least once. I love that it starts with "Descargarana" which provides the listener with an introduction to the band. It is Latin Jazz in its purest form. If you are to own one Latin album, this should be it.

Brilliant!.......2001-05-13

Brilliant, different, interesting, rich music. This is an extraordinary CD with amazing descargas. The lyrics have a message that is contemporary and significant. The trombone is glorious. What a joy!

Energetic, original descarga.......1999-08-13

This album blew me away last year when it came out and I listened to it many a time. Bosch, of Puerto Rican descent, has been a session musician for qite a long time but this album represents the first time he's been at the helm. Many of the tunes build to irresistible, mesmerizing climaxes. The album shines with heart and sincerity and Jimmy and friends obviously had a great time doing it. You'd have to be arock not to feel moved by the anguish which comes through in Otra Oportunidad, about the death of Jimmy's brother from substance abuse. If you want more than the sappy romantic salsa that dominates the market these days, go for this fresh, inspiring album.

very imaginative, cry-your-heart-out salsajazz!.......1999-01-15

This one is my current favorite, destinated to become a downright classic. The party begins when you read the liner notes. As opposed to the usual oblique remarks, this booklet tells a small but interesting story about the trombone. Step 2: put in the cd. Step 3: be as amazed as myself at JBs capacity to put on an irresistable groove AND at the same time never loose a detail ('Descargarana'). Duke Ellington comes to mind! What makes "Soneando Trombon" truly beyond the average salsa is the heartfelt cry at some of the songs. You really have to be a cynical drunk when you are capable of NOT getting touched by 'Muy Joven Para Mi' - and that is just one example. Last christmas I saw Bosch and his 'devastating' (LA Times) Orquesta in Antwerpen, Belgium. It was sensational. Instead of the irritating in-your-face happy/happy/joy/joy-ness of which some salsa-bands can't escape from, Bosch Y Su Orquesta puts the groove where it belongs: in the heart. The question remains: why don't you hear this wonderful cd in the clubs? The truth is out there, dj's! "Que ago ahora! Que ago ahora!" "No Importa lo que diga la gente!"

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