Miguel Zenón & Luis Perdomo, El Arte del Bolero

Two jazz luminaries – saxophonist Miguel Zenón and pianist Luis Perdomo – join forces to pay tribute to bolero, a genre originating in Cuba known as the quintessential Latin American romantic song. With impeccable improvisational instincts and natural harmony, the pair perform music they have carried with them since childhood, finding a common language to grab onto and explore together.

These songs are “from the times of our parents and grandparents that somehow stuck around long enough for us to get to know them and truly love them. They are all as essential to our development as the music of jazz greats, but perhaps even more familiar…These songs are part of us.”

On recording the album, Zenon writes, “We recorded this music as a live show, all in one take, without much preparation other than discussing tonalities and some basic elements on form. We were more than pleasantly surprised with the results and decided that they deserved to be shared. There is nothing like making music with someone else, finding a common language we can grab onto and then just going and exploring that together. We hope this comes across here, and that you enjoy the music.”

“Miguel Zenón’s recent forays into Latin American songbooks have yielded some of his most rapturous music yet.” – DownBeat