NUEVA MANTECA - CRIME!

© -Steven Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“As indicated earlier, Nueva Manteca, inspired by the work of Jamal, generally approaches songs more as a 'compositional device' which allows for interpretations whereby the song becomes a story comprising edited musical scenes in the form of heads, intros, interludes, solo choruses, outros. Much like film editing. That way each musical scene contributes to the progress of the story of the song.”

Jan Laurens Hartong, Pianist and Founder of Nueva Manteca

There are three things you can always count on with each, new Nueva Manteca recording: [1] the highest quality in musicianship, [2] the best in Latin Jazz rhythms and [3] the application of Latin Jazz to a theme be it the sound track from Broadway Shows such as Porgy and Bess or West Side Story, the music of early Jazz as it might have been performed in Congo Square in New Orleans or Afro-Cuban themes centered around place such a Varadero Beach in Cuba [site of a Jazz Festival with the same name] or Yoruba-influenced catholic mass as in Afro-Cuban Sanctus.

Their latest efforts continues all of these themes in NUEVA MANTECA - CRIME! - live at Net Klooster, Woerden, The Netherlands, 2014 which is available through the Jazz Worldwide and Agency at www.jwajazz.nl.

As always, Jan Laurens Hartong, Nueva Manteca’s founder, pianist and principal arranger provides informative insert notes to each recording as noted below.

"With this recording Nueva Manteca makes you an offer you can't refuse."

A surprisingly big amount of the best film music has been written for Crime movies and TV series. The names of some of its greatest composers immediately come to mind: Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Dave Grusin. This 12 th Nueva Manteca album Crime! could also have been aptly titled 'Salsa y Suspenso’, instrumental Salsa that is. The crime movie genre heightens a viewer's mood and level of anticipation. Essential characteristic elements in its music are: suggestion, shock, surprise and suspense.

Some of these elements are also an essential aspect of the artistry of Ahmad Jamal whose approach appears at times to be similar to that of a film director.

As indicated earlier, Nueva Manteca, inspired by the work of Jamal, generally approaches songs more as a 'compositional device' which allows for interpretations whereby the song becomes a story comprising edited musical scenes in the form of heads, intros, interludes, solo choruses, outros. Much like film editing. That way each musical scene contributes to the progress of the story of the song. A good example of this filmic approach is our arrangement of The Godfather Theme.  An opening melody is stated immediately after which comes a montuno vamp with a conga solo , followed by o return of the initial melody.Then comes the principal theme. An interlude precedes solo sections for trombone and piano and towards the end a new melody appears. It is the beloved refrain melody of the song Caruso, Italy's tribute to the immortal opera singer. All the different parts of the arrangement are edited and so combined to form a whole.

With this approach we have attempted to shed 'new light' on some of the best-known film music.

In addition to the aforementioned The Godfather Theme, Nino Rota's Michael's Theme is presented here as a cha cha cha, it's pensive mood beautifully rendered by our guitarist. A slow Guajira closes the arrangement.

Ciao City, an original composition, was inspired by the great TV series Boardwalk Empire about the rise and fall of Atlantic City

The cop TV show of Baantjer was an instant success in Holland, its main title song "Circle of Smiles" made famous by harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans. If is here presented as a solo piano prelude after which the bond kicks in.

The 'sneaking up behind’ theme song of Baretta - one of the most famous police series of the 70's - challenged us to try some Latin Funk.

The gorgeous "Deborah's Theme" from Once Upon A Time In America is Morricone at his best. Reason enough to keep our version as basic and simple as

possible.

From the West Side Story comes I Like to be in America cast in a catchy arrangement by the inventive pianist Marc Bischoff who gave the melody an intriguing 6/8 twist.

Dave Grusin composed the wonderfully haunting theme song of Mulholland Falls, a crime movie which, strangely enough, never appeared in Dutch movie theaters. Here we used several different grooves for different parts of the 'O Sole Mio, the old immortal Neapolitan song is here performed in a fast-paced arrangement seasoned with contemporary flavor and contrasting nostalgic old-fashioned horn lines. A Cuban-style montuno vamp rounds it all off.

Tatort is a famous European police TV drama which is still running. It's 'in your face' theme song was composed by the nestor of German Jazz saxophone, Klaus Doldinger.

Finally, I extend my heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation to the band members whose unique artistry has made this music come to life”                                                               

Ilja Reijngoud, trombone

Ben van den Dungen, saxes

Ed Verhoeff, guitar

Jeroen Vierdag, bass

Nils Fischer, Latin percussion

Lucas van Merwijk, drums

The following video features the band on - what else? - The Theme From ‘The Godfather.”

Crime - Nueva Manteca - 'Salsa y Suspense'

© -  Steven A. Cerra - copyright protected; all rights reserved.

What more could you ask for than new music from the supremely talented Latin Jazz Band - Nueva Manteca?

Based in Holland, the band has been together for over 25 years and is highly respected in Latin Jazz circles for the authentic way in which they perform Afro-Cuban Jazz rhythms and the consistently high quality of its musicianship.

Over the years of existence, Nueva Manteca has had some personnel changes, particularly on the front line which has changed from a two trumpet and sax format to the current configuration of trombone, sax and guitar.

However, throughout these changes, three musicians have remained to anchor the rhythm section: Jan Laurens Hartong, piano, Nils Fischer, conga and percussion and Lucas van Merwijk, drum set and timbales.

The band has always been tight with a driving, controlled pulse and its cohesive rhythm section is primarily responsible for this and for the lively and energetic sound of the band. One would be hard pressed to find musicians more knowledgeable of the conventions, forms and rhythms of Latin Jazz than Jan Laurens, Lucas and Nils. The are literally an Afro Cuban Jazz tower-of-power.

Having worked with Lucas for many years in other settings, Jeroen Vierdag on bass adds punch and punctuation to the Nueva Manteca’s rhythm section allowing the band to loosen up a bit while he “stays home” with the beat.

Ben van den Dungen has been with the band almost since its inception and his Coltranesque tone on both tenor and soprano sax adds a certain harmonic complexity to the band’s sound. Ben’s very modern approach to improvisation along with that of master trombonist Ilja Reijngoud and the electronic guitar stylings of Ed Verhoeff can be said to be responsible for much of the “sound of nueva” in Nueva Manteca.

You can locate order information about the new CD be going here. It is also available as an Mp3 download at Amazon and at CDBaby.

Here are Jan Laurens Hartong’s insert notes to the new recording.

CRIME

“Nueva Manteca has developed a reputation over the years for its ability to surprise its audience with refreshing different musical points-of-departure.

As so it is once again with its new project called Crime which consists of Afro Cuban arrangements of themes from famous crime and gangster music. Can you imagine the theme of the Godfather in a Cuban rumba Guaguancó? This approach creates music that you immediately recognize but have never heard played in this manner. A perfect combination of recognition and surprise!

NUEVA MANTECA - CRIME! was recorded in performance at Hef Klooster, Woerden, The Netherlands, 2014.

Jan Laurens Hartong, the group’s founder, pianist and primary composer-arranger contributed these inserts notes to the latest CD.

"With this recording Nueva Manteca makes you an offer you can't refuse."

A surprisingly large amount of the best film music has been written for Crime movies and TV series. The names of some of its greatest composers immediately come to mind: Ennio Morricone, Nino Rota, Dave Grusin. This 12th Nueva Manteca album Crime! could also have been aptly titled 'Salsa y Suspense' instrumental Salsa that is. The crime movie genre heightens a viewer's mood and level of anticipation. Essential characteristic elements in its music are: suggestion, shock, surprise and suspense.

Some of these elements are also an essential aspect of the artistry of Ahmad Jamal whose approach appears at times to be similar to that of a film director.

As indicated earlier, Nueva Manteca, inspired by the work of Jamal, generally approaches songs more as a 'compositional device' which allows for interpretations whereby the song becomes a story comprised of edited musical scenes in the form of heads, intros, interludes, solo choruses, outros. Much like film editing. In this way each musical scene contributes to the progress of the story of the song.

A good example of this filmic approach is our arrangement of The Godfather theme. An opening melody is stated immediately after which comes a montuno vamp with a conga solo , followed by a return of the initial melody. Then comes the principal theme. An interlude precedes solo sections for trombone and piano and towards the end a new melody appears. It is the beloved refrain melody of the song "Caruso" Italy's tribute to the immortal opera singer. All the different parts of the arrangement are edited and so combined to form a whole.

With this approach we have attempted to shed 'new light' on some of the best-known Crime film music.

In addition to the The Godfather theme, Nino Rota's "Michael's Theme" from Coppola’s film masterpiece is presented here as a cha cha cha; its pensive mood beautifully rendered by our guitarist. A slow Guajira closes the arrangement.

Ciao City, an original composition, was inspired by the great TV series BoardWalk Empire about the rise and fall of Atlantic City.

The cop TV show of Baantjer was an instant success in Holland, its main title song "Circle of Smiles" made famous by harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans, It is here presented as a solo piano prelude after which the band kicks in.

The 'sneaking-up-from-behind' theme song of Baretta - one of the most famous police series of the 70's - challenged us to try some Latin Funk.

The gorgeous Deborah's Theme from the film Once Upon A Time In America is Morricone at his best. Reason enough to keep our version as basic and simple as

possible.

From the West Side Story comes I like to be in America cast in a catchy arrangement by the inventive pianist Marc Bischoff who gave the melody an intriguing 6/8 twist.

Dave Grusin composed the wonderfully haunting theme song of Mulholland Falls, a crime movie which, strangely enough, never appeared in Dutch movie theaters. Here we used several different grooves for different parts of the song.

'O Sole Mio, the old immortal Neapolitan song is here performed in a fast-paced arrangement seasoned with contemporary flavor and contrasting nostalgic old-fashioned horn lines. A Cuban-style montuno vamp rounds it all off.

Tatort is a famous European police TV drama which is still running. It's 'in your face' theme song was composed by the nestor of German Jazz saxophone, Klaus Doldinger.

Finally, I extend my heartfelt thanks and deep appreciation to the band members whose unique artistry has made this music corne to life.

Many thanks also go to Michel BAM Grens initiator/producer/director/editor/grading/authoring and Jan-Willem Stekelenburg recording sound engineer for believing in us and making this production possible.

Hope you like our album as much as we enjoyed making it.”

Jan Laurens Hartong

Credits:

I like to be in America arranged by Marc Bischoff

The Godfather theme arranged by Jan Hartong in cooperation with pianist Piero Bianculli.

All other arrangements by Jan Hartong

Line up Nueva Manteca            

Jan Laurens Hartong - piano    

Ben van den Dungen - sax       

llja Reijngoud - trombone        

Ed Verhoeff - guitar                  

Jeroen Vierdag - bass              

Nils Fischer - percussion          

Lucas van Merwijk - drums      

Nueva Manteca at 25

© -  Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

“Inspired by the work of the great Ahmad Jamal we generally approach songs more as a 'compositional device' which allows for interpretations whereby the song becomes a 'story' comprising edited musical scenes in the form of heads, intros, interludes, vamps, solo choruses, outros. Much like film editing. That way each musical scene contributes to the progress of the story of the song. Arranging becomes composing. We feel that with this approach we have created our own niche in the Latin world.”

“One of the appealing and distinctive aspects of Nueva Manteca's albums has been the way we tried to "shed new light' on the above-mentioned material, translating it into Latin Jazz, synthesizing the Afro Caribbean traditions with Jazz and European Classical music.”

- JAN LAURENS HARTONG, creator, Nueva Manteca

The music of the Latin Jazz band Nueva Manteca has intrigued me for many years, not least because they are so reminiscent of the Cuban Latin Jazz group Irakere, whose music created a lasting impression on me after I first heard it on their Columbia Records Newport Jazz Festival LP.

[Some of you may recall that Irakere was the band that first brought alto saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera and trumpeter Arturo Sandoval to the attention of Jazz audiences both in the USA and abroad.]

Chucho Valdes, a monster keyboard player, was the leader of Irakere and he created much of that band’s “personality” by the attention he paid to infusing his arrangements with elements of other styles of music while staying true to the forms of rhythm that were native to the Afro-Cuban tradition.

Dutch Pianist Jan Laurens Hartong assumed a role similar to that of Chucho’s when he established the Latin Jazz ensemble Nueva Manteca 25 years ago and gave its music a similar distinctiveness adding elements of Bebop and Modern Jazz phrasings to Latin Jazz themes, motifs and rhythms through the many intriguing arrangements he wrote for the band.

In celebration of its 25th anniversary Nueva Manteca recently issued Nueva Manteca Live! 25 Years, a self-produced double CD available through Jazz World Music and Agency. You can locate more information about this CD, the group and all of its recordings via this link or via www.nuevamanteca.nl.

Each CD is comprised of a live performance: [1] the first features a January 6, 1994 date that was recorded at Nick Vollebrecht’s Jazzcafe in Laren, The Netherlands and [2] and the second offers a January 5, 2013 recording from a concert at The Bimhuis in Amsterdam.

In 1994 the line-up consisted of two trumpets, tenor saxophone, piano, bass and four percussionists led by the marvelous drummer Lucas van Merwijk and the tumbadora Nils Fischer while in 2013 Lucas and Nils remained as does the piano and bass, but the front-line has been augmented and now consists of trombone, tenor sax, guitar and Hammond B-3 organ.

The addition of guitarist Ed Verhoeff on guitar makes possible the group’s exploration of the music of Carlos Santana which it does with its interpretations of five of Santana’s originals at the Bimhuis concert.

Tenor saxophonist Ben van den Dungen is also a constant between the two manifestations of Nueva Manteca and he’s added his virtuosity on soprano saxophone to the current edition of Nueva Manteca.

Of course, throughout its many iterations, Jan Laurens Hartong, who founded the group in 1983 lends continuity and constant creativity through his compelling arrangements of everything from Broadway shows such as West Side Story and Porgy and Bess to Jazz standards that include Victor Feldman’s Seven Steps to Heaven and Wayne Shorter’s Speak No Evil.

If you are a fan of Latin Jazz, you owe it to yourself to check out Nueva Manteca

Here’s more about Nueva Manteca and Nueva Manteca Live! 25 Years from the insert notes to the latest recording as written by Jan Laurens Hartong:

“Inspired by developments in the 70's and 80's when Latin Music became a rage under the name of Salsa, an 8-piece Latin Jazz group was formed in Rotterdam , the Netherlands in 1988. Some of us had been inspired by groups such as the Fort Apache band, Afro-Cuba and Irakere. Study travels to Cuba had been undertaken to work with masters such as Emiliano Salvador and Oscarito Valdes(Afro Cuba). As a result, the Cuban concept of using the drumset in combination with percussion was adopted by Nueva Manteca. The new band based itself on the Cubop style with the purpose of expanding it in a multilateral way, hence the adjective nueva . Since its formation, Nueva Manteca has been fortunate to be able to build a large following in Europe, the USA and Latin America. The music took us to many places including the USA, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Trinidad, Curacao and many European countries. An absolute highlight was the honorable invitation we received to perform on the closing night of the 2004 Puerto Rico Heineken Jazz Fest where we were introduced as ' Europe's ambassadors of Latin Jazz'.

We initiated a unique state-sponsored concert series entitled "Nueva Manteca meets the legends", performing in the prestigious concert halls of Holland, including the world-famous Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. The series was breaking new ground for Latin Music. Over the years we had the privilege to host such respected players as Nicky Marrero, Armando Peraza, Giovanni Hidalgo , Orestes Vilato, Ralph Irizarry, Luis Conte, Bobby Sanabria, Dave Valentin, Claudio Roditi and Juancito Torres.

Our recordings, 9 in total, so far have been very well received from the start internationally.

The release of the CD "Let’s Face the Music and Dance" on the Blue Note label (1996) was a milestone, marking the first major-label signing of a European Latin Jazz group.

Already since 1993 Nueva Manteca had begun to produce thematic projects such as Porgy & Bess, My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Congo Square: Tribute to the music of New Orleans), Tango Con Clave Tribute to Astor Piazzolla) , Chicano Rock, arranging a wide variety of compositions which provided different kinds of musical challenges.

In addition to our instrumental music we created 2 religious works featuring vocalists - Misa Afro Cuban Sanctus and Requiem Para El Mundo which we successfully performed in Israel with top singers of that country.

One of the appealing and distinctive aspects of Nueva Manteca's albums has been the way we tried to "shed new light' on the above-mentioned material, translating it into Latin Jazz, synthesizing the Afro Caribbean traditions with Jazz and European Classical music.

Inspired by the work of the great Ahmad Jamal we generally approach songs more as a 'compositional device' which allows for interpretations whereby the song becomes a 'story' comprising edited musical scenes in the form of heads, intros, interludes, vamps, solo choruses, outros. Much like film editing. That way each musical scene contributes to the progress of the story of the song. Arranging becomes composing. We feel that with this approach we have created our own niche in the Latin world. Kudos must go to all the great guys who have been part of the Nueva Manteca family, past and present. Without your contribution and talent all of the above could not have been accomplished.

This 25th anniversary 2-CD package presents music and musicians from past and present and is dedicated to colleagues all over the world who keep Latin Jazz alive and kicking.

• JAN LAURENS HARTONG”

The following video captures some of the excitement of the group in performance at The Bimhuis and features the Santana Evil Ways track from the 2013 concert at The Bimhuis.

Porgy and Bess Goes Latin - Nueva Manteca

© -  Steven A. Cerra, copyright protected; all rights reserved.

For background information regarding the PORGY AND BESS GOES LATIN phase of our continuing theme of Jazz interpretations of the Gershwin opera, the editorial staff at JazzProfiles thought these insert notes from Nueva Manteca which was released by the Dutch-based Latin Jazz group in 1994 [Lucho 7714-2] might prove helpful.

“The idea of performing the gorgeous songs from Gershwin's masterwork 'Porgy and Bess' in a jazz format has been realized often in a most convincing way. One only has to think of the deeply moving version by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong with the Russ Garcia Orchestra or that other classic: The Miles Davis-Gil Evans collaboration. Remarkably enough a Porgy and Bess album has never been recorded in a Latin version.

George Gershwin himself loved jazz and greatly admired Thomas 'Fats' Waller and Art Tatum. He also had a deep interest in what we nowadays call 'World Music'. In 1932 he embarked for Havana, Cuba. Enjoying the good life, Gershwin found Cuba 'most interesting, especially for its small dance orchestras who play most intricate rhythms most naturally', as he wrote to a friend upon his return.

Inspired by his short visit to Cuba, Gershwin wrote the symphonic work 'Rumba'. According to his own words, in Rumba “... [he] endeavoured to combine the Cuban rhythms with his own original thematic material.” On the title page of the score Gershwin instructed that the players of four of the Cuban instruments he had brought back from Cuba — bongos, gui'ro, maracas and claves — should be placed in front of the conductor's stand, visible to the audience.

In 1934 Gershwin made another field trip. This time he travelled from New York to Charleston, South Carolina. His purpose was to visit the setting of his opera 'Porgy and Bess'. He also wanted to meet the people about whom librettist, DuBose Heyward, had written. From Charleston, Gershwin took the ferry to Folly Island. This island belongs to the group of Georgia Sea Islands. The Afro-American inhabitants speak the Gullah dialect with a vocabulary comprising some four thousand words. This dialect seems of West African derivation.

Although Gershwin found himself in a totally foreign environment far away from the glitter of Broadway, he immensely enjoyed 'going native' and immersed himself in the social and musical life. He frequently attended prayer meetings, participating in the so called 'Ring Shout'. The Ring Shout is a shuffling dance in anticlockwise direction accompanied by complex rhythmic patterns beaten out by feet and hands. Ring Shouts are a familiar characteristic of the 'Sanctified' and 'Pentecostal' churches and are believed to be derived from West African dances. The term 'shout' possibly stems from an Arabic word 'saut', said to be used by West African Muslim pilgrims to indicate the procession around the Kaaba [sacred Black Stone] in Mecca [Saudi Arabia].

Gershwin's friends discovered that the summer of 1934 spent on the Sea Islands was to the composer more like a homecoming than an exploration. The big city songs and the pulse of New York had found their counterpart in the haunting spirituals and body rhythms of the Gullah People. Gershwin had come under the spell of World Music, his masterworks 'Rumba' and 'Porgy and Bess' being the lasting reflection of it.

SUITE PORGY AND BESS GO LATIN - All compositions by George Gershwin.

All tracks arranged by Jan Laurens Hartong except nos. 2 & 6. 'Summertime' arranged by Ben van den Dungen. 'Bess, you is my woman now' arranged by Ben van den Dungen and Jarmo Hoogendijk.

NUEVA MANTECA:

JAN IAURENS HARTONG Piano,leader

TOON DE GOUW Trumpet

JARMO HOOGENDUK Trumpet

BEN VAN DEN DUNGEN Saxophones

BOUDEWIJN LUCAS Acoustic bass, bass guitar

LUCAS VAN MERWIJK Drums & percussion, bata drum (Itotele)

MARTIN VERDONK Tumbadora, quinto, chekere, bata drums (Yia ami Okoukole)

NILS FISCHER Timbales, conga's, bongo's and bata drums

guest; ALAOR SCARES Brazilian percussion

The following video features the group’s unique Overture to their Latin Jazz version of Porgy and Bess: