TRACKLIST
Piece of Cake
La Comparsa
Mr. C.I.
Afterthought
Anthony's Blues
Con Alma
Las dos Lorettas
Just Like You
Decarga For Tito (Puente)
Dotcom-Bustion
ALBUM NOTES
Pianist and composer Michel Camilo is renowned for combining rich harmonies with the Caribbean flavors and Latin rhythms of his native Dominican Republic. With his flawless technique and contemporary outlook, he incorporates a wide variety of jazz elements into his work, citing McCoy Tyner, Chick Corea, Keith Jarrett and Erroll Garner as some of his influences. One of the most important jazz musicians to emerge in the past decade, Camilo marks his move to Telarc with Triangulo, his most adventurous yet accessible recording to date.
Produced by Camilo, Triangulo is loaded with uptempo rhythms and includes a mix of original tunes (“Piece of Cake,” “Afterthought,” “Anthony’s Blues,” “Just Like You,” “Descarga for Tito” and “dotcom-bustion”) along with four compositions by other artists (Ernesto Lecuona’s “La Comparsa,” Chano Dominguez’s “Mr. C.I.,” Dizzy Gillespie’s “Con Alma” and Mike Manieri’s “Las Dos Lorettas”).
Best known for his work with trios, Camilo’s complex, almost orchestral arrangements demand the highest level of musicianship. Anthony Jackson (a session player on Ernest Ranglin’s Gotcha!) is a master of the six-stringed contrabass guitar, an instrument he designed himself. Cuban drummer Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez (who lent a hand on Steve Turre’s In the Spur of the Moment) supplies Latin percussion effects as well as straight-ahead rhythms. Navigating the boundaries of jazz, Triangulo represents a fusion of styles that is both high-powered and unforgettable.
Throughout his career, Camilo has never been afraid to look for musical inspiration. Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, in 1954, he came from a musical family. Camilo started out playing accordion before switching to piano at age nine. A self-taught student of American jazz, he first heard piano legend Art Tatum on the radio, and his love for jazz soon led him away from Santo Domingo.
n 1979, he and his wife moved to New York. Camilo spent three years as a member of Paquito D’Rivera’s band, where he gained experience and recognition. His self-titled Epic debut shot to the top of the jazz charts in 1988 and several more critically acclaimed albums followed, including On Fire, On The Other Hand, Rendezvous and One More Once.
In 2000, Camilo’s Verve release, Spain, with flamenco guitarist Tomatito, won Best Latin Jazz Album in the first-ever Latin Grammy Awards. Camilo also appeared on the recent soundtrack CD for the acclaimed Latin jazz film Calle 54, directed by the Oscar-winning Spaniard Fernando Trueba.
When talents as formidable as Michel Camilo, Anthony Jackson and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez get together to make music, it’s an event. Their distinct voices converge on Triangulo, a scintillating musical conversation between three masters whose versatility seems to have no limits.