Rarely does an ensemble come along that has its own vision, one that is rooted in the music the members heard around them and grew up with, yet is still original in conception. That is truly the case with the Montalban Quintet. One of the first to incorporate indie music conceptualizations placed within jazz frameworks, this ensemble has staked out a unique path.
All of the tunes are mixed into each other, with the result being a non-stop stream of music that doesn’t really change from one track to the next as evolve. Occasionally extramusical devices are thrown into the barrage, like caterwauls and half-valve wails from the trumpet on “Abajo del Mar” or non-defined beat oriented Miles Davis-ish Pangeae-like grooves as on “Lonnie’s Lament.” This is challenging music, to say the least, that both rewards and, upon completion of listening, leaves more questions asked than answered. This might be the most original music you’ll listen to this year, if you have courage to walk down this road. It’s not really about arriving as much as it is about the trip.
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