Scott H. Thompson
Tony Succar & Pablo Gil
Present
RAICES JAZZ ORCHESTRA
Debut Album Release Date: May 22nd
RAÍCES JAZZ ORCHESTRA
The First Album from multi-Latin Grammy winning producer Tony Succar and Dr. Pablo Gil's Latin big band, to be released May 22nd!
May 21, 2020 (New York, NY) -- Moved by the love of big band and their passion to express their Latin roots, Tony Succar and Pablo Gil have created Raices Jazz Orchestra (RJO), a crossover powerhouse based in South Florida. RJO's self-titled first album combines original compositions with arrangements of standards such as "Eye of the Hurricane" by Herbie Hancock and "Mas que Nada" by Jorge Ben, and it features Grammy winning artists Richard Bona (Cameroon) and Anaadi (Brazil) among others. Raices Jazz Orchestra will be released May 22nd on Unity Entertainment.
It's revealing that the band's name "Raices" means "roots," as Succar and Gil navigate the deep and intricate rhythms of Latin America. "On one hand, I have a love of the big band as the ultimate jazz ensemble. On the other, I want to express the musical heritage rooted in the music of the Americas" says Gil.
RJO is in essence a concept defined by its repertoire and style. It combines Dr. Gil's savvy writing, improvisatory skills and band leading with Tony Succar's creativity and trademark production style, reeling in Latin swing, aka "sabor". "I personally always wanted to make a big band band project because I look up to Tito Puente as my biggest inspiration," Succar says. Their pairing is indeed complementary, and their collaboration is both inspiring and effective.
"I met Tony before he started working on his Michael Jackson Latin tribute. He was a young and gifted bandleader who had an amazing work ethic and the vision to achieve his goals. In many ways I see this album connected to the multicultural, multiracial frame of mind that permeates his 'Unity' project. RJO is also about Unity, the Unity of different cultures and genres, of musicians from different backgrounds" says Gil. The leaders of this band go back a long way: "Pablo and I have awesome chemistry, we are like brothers, and the fact that we met so long ago, playing in club gigs, and we've been able to accomplish this together after more than 3 years of hard work, it makes me feel so proud" says Succar.
The repertoire is coherent but also varied, and they have developed a writing style deeply informed by a firsthand knowledge of diverse world music genres, such as the Venezuelan 'Joropo' and Peruvian 'Lando'. " I feel like RJO will reach the hearts of the jazz lovers, but also of the Latin music lovers... because the grooves are there!" says Succar.
Tracklisting:
01: Raíces Jam
02: Feste-Fuego
03: Mas que Nada (featuring Anaadi)
04: Midnight in Spain
05: Perulando
06: Invocation (featuring Richard Bona)
07: Eye of the Hurricane
08: Pa' Oyichan
09: Imprevisto
INTERVIEWS/CD PRESS COPIES CONTACT:
SCOTT THOMPSON PR
www.scottthompsonpr.com
scott@scottthompsonpr.com
203-400-1818
New York | Palm Beach | Buenos Aires
About the Author / Scott H. Thompson
About Scott Thompson Thompson served as Assistant Director of Public Relations for Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York for almost a decade. With a background in broadcast journalism, Thompson’s voice and work has been heard on the Associated Press Radio Network, the Mutual Broadcasting network and NBC-AM New York, on The Morning Show. His experience spans radio, television, print and the internet. Thompson co-produced the New Haven Jazz Festival from 1994-2000. A prolific writer, Thompson has contributed to DownBeat, JazzTimes, Jazziz, and the All Music Guide. He penned the CD liner notes to Herbie Hancock Head Hunters, Weather Report 8:30, George Duke Brazilian Love, Stan Getz The New Collection, The Essence of Maynard Ferguson, and The Essence of Al DiMeola. Scott is one of the original members of the Jazz Journalists Association. Editor’s note: Style Quarterly is very pleased to make the connection with Scott and values his enthusiastic support of Jazz.
