If you are a fan of the piano trio. I think you will love ALEGRIA. I know I do.
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Shelly Berg – Piano; Carlitos Del Puerto – Bass; Dafnis Prieto – Drums; Melvin Butler – Tenor Saxophone (tracks 5 & 10)
Track 5 Background vocals – Shelly Berg, Carlitos Del Puerto, Danis Prieto, Julia Berg, Melvin Butler, Brian Camelio, Gary Galimidi, Dayne Dupree
A Spanish word for joy is alegria. Pianist Shelly Berg picked that name for his new album, and it could not be more appropriate. Berg, bassist Carlitos Del Puerto, and drummer Danis Prieto’s ALEGRIA embodies buoyant joy. You won’t find any brooding introspection here; the trio’s gleeful energy wouldn’t allow it. After hearing the first few notes of the album I was reminded of one of the greatest jazz trios, the Oscar Peterson Trio.
Shelly Berg has an amazing musical pedigree. He is an award-winning pianist, composer, and arranger. He has performed, recorded and arranged for jazz vocalists Patti Austin, Nancy Wilson, Bobby McFerrin, Kurt Elling, Carmen Bradford, Tierney Sutton, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Lizz Wright, Cassandra Wilson, Lorraine Feather, and Dionne Warwick. He has served as dean of the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and as a professor at USC’s Thornton School. He has collaborated with many of the jazz greats, including Gloria Estefan, Arturo Sandoval, Pharrell Williams, and so many others. The All Music Guide states “Shelly Berg is one of the finest pianists around in the early 21st century playing modern mainstream jazz.”
The first thing you hear in Berg’s composition ‘Home Without You’ is the big fat beautiful tone from Carlitos Del Puerto’s bass and the tasty drumming of Dafnis Prieto. The melody is gorgeous, and Berg’s piano playing is elegant. I like the way ALEGRIA was recorded. All three instruments sound equally present.
Del Puerto is a Grammy Award winning bassist, composer, and arranger from Cuba. He has played and recorded with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Celia Cruz, Don Grusin, Gloria Gainer, Paquito De Rivera, Chucho Valdez, Danilo Perez, and Jane Bunnett, to name a few. Also from Cuba, Dafnis Prieto has recorded ten albums as leader and many more as a sideman. His many awards and honors include a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. He has worked in bands led by Michel Camilo, Chucho and Beto Valdez, Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, Eddie Palmieri, Roy Hargrove, Don Byron, and Andrew Hill, among others.
Berg said he wrote the slow bossa nova ‘Marina Sunset’ while sitting on the deck of his new home in Marina Del Rey. All three members radiate so much dynamic energy that i wonder how they manage to blend it all together so seamlessly.
The whimsically named ‘Meatballs and Apple Pie’ is a nod to Ramsey Lewis featuring special guest Melvin Butler on some really cool tenor saxophone. If you remember Lewis’s ’The “In” Crowd’ with the clapping and the background vocals, you’ll find the same vibe here as well.
The title song, ‘Alegria’ has an infectious Latin-tinged swing. Berg made an arrangement of the Beatles ‘I’ll Follow the Sun’ after his father passed away.
There are a lot of Berg videos on YouTube. He always has a big smile. His right foot is over the pedals, in case he needs them, but his left foot is always dancing. It looks like he could kick the piano stool away and do a Fred Astaire. He exudes happiness.
If you are a fan of the piano trio. I think you will love ALEGRIA. I know I do.
