Highly spirited Afro Cuban post bop Noah Bless – New York Strong Latin Jazz

By Dick Metcalf, editor, Contemporary Fusion Reviews - October 28, 2020

This is actually my first listen to Noah Bless in lead trombone role… before I begin, I strongly recommend you watch the short trailer for the promotion for Noah’s highly spirited Afro Cuban post bop release…

If you’re in the mood to dance the night away, you’re going to totally DIG “49th Street“… Supporting Noah’s splendid trombone are Mike Eckroth – piano; Boriz Koslov – bass; Pablo Bencid – drums; Luisito Quintero – percussion and Alejandro Aviles – flute, and they pull out all the stops on this lively tune… I can tell you right now, jazz DJ’s all across the globe are going to be spinning this ALL the time!

Noah’s original “The Key” uses abrupt rhythm shifts between straight-up 4/4 and downright funky Afro-Cuban swinging… these cats are TOTALLY TOGETHER on this tune, folks.

It only took one listen through the album to make my choice for personal favorite of the eight great songs Noah offers up for your Latin jazz joy… it’s the opener, “Chasing Normal” (another original from Noah) that gets the nod… heavy on melody, but with lively interaction between the players, it’s one of the best Latin jazz tunes I’ve listened to (yet) in 2020!

I give Noah and all his players a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) score of 4.98 for this fine album.