The Madison Jazz Festival and Arts + Literature Laboratory welcome back Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo, who will perform music from their new album, El Arte Del Bolero, Vol 2, on Monday, June 10 at 8:00pm.
Miguel Zenón's notes on El Arte Del Bolero, Vol 2: "As an instrumentalist, I spend a lot of my time working on making the saxophone an extension of my creative process. This process is always filtered through interpretation and expressiveness, and more often than not I find myself looking up to some of my favorite singers (people like Ismael Rivera, Cheo Feliciano and Andy Montañez) as sources of inspiration. In their individual voices I can hear a reflection of their unique personalities, all manifested at the highest level through their interpretation of songs. These melodies become vehicles for their creativitya canvas on which theyll portray their feelings and states of mind....
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The Madison Jazz Festival and Arts + Literature Laboratory welcome back Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo, who will perform music from their new album, El Arte Del Bolero, Vol 2, on Monday, June 10 at 8:00pm.
Miguel Zenón's notes on El Arte Del Bolero, Vol 2: "As an instrumentalist, I spend a lot of my time working on making the saxophone an extension of my creative process. This process is always filtered through interpretation and expressiveness, and more often than not I find myself looking up to some of my favorite singers (people like Ismael Rivera, Cheo Feliciano and Andy Montañez) as sources of inspiration. In their individual voices I can hear a reflection of their unique personalities, all manifested at the highest level through their interpretation of songs. These melodies become vehicles for their creativitya canvas on which theyll portray their feelings and states of mind.
But these are not just any songs. These are songs they have heard hundreds of times, familiar pieces of music they know very well, and that is sort of the way I feel about the repertoire on this album. We chose compositions from the Bolero era that we could just play right away, without giving it a second thought: songs from the times of our parents and grandparents that somehow stuck around long enough for us to get to know them and truly love them. They are all as essential to our development as the music of Charlie Parker, John Coltrane or Thelonious Monk, but perhaps even more familiar. When we play these songs, we can hear the lyrics in the back of our mindssomething that provides a very deep connection, one that is hard to replicate in any other situation. It really is almost beyond familiar. These songs are part of us."
Grammy Winner and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón represents a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered as one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists and composers of his generation, he has also developed a unique voice as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between Jazz and his many musical influences.
Zenón has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Revista Milenio, Bloomberg Pursuits, Jazz Times, Jazziz, The Boston Globe, Billboard, Jazz Inside, Newsday and Details. He topped both the Jazz Artist of the Year and Alto Saxophonist of the Year categories in the 2014 JazzTimes Critics Poll and was selected as Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalists Association in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (when he was also recognized as Arranger of the Year). In 2023 he was recognized by the same organization as the Composer of the Year.
In April 2008 Zenón received a fellowship from the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Later that year he was one of 25 distinguished individuals chosen to receive a coveted MacArthur Fellowship, also known as the Genius Grant.
Luis Perdomo has emerged as one of the most in-demand sidemen as evidenced by his celebrated work with a wide array of jazz and Latin stars from Ravi Coltrane to Ray Barretto, and by his six critically- acclaimed recordings as a leader. The release of his magnificent new, Hot Tone label debut CD, 22, features bassist Mimi Jones supple, deep basslines and drummer Rudy Roystons quicksilver rhythms, in a trio he christened The Controlling Ear Unit. I wanted to create an environment where a sensitive player could make his own musical choices, without fear of the consequences, Perdomo says. The word unit is appropriate because although the current group is a trio, it doesnt really have to be restrained to that. It could have a different format, depending on what the music calls for.
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