Marco Pignataro's Almas Antiguas

Another day, another jazz masterpiece from Zoho Records.

This one, from tenor and soprano saxophone player Marco Pignataro, focuses on one thing--melody. We're not just talking about pretty songs here, but rather an overall sound that is incredibly engaging and gorgeous and will make you sit up in your listening chair and say "Wow, this is truly beautiful jazz." Pignataro is based in Boston, but Almas Antiguas ("old souls") chronicles his Puerto Rican and Italian heritage to create a lush romantic sound that leans heavily on both Mediterranean and Latin rhythms. It's not easy to conjure up these influences with "just" a saxophone, but his playing is sensitive to these folk traditions and winds up being more than convincing.

On the opener, Teo Ciavarella and Flavio Piscopo's "Panarea," his evocative playing inserts a Middle Eastern sensibility that is both exotic and devoted to jazz traditions--just think, once again, of "Caravan" and how that classic opens up a whole new world to lovers of jazz. Can he accomplish all this with just a saxophone? Well, he has plenty of help with an adventurous quintet that includes drummer Adam Cruz, pianist Alan Pasqua, bassist Eddie Gomez and tenor saxophonist George Garzone. Cruz, in particular, is kinetic and almost impossibly dynamic and acts as Pignataro's right-hand man through this mix of original compositions and standards such as "Alfonsina Y El Mar" and "Samba Em Preludio." Much of Zoho's current catalog digs deep into Brazilian jazz, but Almas Antiguas broadens those horizons considerably by adding both European and African touches.

"This CD is about roots from the Mediterranean, and how jazz can become this lens that absorbs all these different colors," Pignataro explains, "through which you can create a new sound and bring out your cultural identity." I've heard many of these jazz albums in the last couple of years, and usually that means you need a working knowledge of those cultural idiosyncracies to understand what is being put where, and why. Pignataro encapsulates this complex approach in something so breathtakingly lush that you can coast along without thinking. You're completely under his spell even as he shifts gears and plunges into a quieter and more dramatic sound, such as when Gomez pulls out his bow and works in harmony with the others, creating a seductive new layer to the voices here.

It's important to point out the wonderful chemistry in this quintet, the way they can closely follow Pignataro's personal visions for each song and make them come alive with meaning. Each member is regarded as a virtuoso, but this is the first time they've playing together as a unit. As usual, I have to throw in a mention of the sound quality here--Zoho always does a remarkable job of making everything sound lifelike, spontaneous and natural. Almas Antiguas becomes a first-among-equals in the Zoho catalog--it's a great starting point for anyone who wants to investigate this thrilling indie label and discover how they're keeping jazz from all over the world in front of deserving audiences.