LOLIVONE DE LA ROSA

JEWELS

Independent Label

Lolivone de la Rosa, electric guitar/Fx/composer/arranger; Luis Perdomo, piano; John Benitez, acoustic & electric bass; Jeff “Tain” Watts, drums; Ingrid Jensen, trumpet; Ned Goold, tenor saxophone; SPECIAL GUESTS: David Suleiman, tenor saxophone; Rogério Boccato, percussion/pandeiro/ tamborim/Agogo Bells/shaker; Joel E. Mateo, percussion/Puerto Rican Bomba drums/ guacharo/cuá.

Lolivone de la Rosa admits in her liner notes that she is a perfectionist.

“I thought we would mix it in one session.  It took us five weeks.  He (the engineer) was very patient. I would go back and say, Dave, don’t kill me, but let’s lower one DB on that note, or the trumpet or guitar is too loud on a particular part.  He said, that’s why the album is called ‘Jewels;’ because we’re polishing them,” she writes.

The guitarist, along with her stellar group of musicians, opens with the Cheo Feliciano tune, “Si Por Mi Llueve” played at a joyful pace. De la Rosa sets the tone and tempo on her instrument, then opens the musical stage for pianist Luis Perdomo to step forward and solo beautifully.  I enjoyed the way she arranged the tune to move smoothly from ‘swing’ to clave, including a nod to the tune “Perdido.”  The composer was once a neighbor back in her Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rican community. One of her purposes, during this debut recording, is to flounce both American jazz tradition along with her cultural roots.  This opening tune does just that.

“PB&J” quickly becomes a favorite of mine, rooted in the blues, it slow-swings across my listening room with Ned Goold on tenor saxophone. His satin smooth story unfolds during his opening solo. The aggressive, but always sensitive drums of Jeff “Tain” Watts push the rhythm section forward. Then de la Rosa steps into the spotlight to express herself during a soulful guitar solo. After Perdomo’s piano solo, Watts snatches the attention with his drums, singing their own post-bop song with gusto and creativity. De la Rosa is composer of this song.

De la Rosa began studying piano at age nine but quickly grew bored with reading music and lessons. Her dad bought her a guitar at age 13. His career was as a jeweler; however, he once played trumpet in his youth and had a deep love for music. Lolivone’s mother is a wonderful vocalist. Although she secured a career path in psychology, before that she was a singer in Puerto Rico’s first all-woman Bomba band. So, you could say music runs through the blood of Lolivone de la Rosa’s family.

At sixteen, the novice guitarist began private lessons with Fernando Mattina. Every guitarist in Puerto Rico who wanted to play jazz hopes to study with Mattina. De la Rosa also attended a Berklee in Puerto Rico music program. She was fascinated with the concept of improvisation and set her sights on becoming a the best jazz musician she could be. Her original composition, “Ella & Gala” (named for her dogs) gives trumpeter Ingrid Jensen a time to shine. De la Rosa’s ‘cover’ of the Charlie Parker tune “Segment” is admirable. It exemplifies her development into blending her cultural roots with traditional jazz in a uniquely exceptional way.

This wonderful debut album is the result of hard work, big dreams and practice. De la Rosa is developing into an impressive composer and her arrangement skills blend the Puerto Rican cultural folklore that she loves so much, into jazz, blues, Straight-ahead and Afro-Cuban/Afro-Rican rhythms.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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