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Maria Juanez

Brad Leali
1 disc

1. Special K
2. Maria Juanez
3. Pink Panther, The
4. Puddin' Time
5. Dos Angelitos
6. Priority Soul!
7. Seconds Best
8. Fallen Feathers
9. Mr. Sneaky
10. Here Come Da Train
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): 26902
Credits

Producer Dennis Jeter; Claus Raible; Brad Leali; Claus Raible; Dennis Jeter; Brad Leali
Engineer Jonathan Towns; Aaron Spencer
Brad Leali: Brad Leali; Reverend Charles E. Leali, Sister Helen Leali, Flor Marina Gomez (vocals); Keith Loftis (alto saxophone); Maximilian Swieger (baritone saxophone); Frank Green (trumpet); Dion Tucker (trombone); Chris Haney, Ben Wolfe (bass instrument); Alvester Garnett, Grant Langford, Joe Gonzalez, Derrick Gardner, Jon Faddis, Mark Gross , Rick Germanson, Sean Jones, Claus Raible, Jack Jeffers, Vincent Gardner, Jason Jackson, Jason Brown , Tia Fuller, Kevin Louis.
Personnel: Brad Leali (vocals, alto saxophone); Mark Gross , Tia Fuller (flute, alto saxophone); Keith Loftis (flute, tenor saxophone); Grant Langford (tenor saxophone); Derrick Gardner, Jon Faddis, Sean Jones, Kevin Louis (trumpet); Vincent Gardner, Jason Jackson (trombone); Jack Jeffers (bass trombone); Rick Germanson, Claus Raible (piano); Alvester Garnett, Jason Brown (drums); Joe Gonzalez (percussion).
Recording information: Peter Carl's Studio, Brooklyn, NY (02/02/2004).
Arrangers: Claus Raible; Derrick Gardner; Frank Foster; Tommy Jones; Bill Lee.
Brad Leali's second TCB CD (and third as a leader) is an impressive outing, very much in the tradition of Dizzy Gillespie's best Afro-Cuban jazz big bands, though the alto saxophonist has very much found his own voice. The leader's "Special K" proves to be a potent opener, though Jon Faddis' solo is strangely mixed in the background rather than being prominent like Leali's sizzling alto. His title track begins with a narrative argument between him and a female who is evidently departing, which gets a bit tiresome but fades as a swinging samba brings in the full band. The great Frank Foster arranged Leali's "Priority Soul," a slinky soul-jazz number, while Claus Raible revives the late Lee Morgan's overlooked hard bop gem "Seconds Best" with a percolating chart. Tommy James' inventive scoring of "The Pink Panther" is a bit darker than in its typical settings but swings like mad, driven by the superb brass and reed ensemble work. This is a fun session and it should be of great interest to fans of Latin jazz and bop. ~ Ken Dryden