Rafael Zaldivar - Consecration (2019) [Hi-Res]

Rafael Zaldivar writes of his new album, Consecration: “This album was born with my ‘Consecration’ into the Afro-Cuban Orula’s Hand. The Orula’s Hand is an immersion into the spiritual, physical, and cognitive process of the creation’s eternal thought through the knowledge of energy and its manifestation as matter. This Consecration illuminates my life path according to the personal goals that I have come to realize in the now.” Cuban pianist, composer, artistic director, and educator: Dr. Rafael Zaldivar's exceptional contributions to jazz have been acclaimed by the JazzTime and Downbeat jazz magazines. Born in Cuba, Zaldivar obtained a B.A. from Montreal University and a M.A. plus a D.Mus. from McGill University. The pianist has worked with jazz icons such as Barry Harris, Kenny Barron, and Herbie Hancock and he has performed with jazz luminaries as Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Roy Hargrove, Terri Lyne Carrington, Francisco Mela, Nate Smith, Ari Hoenig, and Dan Weiss. The bandleader has participated in many international jazz festivals, including the Jazz Festival, Rochester (New York); the Jazz Festival of Queretaro (Mexico); and the Festival Jazz North Sea (Holland). The composer has received distinguished Canadian Awards as Opus, Grand Prix Musical Archambault, and CBC prizes. His sophomore album, Drawing, was nominated for ADISQ and JUNO Awards as "Best Contemporary Jazz Album of the Year" featuring saxophonist Greg Osby as special guest.

"Keyboardist Rafael Zaldivar invokes traditional Afro-Cuban spirituality in both his music and his message, but his thematic scope is far-ranging. His keyboard work is devoid of pyrotechnics; he uses space to create depth, then fills it with precisely articulated arpeggios and single-note punctuations to build a delicate tension. That tension is then dispelled by the broadening of the sonic spectrum to welcome in electric bass (Remi-Jean LeBlanc), percussion (hand drums, Amado Dedeu; traps, Dave Laing) and voices (Dedeu again; on one number, “Ache,” he’s joined by his son, Amado Jr.)—primarily chants and invocations drawn from religious rituals with their roots in Africa. At times, the mewl of Zaldivar’s Mini-Moog adds another element to the mix.

Ambitious, yes, but (mercifully) not pretentious. “A Rock Con Leche,” described as a tribute to James Brown, surges with hard-bop urgency rather than funk; Zaldivar’s synth screams stoke up the heat as Dedeu’s congas accentuate the theme that permeates the set. The piano solos “Manifested Creation,” “Rezos,” and “Eternal Creation” are meditative, even prayerful; “Obatala,” a paean to a Yoruba Orisha, is one of the most modern-sounding offerings here with its throbbing, funk-flavored bassline and impressionistic piano; “Unforgettable” recasts the Nat Cole standard as an elegant, melancholy bolero." (JazzTimes)