Gifts (feat. John Peńa) Alex Acuña

• 1 In Town (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa, Lorenzo Ferrero & Ramón Stagnaro) 05:23
• 2 Postlude (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa, Lorenzo Ferrero, Ramón Stagnaro & Giovanna Clayton) 05:21
• 3 Mercy Mercy (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa, Lorenzo Ferrero & Ramón Stagnaro) 03:46
• 4 Amandote (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa, Lorenzo Ferrero, Ramón Stagnaro & Michael Stever) 05:24
• 5 Chuncho (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa, Lorenzo Ferrero, Ramón Stagnaro, Diana Acuńa & Regina Acuńa) 05:24
• 6 Divina (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa, Lorenzo Ferrero, Ramón Stagnaro & Giovanna Clayton) 05:06
• 7 One Finger Snap (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa, Lorenzo Ferrero, Ramón Stagnaro & Diana Acuńa) 06:46
• 8 Regalo (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa & Ramón Stagnaro) 04:24
• 9 Melancia (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa, Lorenzo Ferrero, Ramón Stagnaro & Diana Acuńa) 04:38
• 10 Aletin Aletin (feat. Otmaro Ruiz, John Peńa, Lorenzo Ferrero, Ramón Stagnaro & Michael Stever) 04:29
• Total Runtime 50:41

Info zu Gifts (feat. John Peńa)

Former Weather Report Drummer Alex Acuña , His First Album as a Leader in 17 Years. Runs a Stylistic Gamut from Funk to Fusion Brazilian Flavored Jazz.

The incredible journey of Alex Acuña has seen the renowned drummer-percussionist travel from his small rural hometown in Peru to being a first-call session drummer in the country's capital city, Lima, then touring the United States with mambo king Pérez Prado, gigging in Las Vegas with Elvis Presley and ultimately touring internationally with Weather Report, the premiere fusion band of the mid-1970s. An in-demand Los Angeles session musician for decades, he has appeared on nearly 900 studio records and movie soundtracks while also releasing half a dozen albums under his own name.

His latest as a leader, the dynamic Gifts, reunites him with his musical cohorts from The Unknowns -- Venezuelan keyboardist Otmaro Ruiz, Peruvian guitarist Ramón Stagnaro and New York City-born, Puerto-Rican-bred bassist John Peña -- that band that Acuña's led on 1990's Thinking of You and 2005's No Accent.

Joined by Peruvian tenor sax powerhouse Lorenzo Ferrero, this gifted and versatile crew runs the stylistic gamut from funk to fusion, soul-jazz, ambient, Latin and Brazilian-flavored jazz on Gifts. "These guys can play more than one style," Acuña said. "And I like to play with musicians that I don't have to tell them what to play. It's fun to play with them. They understand my musical lingo."

Regarding the album title, Acuña said: "I call it Gifts because, first of all, God gave me the gift of music. And then each tune was a gift from some composer friend of mine." To be blessed with such immense talent was truly a gift. And now Acuña is passing on that gift to his many listeners with this heartfelt offering.

Groove is the name of the game on this ten-track set. Opener "In Town" is jaunty as a Fender Rhodes, bumping bassline, and breaking snares create a foundation for the frontline instruments to deliver a sweeping, nearly transcendent lyric line. They rhythm section adds a funky backbeat as Ferrero delivers a pastoral solo. "Postlude" is rendered with lilting instrumental backdrops along the illustrative head, recalling some of early Weather Report's smoother moments. The third track is a cover of WR co-founder Joe Zawinul's immortal "Mercy Mercy Me" composed while a member of Cannonball Adderley's legendary sextet. The Adderley version was a hit single, while this one is deep but fingerpopping, relying more on funky R&B than soul-jazz and offering a killer guitar break from Stagnaro. Other highlights include "Chuncho," a Latin groover with syncopated horn charts, soaring Afro-Cuban chorus vocals from Diana and Regina Acuña, and interlocking percussion from the bandleader. There is also a wonky 12/8 version of Herbie Hancock's early classic "One Finger Snap" (from 1964's Empyrean Isles) with elastic swing provided by Diana's vocal twins with tenor sax as breezy guitar and piano ride above layers of rumbling bass and hand percussion. Clayton's cello takes the lead in "Divina" with glorious asides from Ferrero and Stagnaro. "Regalo" is an atmospheric ballad with sparse yet kaleidoscopic percussion that serves to ground the spectral, shimmering keyboards. On "Melancia" Stagnaro uses a nylon-string guitar in conjuring a breezy samba, as Diana's wordless vocals float above Peña's tumbao bassline while sax and guitar offer a lyric head and melodic fills. Set-closer "Aletin Aletin" weds jazz fusion and slick New York salsa amid a swinging tempo and glorious interplay from the horns. On Gifts, the 77-year-old Acuña is a somewhat reserved bandleader; he never longs for the spotlight. Instead, he has his band carry the message in the music on this wonderfully conceived, expertly performed offering.

Alex Acuña, drums, percussion
Otmaro Ruiz, acoustic piano, keyboards
Ramón Stagnaro, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, Cuban Tres
John Peña, bass
Lorenzo Ferrero, saxophone
Michael Stever, trumpet
Giovanna Clayton, cello
Diana Acuńa, vocals
Regina Acuńa, vocals

Alex Acuña
Born in Pativilca, Peru, 100 miles north of Lima, Alex Acuña was born into a musical family that inspired him and helped shape him as a musician. His father and five brothers were all musicians. Alex taught himself how to play the drums from the age of four. By the time Alex turned ten, he was already playing in local bands. As a teenager, he moved to Lima and became one of Peru's most accomplished session drummers, performing on many recording projects for artists, as well as film and television productions.

In Lima, Alex also earned a glowing reputation for his live performances. So much so, that at the age of eighteen, Alex was chosen by the great Latin band leader, Perez Prado, to join his big band. It was with the Prado band that Alex first traveled to the United States. In 1966, Alex moved to Puerto Rico to work as a studio musician and play locally. During this period, he also studied for three years at the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music, playing as a classical percussionist with the Symphony Orchestra under the direction of the famed Spanish cellist master Pablo Casals.

Alex moved to Las Vegas in 1974, where he played with such greats as Elvis Presley and Diana Ross, Paul Anka Olivia Newton John. Between 1975 and 1977, he made part of jazz history when he became both drummer and percussionist for one of the most innovative and pioneering jazz groups of our time, Weather Report. He first performed as percussionist (October 1975 to April 1976), and later as drummer (April 1976 to October 1977). He recorded two albums with the group: “Black Market” (1976) and the highly successful “Heavy Weather” (1977), which included the famous tracks “Birdland” and “Havona.” “Heavy Weather” became the first jazz-fusion album to sell a million copies.

Alex next moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1978 where he quickly earned the position of a valued session drummer and percussionist for recordings, television and motion pictures. His countless album credits include such diverse artist as U2, Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald, Whitney Houston, Sergio Mendes, Yellow Jackets, Chic Corea, Julio Iglesias, Koinonia, Juan Gabriel, Luis Miguel, Placido Domingo, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul and also has performed with the London Symphony Orchestra, Metropole Orchestra. Alex has also performed live with the likes of Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin Roberta Flack, Antonio Carlos Jobim, The Gipsy Kings, Paco de Lucia, Celia Cruz, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock, Christina Aguilera and Tito Puente, Roy Orbison, Bruce Springsteen, to name a few. Additionally, Alex has recorded film scores under the direction of Dave Grusin, Alan Silvestri, Michele Legrand, Bill Conti, Michele Colombier, Marvin Hamlish, Maurice Jarre, Mark Isham, Michael, Giacchino, John Dabney, John Powell, James Newton Howard, Hans Zimmer, Randy Newman, John Williams, Lalo Schiffrin, and others. He became the recipient of many awards and honors including the Emeritus MVP award from NARAS (National Academy of Recording for the Arts and Sciences) and winner of the "Best Latin/Brazilian Percussionist" of Modern Drummer's Readers Poll for fifteen consecutive years.

Alex's South American and Caribbean roots and understanding of contemporary and classical music make him a complete and skilled master musician. In 2000, Alex Acuña y Su Acuarela De Tambores received a Grammy nomination for “Best Traditional Tropical Latin Album” for "Rhythms for a New Millennium". This solo album included varying styles of Latin, South American and African percussion. The nomination confirmed Alex's vast knowledge and expertise of percussion rhythms. Zan Stewart of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Alex Acuña is the epitome of the world music percussionist, to whom no style is a stranger".

Alex also received two Latin Grammy nominations in 2003. Los Hijos del Sol “To My Country”, which was released by his independent record label – NIDO Entertainment. The second Latin Grammy nomination came for Tolu’s “Bongo de Van Gogh” released by Tonga Productions. In 2004, Alex released his follow up album by Alex Acuña and the Unknowns titled “No Accent”. In addition, Alex has composed music for various artists and produced "Thinking of You" by Alex Acuña and the Unknowns, "Rumberos Poetry" by Tolú and "Aliyah" by Kay Silberling. This year will see the release of some new DVD projects for Drum Channel.

Alex is widely known as an educator, gifted teacher and clinician of drums and percussion. He has recorded four solo instructional videos and provides seminars at universities such as UC Los Angeles, Berklee School of Music in Boston. USC and other top international schools of music. DW Drums, Zildjian Cymbals, GonBops Percussion, Vic Firth, D’Addario - Evans Drums heads Zoom and Shure microphones all sponsor Alex.

He is also credited with the design of Zildjian's "Azuka" line of cymbals, signature Vic Firth sticks and the caddy stick bag, the Alex Acuña line of Signature percussion instruments with GonBops – 4 Special Edition Congas, 5 Cow Bells, Timbales, Bongos and his own Especial Edition Peruvian Cajon.

Innovation, energy and pure heart characterize Alex's playing. It is easy to see why Alex Acuña is one of the most sought after musicians of our time. Alex recognizes his music as a gift from the Lord Jesus and gives all the glory to God!

Dieses Album enthält kein Booklet