Triple threat saxophonist/composer/arranger Paul Carlon’s second trio release highlights the intensely intimate conversation between three virtuosic musicians speaking the language of Jazz and Afro-Caribbean music traditions. Featured on congas and percussion is Grammy-nominee Chembo Corniel, and on bass, the masterful Alex “Apolo” Ayala. Both bandleaders in their own right, Corniel and Ayala bring deep knowledge, feel, and passion to the music, as well as the desire to amplify their instruments’ respective roles. Carlon’s absorption of the Jazz tenor tradition is on full display through his horn’s deep and soulful tone, his rhythmic adventurousness, and his willingness to expand on the Sonny Rollins-inspired tenor trio. Highlights include the driving original cha-cha “Papasito Rides Again”, the epic reimagining of Woody Shaw’s “Katrina Ballerina” over a Cuban Abakua rhythm, and Carlon’s tribute to his late sister Meg, the danzón “Baile M”.
