Customer Reviews

Live at the Blue Note

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was fortunate to be in the audience the night of this performance in 1988. Dave Valentin and his band were tight. There are two cuts from this CD that take me back to the intimacy of the setting at the Blue Note listening to this wonderful musician cook. "Marcosinho" and "Monkey Buttons" percolate with the intensity created by musicians interacting with each other. This is a must have CD.

Dave Valentin is brilliant! This 5-star gem of breezin' tropical tunes is the perfect romantic accompaniment to a magical interlude on the moon-washed veranda of your island estate!

This is a great live set Dave Valentin and his group recorded dedicating the album to the late great Latin Jazz pianist Jorge Dalto.
Here Dave plays with:
- Lincoln Goines on the Bass
- Bill O'Connell on Piano (like he always does with Dave Valentin)
- Robert Ameen od Drums
and
- Giovanni Hidalgo on Percussion.

Covering some of Dave's compositions as well as many from other great composers like: Mongo Santamaria, Milton Nascimento, Lennon and McCartney, Wayne Shorter, etc. adding like Dave calls it: "Rice and Beans" to these compositions, making them great Latin Jazz tunes.
Very recommendable if you're into Jazz and/or Latin Jazz.

This is a stunning live disc with superb audio quality. The bass is immaculately recorded and the playing is sublime, funky and so tasty. The drumming is very good though conservative, but nothing there to criticize. Dave Valentin is surely one of the very greatest jazz flutists to ever play. Beyond the immaculate tone, technique and innovative conception is an enormous reservoir of cool, and cool is a lot of what jazz flute embodies. I have 4 tracks, namely Monkey Buttons, Columbus Avenue, Mountain Song (solo ethnic flutes with processors), and Shamballa and they are all sensational. I expect many other tracks are also excellent. Valentin sets the bar very high as far as what jazz flute ought to be.