TAKE THE "Z" TRAIN

A New Chemistry: Michel Camilo "Returns" To Jazz Trio

Last week we spoke with pianist Michel Camilo about his Telarc debut, a jazz trio recording entitled Triangulo. While it's true that Camilo, a naturalized American citizen from Santo Domingo, hadn't been in the studio with his trio for nearly five years, that doesn't suggest that he hasn't been busy. In the year 2000 he doused his trademark style of driving Latin jazz with the authentic elements of Flamenco. The result was a dazzling CD called Spain, a bold duo project with Spanish guitarist Tomatito. In addition, Camilo had set aside much needed time to record and perform his classical works, most notably Piano for Concert and Orchestra. Now Triangulo reunites the studio mastery of Camilo with his longtime bassist, Anthony Jackson, and the acclaimed jazz and rock drummer, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez.


Michel, you've been really mixing it up musically over the past few years.

Right. Spain, my last record with Tomatito, won the Latin Grammy in the year 2000 for Best Latin Jazz Album. During that time Tomatito and I played a lot of shows together, including the JVC Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall. Then I also collaborated with pianist Chucho Valdez on something that we haven't recorded yet.

KZ: You've also devoted more time to your classical endeavors.

MC: This year started with a bang when I performed my piano concerto at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. It was part of a series called Journey To America, A Musical Immigration. My particular concert was subtitled A New American, signifying how I had developed my music since coming to the United States. It was a personal honor for me to perform my classical compositions. Last August, Decca Records released Piano for Concerto and Orchestra (with the BBC Symphony Orchestra) abroad and, believe it or not, it was just released last month in the United States.

So you've been extraordinarily productive outside of the normal jazz trio idiom, which most people associate you.

I decided that after five years it was time to come back and record the trio. But the lapse in time gave me a chance to work out new ideas. In reality, I never stopped playing with the guys. We kept right on touring, doing several European and Japanese tours. We also played in New York and other spots around the country. But the recording hiatus worked out for the best. We developed some new ideas and a new chemistry.

Seven of the eleven selections are original compositions. Yet the four non-originals are not your typical standards. What's the significance behind the Dizzy Gillespie piece, "Con Alma"?


I remember bringing Dizzy down to the first Heineken Jazz Fest in Santo Domingo, which I directed. It was a very important moment for me. We played that song together as an encore. It was after midnight and it was so sentimental for me. Dizzy was the godfather of the festival at that time. So "Con Alma" is more than just another jazz standard for me. I included it on the album as a tribute to him. It's translated as "With Soul."

"Descarga For Tito," one of your originals, is dedicated to Tito Puente.

I shared several moments of my early jazz career with Tito Puente. They were crucial times. When I first moved to New York, he gave me my first jazz gig outside of Manhattan in front of a large crowd. I was still struggling when Tito took me to the Montreal Jazz Festival with his Latin Jazz Ensemble. I hadn't even rehearsed with him; he just called me out of the blue. Once in a while I still see the video of that show on the BET on Jazz cable channel. It was way back in 1983. I was a total unknown then. Stylistically, "Descarga..." breaks new ground. Even though it's very Latin-based, it's written in a 5/4 time signature, hardly the normal beat for most Latin music. But it does swing and groove. "Descarga" means "jamming," so it's a "Jam Session For Tito." It recalls the fiery moments I remember about Tito's music. Plus I fit in that "Oye Como Va"-type of groove that he used to do.

"Mr. C.I." is a very spiky and technical vehicle for piano.

That tune relates to my Flamenco jazz experiences. Chano Dominguez, the song's composer, is from Andalusia. I asked Chano to give me a special tune. Since I had worked all over the world with Tomatito for two years, I wanted to make some kind of reference to those experiences on this record. That's why I chose that song.


Where did you find the Mike Mainieri piece, "Las Dos Lorettas"?

I was on tour with my trio a couple of years ago in Munich. I heard Mike play that song with his band and asked him to give me the lead sheet. He was very gracious to give me a copy, so I held on to it and eventually worked out an arrangement that was very different from the original.

"La Comparsa" reflects your personal Afro-Cuban jazz influences.

It's a Latin piano standard. The composer, Ernesto Lecuona, was one of the most famous classical pianists in Cuba in the beginning of the 20th century. I had never explored his music before in trio. In my opinion, Lecuona's musical importance was that he was able to translate African drumming into the left hand of the piano. He was at the root of translating all of those Afro-Caribbean rhythms for me. I rearranged the song to make it sound more floral and contemporary. But there are a lot of bluesy moments there too when it transcends the Cuban element and becomes more Calypso.

Was Triangulo an accumulation of original compositions over the past five years, or did you have to set aside a block of time to write new material?

The latter. I had to set aside time to compose outside of my normal touring schedule, so I literally sat at home last year for a few months and just wrote. But I knew exactly what I wanted do. I wrote each trio piece, one after another. I was off the road early last summer and went into the studio by late August. That's when I signed with Telarc. I warned the label that I never did any demos. When they asked me what I was going to do, I just told them to trust me and that I wanted to do a record that reflected my current trio.

Our interview with Michel Camilo continues next week...