Latin jazz has become an ever-broader category, as Anglo as well as ethnically Hispanic or Caribbean musicians employ Afro-Cuban music's rhythmic imperatives and special inflections in imaginative productions. This trend may offend purists and idealogues, who might want to discount some of the fusions of clavé and improvisation, but make no mistake: there's an audience for all recipes and resulting flavors of Latin jazz. The Americas are one, from sea to shining sea. That motto is played out in these five recent releases.

The New Space Station, led by Nuyorican percussion veteran Ray Mantilla, is a tight and propulsive unit that has been performing mostly in Europe. On Man ti ya the sextet sounds a lot bigger and more multi-layered than would seem possible, but there's no overdubbing, just virtuosic work especially from flutist and baritone saxophonist Enrigue Fernández, soulful soprano and tenor saxman Willie Williams, and pianist Edy Martinez (trumpeter Guido Gonzalez completes the front line). The tunes -- mostly by the Mantilla and Martinez, plus Gershwin's ballad "The Man I Love" and jazz drummer Joe Chambers' "Hop Scotch" -- are unfailingly melodic. Good music for a dance party, though traps drummer Bill Elder and Mantilla duet on "TBA," and "Go Between" is a conga solo by Ray, especially for the listeners.

Upright bassist Harvie S wrote nine of the 11 tunes on Texas Rumba, recorded live in New York City's Sweet Rhythm club, and he knows how to get people moving. Like Mantilla, he offers strong, vivid songlines realized by Scott Robert Avidon on tenor and soprano sax and trumpeter Gregory Rivkin, over impeccable, mostly fast rhythms driven by percussionist Renato Thoms and drummer Adam Weber. Pianist Daniel Kelly is original and adventurous; his solo "Momentáno" is rhapsodic, and he extends the feel into a duet with the bassist, "Before," but otherwise stays true to the Latin idiom. S himself bows the introductory line of his reflective "From Now On," plays "Monk's Mood" and "Floating" by alone, and you might wonder what's so Latin about "Curved Corners" or "Underneath It All." But who said the entire program had to be Latin? It's all jazz, right?

What is jazz, anyway, if not a music large enough to encompass the gorgeously soft and slow Mexican boleros Cuban (now Miami resident) pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba arranged for bassist Charlie Haden's project Land of the Sun? This follow up to last year's impressive Nocturnes is even more tenderly rendered, with guest saxophonists Joe Lovano and Miguel Zénon, flutist Oriente Lopez, trumpeter/flugelhornist Michael Rodriguez, guitarists Larry Koonse and Lionel Loueke, bongo player Juan De La Cruz and drummer Ignacio Berroa. These percussionists barely touch their skins, and there are few large ensemble sections, only passages of instrumental lyricism stretched over palpable but subtle pulsations. Great soundtrack for blue light or horizontal dancing; late night music for sure.

Bronx-born trumpeter and congero Jerry Gonzalez conjures comparable ambiance drawing on quite different sources in Jerry Gonzalez Y Los Piratas Del Flamenco. He blows lonely bull phrases, summoning shades of Miles Davis and Chocolate Armenteros (sometimes both at once, when he duets or harmonizes with himself -- best on "Monk's Soniquete"); he also underdubs hand-drumming. Flamenco guitarist Niño Josele follows Gonzalez's melodic lead, and other Andulusians have cameos throughout the program, on cajon, tablas, singing or handclapping. Jerry's brother bassist Andy Gonzalez and electric guitarist Israel Sandoval join in on "Obsesion," as well as wailing, hoarse singer Diego "El Cigala," and a male chorus. Gonzalez is completely in tune with flamenco's self-mythologizing drama. Indeed, he seems so pleased with his companions that it must have been hard for him to be dark, but he managed.

Pianist Omar Sosa, born in Cuba but for a decade living in northern California, has been releasing albums at a surprising pace, in part because his music is much in demand, especially in Europe. Recorded in Paris, Mulatos is one of Sosa's most satisfying efforts, blending North African instruments such as oud and guembri along with Paquito D'Rivera's clarinet (Renaud Pion adds second clarinet, sometimes using a bass or contrabass instrument), bass, tablas, drums, scratches (that is, the turntable type), and Sosa's own samples, marimba, vibes, harmonium, tubular bells, and vocals (just offhand remarks, here and there). This is fresh stuff, simultaneously comforting and edgy stuff, conceived to emphasize Moroccan and Islamic accents while showcasing Sosa's sweet touch and modernist sensibility. It's a long way from the Palladium, more like Casablanca or "Night in Tunisia," but it's built on clavé and it grooves, as is essential.

article by
Howard Mandel
Author of Future Jazz (Oxford University Press)
Editor of www.Jazzhouse.org
www.HowardMandel.com
hman@jazzhouse.org