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| William Cepeda Afrorican jazz – My Roots & Beyond The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday March 7, 1999 |
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Trombonist William Cepeda aims to do no less than elevate Puerto Rican jazz to the AfroCuban level. This is a tall order but then this CD delivers in Roberto Clemente style. Loud in parts and even experimental. My Roots & Beyond features a virile and vibrant octet core; a happenin' array of Puerto Rican rhythms and folk elements; and some sassy firepower, including the Cuban born alto saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera on two cuts. Cepeda and his band delve deep into Puerto Rican bomba rhythms lending this CD a weighty authenticity. He and trumpeter Omar Kabir play conch shells at times. Cepeda also employs the 10-string cuatro and verso Negro, a kind of Puerto Rican rap, in English. With snippets of funk and a hot island vibe, this is not quite jazz we’ve heard before, and thank God for that. At least somebody is out there swinging beyond hard-bop nouveau. Karl Stark |
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