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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Razteria

Aventurera

Review by Gary Hill

This is pretty adventurous album. Given the fact that the title translates to that, it makes sense. There are female sung vocals and male raps at various points here. The female voice is present on every track, but the raps show up quite a bit. There are couple songs here in Spanish and one that is bilingual, but the rest are all in English. The music is essentially jazz, but there are world music things, Latin sounds, reggae, hip hop and more present. This is a very strong disc from the beginning to the end, really.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2016  Volume 3 at lulu.com/strangesound.

Track by Track Review
Aventurera

Bass starts this. The cut grows out from there into a jazzy kind of expansive number. It’s a really powerful and rather proggy piece. Yet, it’s also quite accessible. There is some traditional Latin music built into it mid-track, too. The lyrics are in Spanish.

Change
Energized Latin music is the concept here. There are a couple raps built into this. They are in English. Some of the sung vocals are, too. Some of the vocals are in Spanish, though.There are really some soaring moments on this thing.
Life
It’s part jazz, part Latin sounds and part proggy rock. It’s a great tune.
Take My Hand
This has c cool jazzy groove to it. It’s another song with a rap built into it.
Little Sister
This is a bouncy and rather fun tune. It’s built with some reggae in the mix. Some of the keyboard sounds are rather proggy. The vocals on this one are both jazzy.
Once Again
The arrangement here is one of the most dynamic and complex. This song is powerful and compelling. It has hip hop, soul, Latin sound and a lot more. This is one of my favorite tunes here, really.
Zone
I love the bass on this cut. The soaring jazzy musical textures of the piece work really well. There is a cool jazz-like bass solo mid-track that’s cool.
Thankful
The opening of this includes jazzy vocals with no instrumental accompaniment. As the music comes into it, the vocals are still in the same basic style. There is some reggae in the music. The vocals really carry this one.
The World
Folk, jazz and world music merge on this bouncy, energetic tune. I like this one a lot.
Winds
A mellower cut, the guitar brings some reggae to the mix. Overall, though, this is another tasteful jazz piece.
Can't Touch
Latin music and jazz merge on this effective tune. The vocals are more understated, more or less whispered here. They are also in Spanish. This is a very different piece. It’s also one of my favorites here.
Once Again
This is a nice change. It’s a purely acapella piece. Part of it consists of the jazzy sung vocals. Part of it is rap. The end result is a nice bit of variety and rather stunning in a lot of ways. I like this a lot. My only complaint is that it seems to go on a bit too long for my tastes.
 
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