FABIO ROJAS

PERSEVERANCE

Independent Label

Fabio Rojas, drums/composer/producer; Osmar Okuma, double bass/electric bass; Kevin Harris, piano/Fender Rhodes; Gustavo D’ Amico, tenor & soprano saxophones/flute; Greg Osby, alto saxophone.

Fabio Rojas is a Venezuelan drummer, film composer and educator.  He immigrated to America fourteen years ago in pursuit of music excellence.  Like many international students, Rojas enrolled at Berklee College of Music with a strong belief in himself and guided by the proverb, “El que perservera, vence.”  That translates to “He who perseveres wins.”  From that saying came the title of this album, “Perseverance.”

Rojas begins with a revolutionary stance on the political climate in his country. It’s a song he calls, “Ni un pasa atras” that means “Not One Step Back.”  This was a chant that the Venezuelan people shouted during protests in the street against dictatorship back in 2002.   The horns sound like police and ambulance sirens.  The piano and bass sing and repeat the melody, laying a pathway to the sax solo.  Next Kevin Harris, on piano, solos with Osmar Okuma on bass pumping away beneath the piano improvisation. Fabio Rojas steps through the curtains to make his own solo statement on drums.

Track #2, “Atlas” is more bluesy, but quickly morphs into a Straight-ahead tune moving at bullet train speed.  They double-time it so swiftly; I forget all about the blues. Grammy nominated bassist, Osmar Okuma walks his bass furiously beneath the excitement, creating his own synergy. When Rojas soaks up the spotlight, he brings rhythm technique and creativity.  After his solo, the tune returns to the slow blues I heard at the very beginning. It ends like a car crash; unexpected and abruptly.  Rojas explains that he composed this song thinking of Atlas, the Greek mythology figure who was condemned to hold up the heavens, (or sky) on his shoulders for eternity.  Fabio Rojas identifies with this figure, because as an immigrant, of the many experiences and challenging responsibilities he has carried on his own shoulders.

His composition, “Homage Ap” sounds folksy.  In his press package, they explain that Polo is a harmonic structure within Venezuelan Folk Music specific to the Margarita Island. This Polo form contains 8 bars with a repeat, followed by 10 bars that also repeat.  Rojas has modernized this music, using the unique jazz elements of improvisation.  I am drawn to a tune called “Loneliness” that was the first jazz song Rojas ever wrote.  It doesn’t sound lonely, but instead has a groove and a lovely melody explored by Kevin Harris on piano. Speaking of Harris, he sparkles on piano during his interpretation of a song called “Dandelion.”  Rojas reminds us that that anywhere you throw dandelion seeds, they find a way to grow, to live and flourish.  Percussionist and composer, Fabio Rojas is a perfect example of that!

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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