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Jazz Caliente: The 2018 Grammy Nominees

Grammy Nominees Anat Cohen and Marcello Gonçalves
Shervin Lainez
/
courtesy of the artist
Grammy Nominees Anat Cohen and Marcello Gonçalves"

The 60th Annual Grammy Awards show will be televised on Sunday January 28, at 4:30pm Pacific Time.  This week on Saturday Jazz Caliente, we'll feature the nominees for Best Latin Jazz Album, a nice selection this year spanning Brazilian, Cuban, Puerto Rican and Argentinian jazz.

The Grammy categories of Jazz, Latin Jazz and World Music don't usually get to participate in the Grammy show extravaganza.  Those awards will be presented before the telecast, and you might be able to see them on the Grammy live stream.

Clarinetist and saxophonist Anat Cohen is nominated for two Grammys this year. One is for Best Latin Jazz Album for  Outra Coisa-The Music of Moacir Santos with Brazilian guitarist Marcello Gonçalves,  and the other for Best World Music Album for her collaboration with Trio Brasileiro, Rosa Dos Ventos.  Both albums are beautifully conceived and recorded, and radiate Cohen's special joyous energy.

Saxophonist Miguel Zenón's Típico? is his 10th album as bandleader, but features the quartet he's been working with for over 15 years.  It is very much a celebration of that long-standing group and the magic that happens between band members who have spent so much time together.

Argentinian pianist and composer Pablo Ziegler is considered one of the most important living interpreters of "new tango."  He collaborated with Astor Piazzolla, and includes some of that maestro's music on the album Jazz Tango, along with his own compositions.  The intimate interplay between the piano, guitar and bandoneon is irresistible.

Juno Award-winning Canadian sax and flute player Jane Bunnetthas a long history of studying with and collaborating with Cuban musicians.  The energetic group she started a few years ago, Maqueque, is comprised of outstanding female Cuban instrumentalists and vocalists, and their second album Oddara is a powerhouse.

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Prolific Brazilian pianist and composer Antonio Adolfo's latest project is an ambitious one, but that's never stopped him before.  Hybrido-From Rio to Wayne Shorter celebrates Shorter's intricate compositions with Brazilian verve and sensitivity.

We'll hear from all of these Grammy nominated Latin Jazz albums this week on Saturday Jazz Caliente (with a short break for some Squib Cakes with Poncho Sanchez and the Tower of Power horns).

Jazz Caliente airs Saturdays at 5:00 p.m.  The show is hosted by Robin Lloyd and produced by KNKX Public Radio.

Originally from Detroit, Robin Lloyd has been presenting jazz, blues and Latin jazz on public radio for nearly 40 years. She's a member of the Jazz Education Network and the Jazz Journalists Association.