After over a decade, pianist-composer Ann Reynolds returned to KNKX with more music celebrating the vibrancy of Afro-Cuban music.
Since her last session, Reynolds has released two albums: Joy (2019), recorded partly in Havana with Cuban jazz luminaries, and the trio album Inspired by Women Composers (2021), which won the Earshot Golden Ear Award for Best NW Jazz Recording.
In conversation with KNKX, Reynolds reflected on how her relationship with Cuban music has evolved over the last decade.
While she used to visit Cuba annually, she hasn't been back since 2020 due to the pandemic and because she's not convinced that traveling there and sharing in the limited resources Cubans have is the most “helpful” action at the moment.
So, Reynolds continues to spread the joy and history of Afro-Cuban music around the Pacific Northwest, respecting its originators while also adding her own flair.
Her band Clave Gringa brought warmth and focus to the room as they moved fluidly through each song. Nathaniel Schleimer gave character and depth to the music on flute and tenor sax, Mike Mines shone bright and powerfully on trumpet, and Andy Zadrozny performed with polish on bass.
Percussionist Willie Garza, who local Latin jazz fans might recognize from his work with The Rumba Kings and Todo Es, kept the whole thing together with his sensitive approach to the clave, a foundational percussion instrument and rhythmic pattern that defines Afro-Cuban music.
The band took the room through the many sounds of Afro-Cuban jazz.
The quasi-invocational opener “Trickster," inspired by the orisha, or deity, Elègua, unfolded slowly and reflected the deity's playful, trickster spirit.
In “Dancing with Your Shadow,” an evocative bolero-son, a type of Cuban song that combines the lyricism of bolero with the rhythmic groove of the son cubano, Schleimer's flute played emotionally opposite Reynolds’ bittersweet melodies.
The final tune, conjured sonic images of Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk's bebop and the big band sounds of Latin jazz innovators Mario Bauzà, Machito, and Chico O'Farill.
Reynolds' deep respect for the Afro-Cuban jazz tradition and her ability to adapt it through her own voice with joy and care was palpable throughout the session. She may not be traveling to Cuba as she once did, but the music she makes in the Pacific Northwest with Clave Gringa carries the same spirit of connection and celebration that first drew her to the island over 25 years ago.
This summer, catch Reynolds and the band perform as the Clave Gringa Sextet on Sunday, Aug. 9 at 3 PM at Edmonds City Park for a free concert of Afro-Cuban jazz on the lawn.
Musicians:
- Ann Reynolds - piano
- Nathaniel Schleimer - sax, flute
- Mike Mines - trumpet
- Andy Zadrozny - bass
- Willie Garza - congas, percussion
Songs:
- Trickster
- Dancing with Your Shadow
- On the Run
