Table For Five
Moondo, 2022
8/10
A veteran in the area of jazz and world music, Juan Carlos Quintero has been at the helm of nearly a dozen albums since 1988, and here he’s aligned with Eddie Resto, Joe Rotondi, Joey DeLeon, and Aaron Serfaty for a mix of originals and standards that focuses on the heritage of Colombia, where Quintero was born.
“Alone Together” starts the listen with Carlos’ warm guitar alongside Resto’s playful bass as much rhythm enters the cultured opener, and “Mambo Balahu” follows with precise drumming from Serfaty as an adventurous jazz climate unfolds.
At the halfway point, “Table For Five… At The Cumbia Inn” benefits much from the dynamic rhythm section as plenty of melody surrounds the busy landscape, while “Song For My Father” showcases Rotondi’s eloquent piano prowess amid a cha-cha-cha rhythm.
“Giant Steps” and “Beautiful Love” bookend the listen, where the former moves swiftly and showcases DeLeon’s skilled percussion, and the latter finishes sublime, bare and full of a timeless beauty on the aptly titled exit.
This is the first album of his own that Quintero has produced since the ‘80s, and it documents his superb guitar playing and timeless vision of music that’s intimate, exploratory and full of Latin jazz flavor you won’t soon forget.
Travels well with: Jorge Garcia- Dedicated To You; TriTone Asylum- The Hideaway Sessions