[Dixielandjazz] Playing Conch shells

[Stephen G Barbone]

On Dec 20, 2008, at 11:02 AM, Gary Kiser wrote:

> We hosted Steve Turré and his Sanctified Shells at our Jazz en Tête  
> Festival back in 1995.  Great show !!!  I don't know if he still  
> tours this group, but he should.
>
> All the best, Gary



NOT OKOM FOR EVERYBODY:

Hello Gary:

Here is the complete review of Turre's current band, the "Latin Jazz  
All-Stars:" Apparently he is evolving the Latin Dance music of Tito  
Puente to his own brand of Latin Jazz..

Cheers,
Steve

Embracing His Latin Side

NY Times - December 20, 2008 - By Nate Chinen
The trombonist Steve Turre has an unforced affinity for Latin jazz and  
the sort of deep instinct that manifests over time. Born into a  
Mexican-American family, he grew up in the San Francisco area,  
absorbing a wide range of sounds, including Latin music. That  
background has turned out to be vital in a career that has included  
stints with the salsa band Conjunto Libre and with the great  
percussionist-bandleaders Mongo Santamaría and Tito Puente.

But Mr. Turre, who turned 60 this year, has usually declined to  
present his music as Latin jazz per se: he sees the style as part of a  
constellation of interests, alongside funk and jazz and R&B. (It makes  
perfect sense that he has worked in the “Saturday Night Live” band for  
more than 20 years.) His most recent album, “Rainbow  
People” (HighNote), characteristically reflects this ideal. His  
current band, the Latin Jazz All-Stars, diverges from it slightly,  
judging by its output at Smoke on Thursday night.

Of course this difference is chiefly by design. As its name suggests,  
the group focuses on Afro-Caribbean rhythm and features some  
considerable talent: the trumpeter Ray Vega, the pianist Arturo  
O’Farrill, the bassist Yunior Terry and the percussionists Pedro  
Martinez (on congas) and Ernesto Simpson (on drums). Their rapport in  
the first set was clear, if a little casual. Mr. Turre presided over  
the action with the most genial brand of direction.

He opened the set with “Puente of Soul,” his evocation of the Puente  
small-group sound, featuring a syncopated line in octaves for trumpet  
and trombone. And as the first soloist, he upheld an agenda of relaxed  
alertness. He has a warm, controlled sound and articulates notes  
without much hard-consonant attack: his foggy ease can almost mask the  
extreme rigor behind his playing. It can also grant him the expressive  
resources of a singer, as he proved on “Claudia,” a bolero by Chucho  
Valdés.

The set included just one song from the new album, “Forward Vision,”  
and it was most memorable for the work of Mr. Vega. Playing  
fluegelhorn, he exercised an assertively boppish style but managed not  
to upset the subdued character of the tune. Later he delivered equally  
strong work on “Tumbao de Coqueta,” a busy theme composed by Jesús  
Alemañy for the band Cubanismo.

That piece, which closed the set, also featured a charismatic prelude  
by Mr. Martinez. But the standout soloist was Mr. Turre, who allowed  
himself some hard, braying accents on trombone before he switched to  
conch shells — a signature side interest — for the remainder of the  
tune. He sounded as if he could move in any direction he wanted, but  
in this band his coordinates were already plotted and fixed.

Steve Turre performs again on Saturday at Smoke, 2751 Broadway, at  
106th Street; (212) 864-6662, smokejazz.com.