This Is Book's Music

Upon looking at the cover for Thomas Lorenzo Quartet‘s Spanish Breeze (Barcelona Music), I expected it to be some nice and smooth Latin jazz. Boy was I wrong. Instead, guitarist Lorenzo jams, bobs, and weaves around some incredible jazz that sounds a bit like Prince when he was doing the Madhouse albums, but with the focus on him and not Eric Leeds‘ saxophone.

Lorenzo is very much influenced by Pat Metheny and has some of that John McLaughlin intensity without sounding like him. He calls this “Mediterranean Jazz” and one website called it smooth jazz but if more smooth jazz was like this, I’d listen more. “Giggles And Whispers” also has a Carlos Santana vibe to it, from his late 70′s Marathon period (think “Aqua Marine”).

Lorenzo’s quartet features Walfredo Reyes Jr. of Santana’s band, Weather Report alumni Alphonso Johnson, and Dave Garfield, who has performed with countless jazz musicians. They sound like studio rats, very confident of their musicianship and the way they interact with other musicians, and this would be great to listen to on a Sunday morning or on those long drives when you need a bit of a push for the long haul.

Remember when the Weather Channel used to play jazz during breaks, and occasionally you’d hear something and wonder who the hell it is? Spanish Breeze is that kind of album that combines the best of that style of jazz that doesn’t go into freak out more or make you fall into crepe batter. It’s a very fine album.

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