Josean Jacobo Trio

Herencia Criolla

E7 Studios

The last time we heard from Dominican pianist Josean Jacobo, he was with his sextet Tumbao for Cimarron, not only one of the best Latin jazz albums of 2019 but one of the best overall in the umbrella category of jazz. He now returns with his trio and special guests for Herencia Criolla, further exploring the intersection of Afro-Dominican music and jazz. He brings back his trusted rhythm section with Daroll Méndez on bass and Otoniel Nicolás on drums. These three musicians have developed a strong rapport as an ensemble through their profound understanding of musical tradition and cultivation of a group identity. Four guests join them, one of more featured on individual tracks that we will describe as we go.

Most of us really need in education in these traditional forms that Jacobo unearths and we’re fortunate to have the liner notes of noted music scholar Michael Ambrosino, who describes the music this way – “a cultural amalgamation that balances the musical heritage of Merengue de Palo Echao’, Bachata, and Gagá with a contemporary Jazz sound: Herencia Criolla deepens the musical dialectic on the enduring ingenuity of Dominican music.” The record has an anthropological presentation — short field recordings transition into the main tracks, guiding listeners through the cultural inspiration behind each composition and arrangement, creating a bridge between history and its influence on the present.

The translation of the title is “Creole Heritage” and it is that trio rendered track that opens the album, the first example of a chanting field recording transitioning into the main track, colored by the pianist’s light touch over surging rhythms, with an upright bass solo from Mendez. The trio becomes more dynamic on “San Miguel,” a great example of the album’s concept, a folk tradition of honoring a Catholic saint with African rhythms transformed into a vehicle for jazz harmony and ensemble interplay to the Dominican palo beat. More folk traditions are on display for “Dolores,” expressing the joy and shifting emotions in celebrations for the Virgin Mary.

Acclaimed altoist and Latin music expert Miguel Zenon joins for the rollicking bachata hit “Dos Locus,” seamlessly fitting in with the trio, as he deftly navigates the tricky rhythms. The Dominican pop star, Juan Luis Guerra’s classic “Bachata Rosa” features the robust tones of bassist Ramón Vázquez sitting in for Mendez. The band proves to be equally adept at managing the traditional or more contemporary material. “Cana Brava” is another with a complex rhythm pattern, showing the core trio in rendering a tune composed by Tono Abrue that marries jazz with “pri pri,” a Dominican variation of the merengue. The tracks “Batey,” a Jacobo original, and “Quisqueya,” written by Rafael Hernandez with the title of the Indigenous name of the island, bolster the intricate rhythms with percussionists Magic Mejía and Felix García on the former with Garcia alone on the latter, the upbeat anthem for their home.

It’s the blending of the folk melodies, the diverse indigenous rhythms, and the fusion of old school and contemporary that make Jacobo one of today’s freshest and most compelling sounds in Latin jazz as he continues to enlighten us about the Dominican Republic’s little-known roots music. His country has taken hits in recent years due to widely publicized crimes. If only the rest of the news emanating from the Dominican Republic had this joyous, brilliant quality, the country’s reputation would be vastly uplifted.

• Jim Hynes

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