Jerry Gonzalez
has referred to himself as being "bilingual" in that he is equally skilled on trumpet and congas, in
bebop
and in
Latin
music.
Gonzalez
succeeds in his goal of combining the two idioms without watering down either style on this essential
Sunnyside
CD. The first
Afro-Cuban
Thelonious Monk
tribute has plenty of spots for the percussion of
Steve Berrios
and
, but also contains many strong solos from the leader's often-muted
Miles
-influenced trumpet,
Carter Jefferson
's tenor, and
Larry Willis
' very un-
Monk
-like piano. With the exception of
"Ugly Beauty,"
the
percussion is an integral part of each performance, giving this set of
tunes a very different perspective that is also quite flexible. A highly enjoyable set with the highlights including
"Bye-Ya,"
"Nutty,"
"Little Rootie Tootie,"
"Jackie-ing."
~ Scott Yanow