New Music Monday — Joel Ross, Diego Rivera, and Marlos Simon and the Nagual Spirits

On New Music Monday you’ll hear new music from Joel Ross, Diego Rivera, and Marlos Simon and the Nagual Spirits on Monday, February 5 at noon on Lunchtime! with Arturo Gómez.

Joel Ross: “nublues”
Originally from Chicago, the award-winning vibraphonist Joel Ross launched his fourth album. This time out he chose to follow a more friendly listening path as opposed to his previous outings aimed more towards musicians. In 2019 Ross won the DownBeat Critics Poll for best rising star. Joel credits the noted vibe player Stefon Harris for elevating his style of playing the vibes.  Harris heard Ross play and urged him to try out for the Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet, which he won and remained there for 2 years applying the lessons given by Stefon.

For “nublues,” Joel is joined by another stand-out young player, Immanuel Wilkins on alto sax and an up-and-coming rhythm section consisting of Jeremy Corren-piano, Kanoa Mendenhall-bass and Jeremy Dutton-drums.  Ross is currently touring Europe and the US as a member of the 85th Anniversary of Blue Note Quintet and will be playing Dazzle on Thursday, March 7.

Diego Rivera “With Just One Word”
In the 10 years since Diego hit the scene, he has become one of the most well-known and popular saxophonists & composers. Originally from East Lansing, MI, his Mexican heritage became a part of his existence from birth as his parents named him after the famous Mexican muralist of the same name. His career began in 1999 as a member of the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. After a few years of touring the world, he returned home to become an instructor at his hometown’s Michigan State University. While there he launched his recording as a leader career which with this new release now numbers 8 albums. He has also contributed compositions and arrangements for several other recordings for his bandmates and faculty members. Recently, he accepted the offer to become the Director of Jazz Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. His latest session features Austin-based trumpeter extraordinaire, Pete Rodríguez Jr, son of the gifted salsa singer Pete “El Conde”. The other members are Art Hirahara-piano, Luques Curtis-bass and the Front Range’s own, Rudy Royston at the drums.

Marlos Simon and the Nagual Spirits: “On Different Paths”
The veteran drummer and percussionist is the eldest of the 3 Simon brothers playing jazz. This album is the first time all have recorded together in over 20 years! Ed on piano is considered one of the current top players who has accompanied a who’s who of jazz musicians as well as releasing nearly a dozen recordings as a leader. The youngest sibling, Michael is a fine trumpeter who teaches at the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands.

The brothers hail from Punta Cardón, a fishing village on a peninsula of Venezuela on the Caribbean coastline. This new recording is a reflection of their youth, it includes tributes to their parents and to the Venezuelan rhythms they grew up hearing. The three brothers are accompanied by some of the best NYC-based players.

Now in its 21st year of debuting the latest arrivals to the KUVO Jazz library, many of them are played ahead of their official release date. In addition to the music comments, I’ll provide a few tidbits about the artist, if it’s a new or an up-and-coming artist. It all begins at Noon every Monday.

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