Name: The River Is Deep
Brand: Enja Records
SKU: 277454
Price: 12.83 USD
Availability: InStock

Performer Notes

& The Fort Apache Band.
Personnel: Jerry Gonzalez (trumpet, congas); Frankie Rodriguez (vocals); Wilfredo Velez (alto saxophone); Steve Turre, Angel "Papo" Vasquez (trombone;, Jorge Dalto (piano); Edgardo Miranda (guitar); Andy Gonzalez (bass); Steve Berrios (drums, percussion, background vocals); Gene Golden, Hector "Flaco" Hernandez (percussion); Nicky Marrero (timbales).
Recorded in New York, New York on November 5, 1982.
Personnel: Jerry Gonzalez (vocals, trumpet, flugelhorn, congas, conga drum, bells); Andy Gonz lez (vocals, bass instrument); Steve Berrios (vocals, drums, bata, shekere); Frankie Rodrigues (vocals, congas, conga drum, claves); Edgardo Miranda (guitar, cuatro); Wilfredo Velez (alto saxophone); Jerry Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band (trumpet, flugelhorn, congas, bells); Steve Turre (trombone, bass trombone); Angel Papo Vasquez (trombone); Jorge Dalto (piano); Gene Golden (congas, conga drum, bata, shekere, bells); H‚ctor Hern ndez (congas, conga drum, bata, shekere); Hector "Flaco" Hernandez (congas, bata); Nicky Marrero (timbales, percussion).
Audio Mixer: Jon Fausty.
Liner Note Author: Jerry Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band.
Recording information: Berlin Jazz Days (11/05/1982).
Jerry Gonzalez, equally proficient at trumpet and congas, leads his Fort Apache Band through a live set concentrating on Latinized versions of bop standards and pieces directly from the Afro-Cuban santeria tradition. The bop pieces, Dizzy Gillespie's "Bebop" and Bud Powell's "Parisian Thoroughfare," are given rough and tumble treatments, bobbing along on extensive percussion and tight arrangements. They feature some fine soloing from pianist Jorge Dalto and altoist Wilfredo Velez especially, the latter stretching things a bit beyond the changes. But the real highlights are the songs by vocalist Frankie Rodrigues, including the title track (though it's listed in Spanish as "Rio Esta Hondo"). The call and response of the singers over the crackling, extraordinarily complex rhythms of the percussionists is very exciting stuff, providing a unique sort of tension and release. The final cut, "Wawina Era Wo," makes the African part of Afro-Cuban crystal clear: a wonderful interlocking melody reminiscent of parts of Clifford Thornton's The Gardens of Harlem, with the horns and percussion in an intricate and heady dance. On the whole, The River Is Deep has perhaps a shade less bite than the preceding release, Ya Yo Me Cure on American Clave, but it's an invigorating session nonetheless. Recommended. ~ Brian Olewnick

Album: The River Is Deep
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Introduction by Jerry Gonzalez
2)	Elegua
3)	Bebop
4)	Rio Esta Hondo
5)	Guiro Apache
6)	Parisian Thoroughfare
7)	Wawina Era Wo

Album: The River Is Deep
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Introduction by Jerry Gonzalez
2)	Elegua
3)	Bebop
4)	Rio Esta Hondo
5)	Guiro Apache
6)	Parisian Thoroughfare
7)	Wawina Era Wo