Guillermo Klein & Los Guachos: Cristal
Sunnyside Records

Abetted by the distinctive sound of his Los Guachos ensemble, Guillermo Klein's music sounds like no one else's. It's nominally jazz but charts a noticeably different course than most recordings in the genre. The Argentine pianist's suite-like Cristal clarifies many of the ways his material separates itself from the pack: it's intricate, dense, and multi-layered, yet rendered accessible by its incorporation of folk elements and popular song melodies; the group itself has been together for more than two decades and is therefore able to navigate its way through challenging charts with assurance; and despite its adventurousness, his material never loses its clarity or drive, thanks to the musicians involved. Enhancing the presentation of this latest collection, Klein augments his own originals with material by tango collaborators Carlos Gardel (composer) and Alfredo Le Pera (lyricist).

Having performed together for so long, the eleven members of Los Guachos (including Klein on piano and vocals) have developed a special rapport and exemplify an obvious comfort level in executing the leader's arrangements. Many of the members are lauded figures in their own right, including guitarist Ben Monder, and saxists Miguel Zenon (alto) and Chris Cheek (soprano, tenor, baritone), and all bring as much conviction to their playing in Los Guachos as they do their own dates. Rounding out the band are tenor saxist Bill McHenry, electric bassist Fernando Huergo, drummer Jeff Ballard, percussionist Richard Nant (trumpet also), and horn players Diego Urcola (trumpet, flugelhorn), Taylor Haskins (trumpet, flugelhorn), and Sandro Tomasi (trombone).

If the playing on Cristal seems especially assured, it might have a little bit to do with the way it came about. Following a week at The Village Vanguard and a tour of Germany and Switzerland, the outfit laid down the material at Jazzcampus Basel, where Klein has taught over the years and where a Los Guachos residency in the early summer of 2018 facilitated the recording process. Two covers of songs by Gardel and Le Pera appear (Klein's “Nos Mirarán Pasar” is also based on their “El Día Que Me Quieras”), including the opener “Melodia De Arrabal,” which Klein originally orchestrated for Joshua Redman and Brooklyn Rider and which therefore demanded a re-orchestration for Los Guachos. The band's penchant for seductive swing and mellifluous melodicism is well-accounted for in the performance, the voicings by the saxes and horns giving the music allure and the lilting rhythms amplifying the music's sensuality. Solos emerge from the arrangement seamlessly before threading back into the whole, and the percussive detail generated by Ballard and Nant is a treat for the ears. Gardel and Le Pera's “Volver” swings too, the tango feel in this nine-minute rendering adding a breezy buoyancy to a multi-tiered arrangement of at times startling complexity.

An almost lugubrious spirit infuses “Burrito Volver,” the music exuding a dream-like languor with Monder draping distortion-heavy textures across a molasses-slow backdrop rich in soprano sax and muted horns. Considerably more animated is “Nos Mirarán Pasar,” which swings with a celebratory, carnival-esque spirit and is powered by rambunctious horns-and-sax figures and a dynamic, rousing solo by a Ballard-accompanied Zenon. “A Orillas Del Rin” adds a folk dimension to the set when gently surging melodic statements are undergirded by Nant's bombo drum and Ballard's insistent sway, whereas “Quien Te Ve” brings a milonga-like character to the album with piano and muted horns sweetened with lyrical sax expressions.

November 2019