 
Joaquin Pozo & Latin Millenium The Barcelona-based label Envidia sought out some hot young Cuban jazz, and found the grand-nephew of legendary conguero Chano Pozo romping on the skins in the solar where Chano launched forth to New York in his short-lived but stellar career. Rolando de la Rosa on sax has been boning up on his Coltrane. Young Yonny Alvarez on piano has that deft classical touch that adds so much to Cuban encuentros. Add "El Nino," the progeny of Chappottin, on trumpet and you have a great session. Joaquin toured the world in the salsa boom of the early nineties then settled down to teach at the National Arts School in Havana. From these classes he formed his group in 2001, after winning Cuba's top tambor award in 2000. (From my syntax you can tell I've been reading Spanish liner notes!) It's straight-ahead Cuban jazz, well within the tradition ("If you don't know it, don't try it," they say), but interesting enough for all its traditional structures. After a brief "Gershwing" piano solo, there 's an effective reggae bass-line to "Momentos," which is a nice change, but it is quickly subsumed by a fierce piano montuno, shrieking trumpet, then it segues into a lyrical ballad on the sax, which builds back to a fiery montuno. Don't be put off by the homely name and generic title, this is a fine album which balances some great conga playing with creative new jazz. The liner notes claim it as a live recording, which adds to the urgency, though I wish they had left on applause or intros to substantiate their claim. It is exceedingly well recorded: the crisp percussion comes through loud and clear. -- Alastair Johnston
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