Customer Reviews

Tata Monk

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I first heard this CD, I put it on with the intention of listening to it while going about the apartment. But after listening to only the first few minutes of the first track I couldn't bring myself to do anything else but listen--this music is GREAT!!!

Alex De Grassi and Quique Cruz have done an exceptional job at combining two very interesting yet complex types of music--jazz and andean rythms. The result is a wonderfully interesting and powerful new sound that gave me a new appreciation of what jazz can sound like.

At a time when there are so many new music fusions, especially with jazz, this album is truly at the forefront, leading the way for other music of this genre to follow.

I am a college student and have played this CD for my friends who loved it as well, but I also brought it home for the weekend and played it for my parents--they're big Alex De Grassi fans. They were surprised as it was not what they expected from De Grassi, but were very enthusiastic about the new sound--they had never heard anything like it!

I encourage anyone who wants to stay on top of the ever-changing jazz frontier to buy this CD, and also for those who just want to hear something new--you can't go wrong with this album.

I've been a long time fan of Alex de Grassi's guitar work and was quite intrigued to check out this new collaboration with Chilean instrumentalist Quique Cruz. Tatamonk, of course, finds de Grassi in top form but, much to my surprise, is also filled with a whole array of exotic Andean instruments such as charangos, kenas, kenachos, antara, toyos, ronroco, rondador and sikus. Piano, bass, drums and brass compliment all of these instruments and the results are scintillating! This CD has a whole array of soundscapes from "Auscencia" which incorporates a breathtaking melody to "Alba" which has a smoky bluesy feel to it to "Sanchaly" which is a tour de force that unites traditional South American rhythms with contemporary jazz improvisation. All in all, Tatamonk is a tasty fusion of North meets South.

The first thing I thought when I first listened to this CD was that I couldn't decide whether it was transporting me to a cool smoked filled jazz club somewhere in New York or to the fresh pungent mists of the Andes and then I realized that it was actually taking me both places at once! What a trip!
I think that in this CD one could find so many different moods and so many different atmospheres, the joy of the fiesta as well as the quiet melancholy of the days gone by, the rush of a flight over the highest peaks as well as the peace of just being still and allowing oneself to be embraced by music...and what music! The old and the new, tradition and innovation greet each other in the perfect blend, in which the whisper of a flute marries the tingle of a jazz piano and everything just sounds totally new and totally unique!
I feel privileged to have been allowed to enter the mystical world of Mr. De Grassi and Mr. Cruz!

Traditional andean music and jazz may sound like a clumsy blend, but the mix really suceeds on Tata Monk, lending a fresh perspective to both genres. When you listen to Tata Monk, you can simulataneously envision yourself in a smoke-filled basement bar with a lone piano player or gasping for breath atop an Andean peak, but the music doesn't suffer from a split personality and does both genres justice. The whole effort sounds fresh and complete, carving out a sound quite different from the genres I have to resort to describe it. It sounds truly new and different- Tata Monk always draws a lot of people into my dorm room whenever I play it. Pop this in at your next quiet party and you'll feel much cooler than your friends with their Buena Vista Social Club spinoffs and 40 year old jazz reissues. Its a very beautiful work.

Wow! This unique meeting of Bolivian music using Alex De Grassi's acoustic guitar, and Quique Cruz's Andean flutes and Andean stringed instruments, combined with a lightly swinging jazz piano trio is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. The recording is excellent which makes for a wonderful treat. If you like Bolivian or Peruvian music and jazz then this is the CD for you!

I really, really like this CD - it is world music with a very metropolitan twist - very peaceful and yet spirited. You won't be dissapointed.

Fantastic music - an appealing combination of jazz and South American rhythms - the mix of instruments and sounds is unique. I really enjoyed the rich textures they produced. These musicians blend their musical and cultural heritages to bring us a very special CD and it's one that I'll be playing for a long time to come.

As I listen to this album, I'm transported to another place.

This is a terrific record, right in tune with the millennium.

When Alex De Grassi records SOLO guitar, its THE most beautifull music in the world. I strongly reccomend these albums: "Slow Circle", "Southern Exposure", "The Water Garden" or the Windham Hill "Retrospect" which is the "greatest hits" compilation.

De Grassi was a WindHam Hill Pioneer and helped set the standard for impressionistic solo guitar and all its fresh, innovative beauty. Its amazing genius.

All of which, is not on this collaborative, jazzy effort...bummer.