Feb 3, 2026 12:10 AM
In Memoriam: Ken Peplowski, 1959–2026
Ken Peplowski, a clarinetist and tenor saxophonist who straddled the worlds of traditional and modern jazz, died Feb. 2…
Pianist Edward Simon leads of a bevy of great new Latin releases.
(Photo: Eduardo Jung)In last year’s March issue of DownBeat, we wrote about a collection of hot, new Latin jazz releases to help folks through the cold winter months. Well, this year’s been even colder — and the Latin jazz got hotter. Here’s what’s warming up our ears!
Edward Simon
Venezuela: Latin American Songbook Vol. 2
ArtistShare
The second volume of pianist and composer Edward Simon’s ode to Latin America takes a more focused approach to presenting the Latin songbook he so adores (and so do we). The first installment took the approach of cullling material from the breadth of South America — Astor Piazolla’s Argentina, Antônio Carlos Jobim’s Brazil, for example — a Cubano bolero here, a bossa nova there, then sprinkle in songs from Puerto Rico, Chile and his own beloved Venezuela. On Vol. 2, Simon’s spotlight shines squarely on his home country.
And what a time it is to release such an album. With the U.S. capturing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, it’s muy interesante that the opening track, “Presagio,” which translates to “omen” in English, takes a slightly ominous, yet beautiful, tone. Although it came out well in advance of Maduro’s capture, Simon might have a slight bit of fortune-teller to his credit. From that launch pad, Simon, with the help of his incredibly talented trio mates (bassist Ruben Rogers and drummer Adam Cruz), delivers an exquisite, six-tune set.
“Atardecer,” translated to “sunset,” brings the feel and form of the end of a day. It’s a beautiful ballad featuring a to-die-for solo by Rogers and Simon’s always elegant pianism. With “Dama Antañona,” Simon and company rework this beautiful waltz written by Venezuelan composer Francisco de Paula. Clocking in at nearly 18 minutes, this triumphant number may not be the title piece of the album, but it’s certainly the centerpiece.
“Anhelante” features another beautiful bass solo by Rogers. The understated touch of drummer Cruz lays perfectly into the arc of the music. “El Vuelo de la Mosca” is a crowd pleaser that may be a Brazilian choro, but it becomes the property of this Venezuelan set with guest Jackeline Rago jumping in on the cuatro, a four-stringed folk instrument often associated with Venezuelan music. It’s also the tune on which Simon shines brightest (and that’s saying something). He overflows with rapid-fire fingers, all the while maintaining incredibly smooth control over the keyboard.
Venezuela ends with “Sabana,” an achingly slow ballad that drives home the emotions of a very troubled land.
“This music is part of who I am,” Simon said in his press materials. “With Vol. 2, I wanted to go deeper, to offer an immersive listening experience that honors the original songs while bringing them into the trio’s expressive language.” He succeeds and then some.
Antonio Adolfo
Carnaval–The Songs Were So Beautiful
AAM Music
From Venezuela, we turn to the music of Brazil and the work of Brazilian pianist, composer and arranger Antonio Adolfo. Here, the maestro delves into the songs of Carnaval with a 10-piece band that aims to please. The arrangements are bright, the music light, cheerful, downright celebratory. On “É Com Esse Que Eu Vou,” written in 1948 by Pedro Caetano, Jesse Sadoc and Idriss Boudria drop in fantastic soli on trumpet and saxophone, respectively. “Vassourinhas” comes in as a frevo, a dance and music style popular around Carnaval. It’s a quick-paced jaunt with the unexpected twists and turns you come to actually expect with Brazilian music.
Marcelo Martins drops a thrilling solo as does guitarist Lula Galvão. “Oba (O Bafo da Onça),” or “breath of the jaguar,” is an Osvaldo Nunes tune from 1962 featuring again Sadoc’s high-wire trumpet flurries, which pair well with guitarist Galvão’s more laid-back offering. Trombonist Rafael Rocha contributes another beautifully paced solo on the tune. “Mal-Me-Quer,” or “she loves me, she loves me not,” gives Adolfo a chance to shine. He’s a beautiful accompanist, but steps out with terrific ideas, touch and style when he solos, as on this tune. It’s a film noir romancer.
“Vai Passar,” or “it’s going to be OK,” was written in 1984 by Chico Buarque and Francis Hime. It’s an upbeat, positive vibe that says, “Try not to tap your toes here.” Adolfo makes a U-turn for the closer. From the upbeat “Vai Passar,” he dives into “As Pastorinhas,” a ballad evoking the women singers at Carnaval. The composers, Braguinha and Noel Rosa, must have fallen in love with one or two, as the tune turns out to be a bit of a love letter to them, and to the magic of Carnaval itself.
Yilian Cañizares
Vitamina Y
Planeta Y
And now for something completely different: In steps the Cuban-Swiss violinist and vocalist Yilian Cañizares. Classically trained and steeped in jazz, Cañizares has taken the shackles off genre to make music that has both feet planted firmly in the present.
Recorded in Paris with her working trio mates (bassist Cildo Tomas from Mosambique and percussionist Inor Sotolongo from Cuba), along with a host of collaborators, the resulting music becomes a worldly affair. Senegalese kora artist Momi Maiga brings a folk-like touch to the ballad “Vamos a Florecer.” South African pianist Bokani Dyer adds splash onto this interesting melding of cultures and music. For her part, Cañizares has her own borderless qualities. Born in Cuba, she lives in Switzerland. She’s an emotive, moving vocalist, whether she’s singing in her native Spanish or French, as she does on the hypnotic “Ah L’Amour,” or in Ronga, as she does on “Maputo” in tribute to Mozambique, the homeland of Tomas.
Her violin work is also charmingly compelling, blowing past tradition at times to incorporate effects like a Hendrixian growl on the opening tune, “Maputo.”
With such a borderless approach to the music, one might ask: Is it jazz? Who cares, Cañizares has a jazz soul that goes where the music takes her. She’s delivering a message of hope and unity in troubled times. And she’s trying to take that message around the globe.
Roberto Fonseca and Vincent Segal
Nuit Parisienne à la Havane
Artwork Records
What happens when you put a Cuban pianist and a French cellist in the same room? Absolute magic. The album begs the question, is this Latin jazz? Again, the answer is, who cares. They lock in for an intimate set of music that transcends genre. “Rumbo A Ti” has classical overtones as Fonseca and Segal demonstrate the power just two artists can deliver. “Soul Kiss” has that feeling of Havana late at night. They lead and follow with amazing finesse, Fonseca taking his time and leaving space, Segal supporting Fonseca’s statements with pizzicato cello. All of it leaves the listener aching for more.
The title tune, on the other hand, takes one’s breath away with a display of power and precision few, if anyone, could match. The duo’s ability to go from strong to light, from forte to pianissimo, is astounding. That ability to demonstrate both the softer and more powerful sides of their music makes Nuit Parisienne à la Havane a great listening experience. The strident “Paciencia Es Lo Que Ha Que Tener,” the quiet “Un Homme Que Dort” and the slow-burning blues-ish closer “Te Extraño (M.C.A.)” offer three more examples of the simpatico these artists share. What they recorded is special. Now, can we see it live?
Pedrito Martínez, Antonio Sánchez & Michael League
Elipsis
GroundUP
What’s striking from the outset of this terrific six-song set is the sound. Michael League knows how to pump up the mix to ensure everything is clean, pristine and 100% poppin’. It’s apparent from the downbeat of Elipsis, with the congas and vocals of Pedrito Martinez waking the ears on the intro to “Obbakoso.” Antonio Sánchez kicks in with some well-placed accents and effects, and when League launches some killer synth work and production, the song takes off.
Throughout the set, it’s one part folkloric lyrics and chants at the foundation, one part clave-driven improvisation and one part next-level production. This album literally explodes genres.
This partnership of three of the most exciting voices on the scene has been bubbling for years. They started by getting together at League’s studio and first performed for an audience at the 2018 North Sea Jazz Festival. In 2021, Martinez and Sánchez spent two days at Manhattan’s Power Station Studio with League watching them via Zoom from his home in Spain where he would shape, layer and add to their conversation. The result is impressive with an incredibly organic vibe: just three artists at the top of their game digging into cool sounds.
“Caminando” could be a dance club hit. The groove powers the song. But the layers and layers of percussion, bass and synth effects offer so much to take in. “Variant” starts with League’s synth overlays conjuring up some trippy melodic bursts. Sánchez and Martinez catch the wave about a third of the way into the song with chill, thoughtful beat-making. “Mi Tambor” could fill a stadium with its sound. “Suuru” offers a hymn-like cloud of tranquility and nostalgia. And “Tarpon,’ the set’s closer, just flat-out grooves.
This is great dance floor music. This is great headphones music.
Omar Sosa
Sendas
OTA Records
Omar Sosa is no stranger to the art of solo piano performance. In fact, we were introduced to his music with Omar Omar, a fantastic debut recording, daring from the start by presenting just Sosa and his piano. Throughout his eclectic career, Sosa has found time to return to his solo passions: Calma from 2011 and Senses from 2014, for example. With Sendas, Sosa’s latest solo excursion, he delivers some of his deepest, most thoughtful work. It’s at once meditative and searching, a statement from an artist in the prime of his career. “Heartwarming Night Of The Crickets” evokes the spirit of a calm summer evening.
Sosa employs some atmospheric washes, beats and loops to help set the mood as he gives plenty of space between the notes, an obvious homage to iconic less-is-more pianists like Abdullah Ibrahim. The same is true on “Something From Home.” Throughout the recording, you can feel Sosa picking up pieces from his past — a trinket here, a place there and a photograph over there — channeling them into music that touches the heart. This music is by no means melancholy, but it’s packed with smiles and memories.
It’s always a joy to hear a pianist working solo. It’s a true representation of the artist as a person. And here, we find Omar Sosa to be a thoughtful, beautiful soul. As Sosa himself said about this recording in the press materials: “In that grand theater of dreams, we transformed fear and sadness into a fervent anthem of unity, a celebration of life itself. Music became our shared voice, a vessel into which we poured our collective anguish, and in so doing, despair became a beacon of light.” DB
Peplowski first came to prominence in legacy swing bands, including the final iteration of the Benny Goodman Orchestra, before beginning a solo career in the late 1980s.
Feb 3, 2026 12:10 AM
Ken Peplowski, a clarinetist and tenor saxophonist who straddled the worlds of traditional and modern jazz, died Feb. 2…
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Richie Beirach was particularly renowned for his approach to chromatic harmony, which he used to improvise reharmonizations of originals and standards.
Jan 27, 2026 11:19 AM
Richie Beirach, a pianist and composer who channeled a knowledge of modern classical music into his jazz practice,…
“I play what I want and what I like,” said Andrew Cyrille. “I use my knowledge artistically and professionally.”
Feb 3, 2026 12:15 AM
Midway through August, a few days after concluding a week at the Village Vanguard with the quartet that Andrew Cyrille…
Marsalis will, if he chooses to use it, have a strong voice in perpetuating his vision through a role in choosing his successors.
Feb 3, 2026 12:09 AM
For the better part of a year, rumors have been swirling that Wynton Marsalis was going to step down as artistic and…
