Enbreve Latin Jazz Magazine

A while back we had the opportunity to sit and speak with Mr. Ray Castro of Conjunto Classico, this conversation was very enlightening as it made some key points that later would be validated through observations.  The key points that were made involved the caliber of today’s artists and their style or lack of it.

Enbreve Latin Jazz Magazine’s mission is to highlight the music, the places, and the people that shape those moments that we as Hispanics (Latino’s if you are into the cache thing) thrive upon.  To most of us, music is the food for our souls that breaks the monotony of everyday life.  In past issues, we highlighted great performances, and interviewed exceptional artists from Grammy winners to the legends of Latin Jazz, but that was kind of a side issue for we were really looking at the diversity of our people and our music.  While we came across some brilliant performers, we did notice that the music was sounding more and more like top 40 of an era gone by and so we have included in our revised focus a challenge, that is to finding innovative music, which is original from local performers and to highlight these performances.

This is a tremendous challenge and it is also where the conundrum lies, you see local performers (Cuchifrito Circuit) have to live and therefore, have to play what is appealing to the audience in order to get the Guizos they need to push their craft.  There are some that mix in a few original numbers into a set here and there, but there are others that stick to the formula that works; which is, give them what they want.

We applaud all the performers that we have reviewed, but in our minds one group stands out more than most and that is Grupo Latin Vibes.  Their sound is unique and consistent while their rhythms are refreshing.  We suggest to our readers that they support local performers by purchasing their CD’s and attending performances.

In future issues, we at Enbreve.com will do our part to highlight these local performances, but we need your help in identifying those performers that are worthy of their time in the spotlight.  If you have an opinion or wish to submit a local performer for review, drop us an email tell us where, when, whom and why, we will answer your emails. In actions, we need to support our local artists so that they can push their craft to new heights and break through to national notoriety.

From what we’ve witnessed there are many such bands that have what it takes to surge forward and create a legacy (such as Conjunto Classico).  To local musicians, we challenge you to innovate, and not be satisfied with sounding like anyone else, but to find their style and groove it.  We also say that if you are having trouble with CD sales to write to us, we maybe able to help you.

John N. Irizarry

Editor/enbreve.com