Willie Colón, RIP

Siembra may be my favorite album, period. ¡El Mejor!

Can Music Be Perfect? Vol. 108

It's instructive to play this incredible album alongside Coltrane's 1961 classic Live at the Village Vanguard recording. Apples to oranges, sure, but may I say that musically speaking, Perdomo, Cole, and Glawischnig are in the same league as Tyner, Jones, and Workman/ Garrison? Miguel does not achieve 'Trane's spiritual elevation, but that is not Miguel's goal. His goal is to take the great canon of Latin music, deconstruct it, and then reconstruct it, exploiting the rhythmic and melodic inventiveness and intuitive empathy of this great working jazz band. As a saxophonist, Miguel's modus operandi is more Dolphy than Coltrane, cutting angles and quirky long passages, but ultimately, all his own quicksilver sound. This recording represents nearly everything that jazz can be. Never ever pass up an opportunity to hear these guys play live.

Singing in English

Not always the best idea. If I had to pick my favorite musician, Rubén Blades would be right up there. His gig with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra included some typically Rubénesque gems, such as this one... which includes the bonus of Winton going all salsa c. 3:40. On the other hand, you have Rubén singing "Too Close for Comfort," and "I Can't Give You Anything but Love," and "They Can't Take That Away from Me," in which he sounds quite a bit like a middling Tony Bennett impersonator. I doubt it was intended.

Alameda County Fair

I love county fairs, from the goat judging to the pig racing to the bunnies to the ferris wheel to the quilts, pies, and jelly jars to the gut-wrenchingly disgusting yet somehow perniciously tempting food-booth items, such as deep-fried shrimp-on-a-stick dipped in Fruity Pebbles. Now in California we can add the splendid influence of our Latinx immigrant population, with live mariachi, banda, Modelo, and tamales-eating contests. Alameda County has got to be one of the most diverse counties in the USA: the great California melting pot, everybody having fun. And a 10-year-old 4-H-er named Yashvi can take first place in the craft competition with a Hot Dog Stuffed Animal. If that doesn't make you proud to be an American, I can't imagine what possibly would.

La Canción del Final del Mundo

Only Rubén Blades could make all the bad news sound so good.

Broasted or Fried?

Tasty either way.