PERUJAZZ

[Jose]

I want to share with you an article about a peruvian jazz band that mix jazz with latin-peruvian music, an eclectic fussion who hypntized live the "Umbria Jazz Festival of Italy 87"

PERUJAZZ

Perujazz is undoubtedly the most stimulating group to come out of Perú in recent years. Their work creating, researching, and divulging Peruvian rhythms fused with contemporary jazz has won them prestige and international acclaim.

All of the members of the group are creators and pioneers of a new type of music that coherently and innovatively integrates the traditional musical roots from the coast, the highlands, and the jungle of Perú with masterly improvisations.

Traditional instruments such as the quena, the zampoña, the cajón, the bongo, and ritual seed pods are combined (without losing their purity) with a tenor sax, an electric bass, and drums, and harmonized with synthesized, electronic sound and effects.

PERUJAZZ reflects, in this fashion, a new image of contemporary Perú: ethnic roots blended with contemporary technique - the "primitive" with the sophisticated.

The music of PERUJAZZ takes us on an intense trip through the diverse landscapes of Perú, and as we listen to it we are hearing the birth of a new sound, that corresponds to today´s Perú, a country whose age-old essence and cultural tradition are like the music of PERUJAZZ, a universal language accessible to everyone.

DISC I

1)Salón de Baile
2)La marinera
3)Miles
4)Paisaje Costeño
5)A George Harrison

DISC II

1)Homenaje a Pérez Prado
2)El Huayno
3)El Tren
4)Chincha Saudita

DISC I

1) SALON DE BAILE
We begin with a Perujazz classic which evokes various sonorous worlds. The introduction is an awakening to the sound of music. A monster yawns: the origin of Perujazz's collective creation.
Swing comes in - a remembrance of the grand North American orchestras seen ( through sound) in sepia color photographs. The breaking point is Chocolate's conga solo which introduces a unique element coming out of the dancehall context and evoking, for an instant, Africa's Santería. His solo winds up in a call for silence.

Jean Pierre Magnet - Saxo tenor - Tenor sax
Manongo Mujica - batería, escobillas y gongs - drums, brushes, gongs
Julio Chocolate Algendones - congas, semillas - seeds
David Pinto - bajo eléctrico - electric bass


2) LA MARINERA
In our search for Afro - Peruvian roots in our rhythms we find that La Marinera is one of the most beautiful ones because of it's cadence and elegance. The introduction to the tune is David Pintos's contribution in which he makes subtle historical references to the links that exist between the Arab, Spanish and African cultures.

Jean Pierre and David's duo creates one sound, that evokes that solemn and collective atmosphere that emanates from the Señor de los Milagros Procession: a mixture of fervor and piety. The entire theme has a controlled air of tranquility and respect for tradition which creates a new conceptual treatment of the Marinera's rhythmical and harmonic possibilities. The Peruvian cajon presents itself as a rhythmical and atmospheric vehicle that show it's essential importance in a processional soundscape, serving as a bridge between the first and second part, where Jean Pierre changes the tenor saxophone for the soprano, adopting an intense emotional lyricism that culminates in a burst of great vitality. This Marinera speaks to us silently of the mysticism and piety which the afro Peruvian rhythms bring to Peruvian music.

David Pinto - bajo eléctrico
Julio Chocolate Algendones - Semillas, bombo, cajón, congas
Manongo Mujica - Gong, batería
Jean Pierre Magnet - saxo tenor, saxo soprano, teclados

3) MILES
There is no jazz musician who hasn't been touched by the genius of Miles Davis. He can be compared to Picasso in the world of music, perhaps because he was never afraid to look for new forms and colors within his musical search. "This tune, like all the ones by Perujazz, began as a collective improvisation in which we felt the live presence of Miles playing among us. We invented a style to invoke his presence as it was in his last stage, in which he discovers rock's expressive possibilities, portrayed in his direct way where ' less is more ', as he himself said".
David's bass shines in his introduction evoking Jimi Hendrix, Chocolate's bongos open space within space and Jean Pierre's tenor sax plays dizzily until the end.

Julio Chocolate Algendones - claves, semillas, campanas, bongós
Jean Pierre Magnet - Saxo tenor, teclados
David Pinto - bajo eléctrico
Manongo Mujica - batería


4) PAISAJE COSTEÑO
The infinite possibilities of combining rhythms of diverse origins are always present in Perujazz's music. Manongo was given an African djembe and he transposed to it a rhythm originally created for the drums. "I got together with Chocolate and asked him to play 'against it ', tying a 4/4 rhythm against a 6/8 on the cajon. Jean Pierre made up the melody and we felt David's bass could recite brief poems; this was backed up by some minimalist touches played by Jean Pierre while the drums smoothed down to a minimal tone like a distant chorus", says Manongo. "Luciana Proaño, a very dear friend of mine, gave me an African balofon - mother (or father) of the marimba and I tried to orchestrate the rhythm of Chocolate's cajon to create an ethnic and festive final part. As we listen to this tune while doing the mix in Santiago de Chile, we felt this new sonorous atmosphere corresponded, visually, to Peru's infinite coastal landscape".

Manongo Mujica - djembé, balofón africano.
Julio Chocolate Algendones - Cajón
Jean Pierre Magnet - saxo tenor, saxo soprano, teclados
David Pinto - Bajo eléctrico

5) A GEORGE HARRISON
This tune was born the day George Harrison died.
"The evening of our concert in the Peruvian Japanese Theatre, five minutes before we began to play, we were given the sad news. We felt the need to evoke his presence since, as Jean Pierre says, he was a friend within our heart. We chose his tune 'Here comes the sun ' and, as David and Jean Pierre played, his spirit was present".

Jean Pierre Magnet - saxo soprano, teclados
David Pinto - bajo eléctrico

DISC II

1) HOMAGE TO PEREZ PRADO
One of the hottest tunes on this double disc is, without doubt, this tune which calling up the popular genius of ' Cara e foca '. In 1991 we were invited to participate in the International Cervantino Festival in Mexico. Before traveling we discovered that there are many places where Danzon and other forms of traditional Cuban rhythms are still danced. We decided to compose a homage to this rhythmical genius who, with his orchestra, was able to sound like few other bands in the world, creating the unmistakable sound of Perez Prado.
In the Peru of the 50', the mambo caused a real revolution. Humor, looseness and pleasure are the essential elements which make this tune a collective joy. The introduction is totally spontaneous and sounds like free jazz, finally Miss Rumba arrives y... aaaaaaaa hooooo!!!

David Pinto - baby bass con arco, bajo eléctrico
Julio Chocolate Algendones - Bongó, congas
Jean Pierre Magnet - saxo tenor, teclados
Manongo Mujica - batería


2) El Huayno
What would Peru sound have been in pre Columbian times? We can imagine it as a space in which nature was intimately connected with music, reflecting in it its pure, mythical and epic sound. Pre - hispanic instruments are, basically, wind and percussion, reflecting the natural elements. The sound which lives in and descends from the heights of the mountains; the sound of thunder and lightening.
Gradually the origin of our Peruvian Andean music appears dressed in Huayno, coming from far away, evoking a remote community which is lost in space and appears again on the coast with another costume.
Chicha music, rock, and the metropolis blend. The city imposes itself, but once again, a fresh space is open by David's bass, reminding us that the oriental world is still present and that, despite everything, huayno maintains its deep roots.

Manongo Mujica - toms, gongs, zampoña, tormenta, batería
David Pinto - tambor de mar, bajo eléctrico
Jean Pierre Magnet - Tarka (flauta andina), saxo tenor, saxo soprano.
Julio Chocolate Algendones - cajón, congas, palo de lluvia, efectos.

3) El tren
This is one of the group' s hits. We were looking for a new sound which was as clear as a train to liberate us. We tried group sounds without the drum set incorporating a metal drum from Trinidad, the steel drum, that together with the cajon creates the base rhythm of our train. We all make rhythm with our instruments.
We had a peculiar experience with this tune, worthy of being told. We were invited to the Umbria International Festival in Italy. The Communist Party organized the cultural activities. One day the general coordinator (Giogio Bergamini was his name) came up to us and told us that they had chosen the Peruvian group to give a concert in a jail where some of the prisoners were members of the terrorist group, the Red Brigade.
It was a Maximum Security jail. A sensation of extreme oppression started to suffocate us. "When we introduced the members of the group, explaining where we came from and what our intentions were or the meaning behind each tune, I found myself telling the prisoners, quite unconsciously, to listen well to the train tune because if they really got into it, they could actually become free. All at once, when we were about half way though playing the tune, we saw all the prisoners had stood up together, in a very intense moment while the security guards got very nervous. The prisoners started to shout in a kind of collective ecstasy. At that moment we felt that they, thanks to our train, had tasted a moment of internal freedom.

Jean Pierre Magnet - saxo tenor.
David Pinto - bajo eléctrico
Julio Chocolate Algendones - cajón
Manongo Mujica - steel drum (tambor metálico)

4) Chincha Saudita

Perujazz's national anthem. This tune is, for us, a synthesis of the groups work on fusion. This is because after more than 15 years, in all the international concerts and festivals, this is the tune that interest the public the most. Perhaps the secret is in the relationship between Peruvian rhythms and a melody which has an Arabic-Andalusian air and a fusion of rock drum styles played simultaneously with Peruvian festive swing.
The introduction of the tenor saxophone establishes, clearly and cleanly, a personal atmosphere, where silence and intensity go hand in hand. Another aspect that we have worked on thoroughly throughout these years is the concept of group dynamism and a rhythmic precision which does not exclude agility or spontaneity, but always serves the leading voice.
There are three mountains which we climb together in Chincha Saudita: The first, when we listen collectively to Jean Pierre Magnet's solo which, I can assure you, is definitely his most loved solo because of its passion with which he plays it, going from the pianissimo to a total expression of his instrument. The second rising corresponds to the cajon solo, where master Algendones shows a unique class and style and, finally, a drum solo which speaks to Algendones' s base and leads up to the great end.


Julio Chocolate Algendones - cajón, congas, bongós.
Jean Pierre Magnet - saxo tenor, teclados.
David Pinto - bajo eléctrico
Manongo Mujica - batería, cencerro.

Technical file

Producers: Jean Pierre Magnet y Manongo Mujica

General Production:
"Cernícalo Producciones"
Josefa García-Miró
Malena Quinto

Live Recording : Andrés Cuadros

Live Recording Engineering: Andrés Dulude

Transcription : Estudio Amigos

Mixing & mastering : Estudio Filmocentro Sonido, Santiago de Chile

Sound engineerings: Gerónimo Labrada Jr y David Miranda.



Why this name?
What does Perujazz means for us?

Jean Pierre:
For a saxplayer that searches for freedom is a dream come true. And better then with Peru as our background. Something not to be left out: the love I feel for my musical partners

David :
Creativity, expression and humor. A bunch of strong musical personalities that know what they wants. Our wide and different backgrounds enriches our union. It's a pleasure to play with Jean Pierre, Chocolate and Manongo. Aside from the friendship that unite us, one feels free.

Chocolate:
A musical family.

Manongo
It's a vital experience. Years of search for a sound that reflects contemporary Peru while learning from our ancestral roots. A feeling of deep union with musicians that play from their very souls.


http://www.soundclick.com/bands/pageart ... dID=418352

[Philip]

thanks for putting it

[Jose]

De rien Philip, I hope to find the CD album and convert it in mp3 ( specially "El Tren") to share with all of you...specially Stewart Copeland for discovering the textures and ryhtms of Peruvian Jazz... I am sure It will be for all of you a great musical discovery!

Regards from Peru,

JOSE