Funk Tango by Paquito D'Rivera

" The same principle could be applied to my working quintet, basically comprised of a typical jazz rhythm section, front-lined by two horns. This is the format that became my favorite vehicle of expression from my early days with Hilton Ruiz and Claudio Roditi while gigging around that breathtaking New York City of the 1980s. It’s what we call “the extended quintet”– all depending on the needs of the music to be played, the budget to be shared, and especially the considerable amount of friends willing to sit in playing the most dissimilar instruments imaginable, as well as contributing an eclectic variety of musical styles to our repertoire, ranging from cheering Cuban danzas and Brazilian sambas to Peruvian festejos, Venezuelan waltzes, and the dark melodies of impassionate tangos.

In addition to being our first self-produced CD, the present release also marks Diego Urcola’s brilliant recording debut as a valve trombonist. Those memorable days of recording at Manfred Knoop’s state-of-the-art studio also gave us the opportunity to reunite the current musicians of the quintet with former members and dearly appreciated old friends of the group, like Ed Simon, Daniel Freiberg, and Hector del Curto, as well as welcome-to-the-club newcomers, Pablo Stagnaro and Fernando Otero.

In other words, the Funk Tango project could work as a good answer to that famous question posed to Dave Brubeck while checking into a hotel on an early morning back in the ‘50s:
–How many in your quartet, sir?
–Whatever I want, my dear!!!