JONATHAN SUAZO

RICANO VOL 2: FRUTO DE MI CORAZON

Miel Music

Jonathan Suazo, Alto saxophone/composer/arranger; Zaccai Curtis, piano/keyboards; Edmar Colón & Benito Gonzalez, piano; Francisco Alcalá & Lee Fish, drums; Ian Ashby, upright bass; Mike Serrano, Otoniel Nicolás & Paoli Mejias, percussion; Jeremy Bosch & Tanicha López, vocals. Fabiola Méndez, vocals/electric cuatro.

Puerto Rican saxophonist and composer, Jonathan Suazo returns with “Ricano Vol. 2: Fruto de mi Corazón” a deeply moving, very personal follow-up to his debut album “Ricano.”  Much of this music was inspired by the birth of his daughter, Cecilia, and the full weight and warmth of that passionate parental moment.  Once again, this project channels Puerto Rican and Dominican traditions through a jazz enriched production, incorporating plena, bomba sicá, pambiche, salve and cuembé into his productions.

An a’ Capella choir opens “Mi Musica Bella” singing in Spanish and capturing my attention in a musical, harmonic net.  Then Jonathan Suazo enters on his alto saxophone, telling his own story, fluttering above the groove like the sweet sound of popular bird, the Puerto Rican Adelaide Warbler.

Born July 8, 1989, young Jonathan was raised on the island of Puerto Rico and found a deep love for the arts.  His father was a graphic designer and saxophone player. By age twelve, Jonathan Suazo was playing guitar and fell in love with the freedom he found in jazz music. Suazo studied jazz at the Escuela Libre de Musica Ernesto Ramon Antinini in San Juan.  He earned multiple scholarships. Suazo completed his Master of Music at the Berklee Global jazz Institute. In 2023, he was recognized by the New York Times as having one of the best jazz albums of that year. “Ricano” on Ropeadope Records introduced Jonathan Suazo to the jazz world.

“Llamado” features rich rhythmic patterns pushing Suazo’s saxophone forward to dance in the spotlight.  The percussion excellence of Paoli Mejias is out front and palpable beneath Suazo’s alto saxophone excitement.  Francisco Alcalá is powerful on trap drums and Zaccai Curtis accompanies on piano with urgent creativity.  His solo on the 88-keys stuns and inspires.  The energy in this original composition lifts my spirits and fills my listening room with joy.  This becomes one of my favorites on this enthusiastic album.

Suazo offers music deeply rooted in the traditional jazz of inspired musicians like John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy, but spicy with Puerto Rican culture and rhythms.  Jonathan Suazo has his own unique and recognizable sound on the alto saxophone and is a prolific composer.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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