Album Review of
Plena

Written by Joe Ross
October 20, 2021 - 12:32pm EDT
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Pianist/composer Michael Eckroth and company create imaginative jazz by keeping their eyes, ears and hearts open to new ideas. Eckroth vision is for his music to be “lyrical, modern, and true to its Afro-Latin roots, but never purist in its approach.”  Plena, a reference to the folkloric music of Peru, is Eckroth’s first full-length release since 2015 when he released Piano + Rhythm. Featured musicians include Alex “Apolo” Ayala (bass), Joel Mateo (drums), Mauricio Herrera (percussion), Peter Brainin (sax) and other special guests like John Fedchock (trombone), Brian Lynch (trumpet) and Carlos “Carly” Maldonado (percussion).

Eckroth incorporated the bomba and plena rhythms of Puerto Rico into the music, partially because of what Mateo and Ayala brought to the table, and partly to expand the group’s rhythmic repertoire. Eckroth’s music is very earnest, with a sound that projects deep beliefs and may even change the way you perceive the world. Selections like “And So It Goes,” “Plena” and “Invernadero” are presented from an intellectual mind frame, laying out the music with sustain and intensity that make it very expressive and impressionistic. “Superspreader” and “Summer of Love and Discontent” may have been somewhat inspired by feelings from the pandemic, and many musicians made the best of their downtime by composing and recording evocative songs that emerged from the difficult period. Closing with “Soul Cha,” “Exotic Particles,” and “Rain Song” one can’t help but feel elated by the force, sincerity and drive in Eckroth’s original music. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)