A Wonderful Discovery

Tapped as the “Best Latin Jazz album of 2007” by the Village Voice, Wonderful Discovery is the outcome of my aspiration to produce an album of Latin-flavored originals and to work with Arturo O’Farrill.

My first exposure to Latin music was in London, England in the late 1940s when I somehow heard the Edmundo Ros sextet perform—probably on early British television. At the same time, I listened constantly to my father’s 78 rpm recording of The Louis Jordan Band performing Caldonia.

I was about nine years old when my father—himself a classically trained violinist, orchestra leader, and composer—took me to an all-day jazz jamboree. One of the big bands was the Ted Heath Orchestra. All told, my early music “listening” was a combination of classical (through my father), big band jazz, and Latin style music.

My musical journey has been infused with numerous Latin influences since I first heard that Edmundo Ros sextet performance. Over the decades of my musical career, I had the good fortune to play and collaborate with outstanding Latin musicians; and write several Big Band charts with a Latin feel including El Aché de Sanabria, which was arranged and recorded by my good friend Bobby Sanabria on his album Big Band Urban Folktales (released on the Jazzheads label in June 2007.)

For me, Latin-style music has the kind of drive and pulse that speaks to people. It makes them want to move, especially to dance. But it’s not just the rhythms. It’s also the melodies. There is a clarity there that is compelling.

I am indebted to virtuoso pianist Arturo O’Farrill for his generosity of spirit and musical imagination during the course of preparing for and recording this album. Arturo made several key suggestions before and during the recording session that elevated the music.

Many thanks also to drummer Phoenix Rivera and percussionist Bobby Sanabria. Their collective musicality provides the necessary percussive “glue.” And bassist Ruben Rodriguez decorates many of the lines with numerous touches of authenticity that require a second listen to be appreciated.

The all-star musicians on this album gave me, as a composer, the realization of the little black musical dots on the page. It’s one thing to put these dots on staff paper, it’s quite another to have them come to life. In many ways, collectively the musicians expanded the charts and lifted the compositions to another level. There are just some things you cannot put down on paper. Terrific musicians whose experience is broad not only know how to read the notes, they also know how to give those notes meaning.

For me, the musicians on this album discovered many wonderful moments in the compositions that make this CD a “Wonderful Discovery.” I hope you, as listener, feel the same.

Eugene Marlow
June 2007

“I love what you did with ‘Wonderful Discovery.’ The solos are terrific, the songs are great. What I love is the feeling of the old Machito band — all those rhythms and the fact there is so much melody. And you go the right musicians to play the music.

—Dr. Billy Taylor
Pianist, composer, author, educator
NEA Jazz Master

“Give great musicians Eugene Marlow’s challenging and rewarding material and the lucky listener is in for a truly ‘Wonderful Discovery!’”

—Dan Morgenstern
Director, Rutgers Institute of Jazz Studies
Author, Living with Jazz (Pantheon Books)

“‘Wonderful Discovery’ is a joyful exploration of Latin-Jazz within the sturdy framework of Dr. Marlow’s compositions and arrangements which convey a rich variety of moods while achieving both idiomatic veracity and distinction within the genre. The all-star cast rises to the occasion with fiery solo work and impeccable, swinging ensemble playing.”

—Brian Lynch
2007 Grammy-winner: Best Latin-Jazz Album

Title: Wonderful Discovery
Catalog #: J-21-2007

Release date: 2007
UPC: 700261219578
©2007 MEII Enterprises/BMI