Tracks
- Mamanita 2. Black, Brown & White 3. Stop Time 4. Boogie Stop Shuffle 5. Honky Tonk 6. 44 Blues 7. Blue Minuet 8. Careless Love
Performers
Raspa García – piano
Francisco López “Loque” – double bass
Antonio Álvarez “Pax” – drums
Record Label: Errabal Jazz
Release Date: December 25, 2023
Jorge “Raspa” García has established himself over the years as a leading figure and indispensable pianist in the blues scene. An artist who studied at the IMT music school, completing his training in classical and jazz music, and who has primarily explored African American music, delving especially into blues and jazz, showcasing a distinct influence of New Orleans music with his band The Tremendous. In 2015, he released “Boogie Woogie Voodoo” under the name Raspa García & the Crawfish, a very personal album that not only demonstrated his compositional ability but also foreshadowed the main themes to be explored in this “Standards Session Vol. I”.
Eight tracks recorded entirely live at Brazil Studios in Madrid consolidate the integrated project, which also includes Raspa García on piano, and two other legendary figures in the Afro-American music scene: Antonio Álvarez “Pax” on drums (Vacazul, Tres hombres, Speak low, Los Reyes del K.O.) and Francisco López “Loque” on double bass (Bob Sands Big band, Grant Stewart, Steve Markus, Arturo O´farril), two of the most sought-after musicians in the blues and jazz scene.
A band configuration that gives this work a natural sound, without artifice or embellishments, recovering the primal essence of the blues.
The album pays homage to the beginnings of jazz with “Mamanita” by the legendary Jelly Roll Morton and to New Orleans jazz with the track “Black, Brown & White” by bluesman Big Bill Broonzy.
The three members of the trio shine individually and collectively. If you need proof, listen to “Stop Time” by Texas guitarist Clarence Gatemouth Brown, the powerful Charles Mingus track “Boogie Stop Shuffle,” or Bill Doggett’s “Honky Tonk.” From Roosevelt Sykes, they include the classic “44 Blues,” a timeless blues number, which leads into the intense “Blue Minuet” by New Orleans pianist James Brooker. The album closes with a traditional track, “Careless Love,” another blues with a New Orleans sound.
The album could be labeled a blues album, but the truth is that the Trio imbues the tracks, some more than others, with an undeniable jazz character.
No single member of the trio stands out, as the work of all three is essential to the album’s final result.
A quality work, with a fresh and fun sound.
La Habitación del Jazz