Premiere: Fabian Almazan Offers Up ‘Benjamin,’ a Cut From ‘This Land Abounds With Life’

News, First Listen, Fabian Almazan Trio, Fabian Almazan, Linda May Han Oh, Henry Cole

By DownBeat I May. 13, 2019

Pianist Fabian Almazan’s ‘This Land Abounds With Life’ is set for release June 14 on his own Biophilia imprint.
(Photo: Clara Pereira/Jazztrail)
Bassist Linda May Han Oh, pianist Fabian Almazan and drummer Henry Cole
(Photo: Desmond White)

A bandleader, composer and member of Terence Blanchard’s E-Collective, pianist Fabian Almazan synthesizes a lifetime’s worth of experiences on This Land Abounds With Life, a disc that includes contributions from bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Henry Cole.

The new trio recording, out June 14 on Almazan’s Biophilia imprint, is, in part, a reflection of the pianist’s first trip back to Cuba since leaving there as child. Some snippets of field recordings find their way onto a couple tracks, “Songs Of The Forgotten” boasting a bit of birdsong. Below is the debut of “Benjamin,” the first track on This Land, a tune that references a character in George Orwell’s Animal Farm.

“The novella was banned in all the communist countries, including Cuba,” Almazan says about the Orwell book in a press release. “I’m seeing a lot of things happening in the U.S. right now that are reminiscent of what happens right before a dictatorship. I just want to remind myself and others not to forget the past.”

For more information about Almazan’s upcoming album, as well as a spate of trio tour dates, visit his website. DB