Rumba A La Patato
Marlon Simon and the Nagual Spirits
Cubop
In the
world of Latin music, it is probably safe to say that percussionists
come a dime a dozen and in all shapes and sizes. Besides some
of the players that ocupy the upper echelon namely Ray Barretto,
John Santos, Giovanni Hidalgo, Richie Flores, and Poncho Sanchez,
almost everyone else seems to fall through the cracks of obscurity.
Not too often, however, one breaks through the barrier and manages
to raise some eyebrowes and perhaps display a glimpes of the
new generation of young percussion guns. One such musicians is
percussionist/composer Marlon Simon.
Born in Cardon, Venezuela, Simon first came into contact with
music at the age of 10 by way of his father who played the guitar
and sang. By age 15, Marlon was taking an interest in the Timbales
and learned the basics by listening to Latin dance records. Soon,
he would go on to organize his own band and persue formal studies
on drums at The University of The Arts in Philadelphia. Later,
he would earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Jazz and Contemporary
Music from the New School for Social Research. Since then, Marlon
has been recognized as an important educator, clinician, as well
as working with such luminaries as Hilton Ruiz, Dave Valentin
and Chucho Valdes to mention a few.
His first recording was the self-titled Marlon Simon &
the Nagual Spirits. Marlon's latest CD features all original
compositions titled "Rumba a la Patato" paying tribute
to one of the innovators of modern African conga drums, the legendary
Carlos "Patato" Valdez. The supporting cast include:
trumpeter Brian Lynch, Peter Brainin on tenor sax, Luis Perdomo
and Edward Simon on piano, Andy Gonzalez and John Benitez on
bass, Roberto Quintero on congas, and Bobby Watson on alto sax.
Starting with a 6/8 time with swing elements, "Rumba
a la Patato" is the first track featuring Marlon on drumset,
batas, and percussion. Next, Marlon composes a tune entitled
"Songo Pa Monk" featuring some nifty horn ensemble
work. The youngest of the Simon brothers, Michael Simon is the
featured soloist on his composition "Humble and Innocent."
A gentle 6/8 featuring Watson on suprano sax, "Ericka"
is dedicated to Simon's dauther who was tragically killed in
a car accident. Marlon and group present "Something For
Carol" incorporating some merengue and calypso rhythms.
Another Marlon composition, "Easy Mood" moves smoothly
to an easy bossa nova rhythm featuring a solo by Andy Gonzalez
and Quintero providing a rapid fire conga solo. Simon writes
a Jazz Mozambique titled "Sandra Malandra" turning
to swing--Simon on the timbales solo--explossive! Watson slowly
walks his alto sax on the melody of the ballad "Belleza
India." The last track "Clear To Take Off" is
a fast moving rumba descarga with Lynch and Perdomo lay down
solos on a bed of rhythm. Simon rumps a solo on trap drums.
The music of Marlon Simon, especially from a compositional
standpoint, exhorts much power and finesse. Bassists Gonzalez
and Benitez perform with a high degree of skill tempered with
soulful nuances. Less can be said of the brass section offering
good ensemble work, but turning in boring solo performances embellished
with run-of-the-mill clichè licks characterized by many
notes, lacking originality and authenticity within the Afro-Cuban
Jazz genre. Standing tall with Simon is pianist Luis Perdomo
whose proficient work adds tremendous quality to the integrity
of the original compositions. As a whole, Marlon Simon's "Rumba
a la Patato" offers a good mix of Afro-Cuban Jazz and rhythm
making it a nice listening experiece.
review by John Davis
JDavis@latnjazzclub.com
Contributing writer
LatinJazzClub.com Magazine
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