Layla Angulo Sextet
Layla Angulo Sextet
(Layla Angulo – 2001)
by Raymond Redmond
Fresh out of Seattle we have Saxophonist Layla Angulo and her sextet. This CD is a collection of original Latin Jazz compositions by Ms. Angulo and percussionist Walter A. Torres. Although all of the tracks are long, ranging from 5:20 to 11:09, the sound is so groovin’ that you never really notice the length of the tunes. I particularly like the track Plum Street for it’s brisk horns and old-school percussion. I think part of the richness of the music on this CD comes from the fact that the sextet is all acoustic with trumpet, piano, upright bass, drums and percussion to go with Layla’s Sax.
The styles on the CD include Bolero-Jazz, Swing, Descarga and others. The CD jacket identifies the style of each track for the uninitiated (me!). Layla is one of few women instrumentalists performing in the Latin Jazz genre today, and may be the only female saxophonist/composer of authentic Afro-Peruvian Jazz. On this CD Angulo wears the hats of artist, composer, aranger and publisher; and she seems to have worn them well. We wish her luck and hope to hear more from this talented young artist/composer in the future.
For more information visit the Layla Angulo Web Site.