Music Ramble: Miguel Zenon
Miguel Zenon: Yo Soy La Tradicion
(Miel Music)
Addictive listening, pure and simple. Miguel Zenon’s been tending this patch for a while – merging jazz and classical with his Puerto Rican heritage, and the result is accessible, sometimes beautiful, sometimes bracing, often profound, always intriguing, and just plain listenable. He studied classical saxophone at the music conservatory in Puerto Rico, and that has to put him in a rare and idiosyncratic category – I mean, classical saxophone? But it all makes sense when you hear it. Rarely do the two forms mingle so naturally, with no sense of square pegs and oblong holes. Think Piazzolla meets Moondog with Stan Getz’s Focus lurking in the shadows, Zenon’s created something new, with the only problem being where to file it. It’s a nice problem.
David Royko
Music Rambles
October, 2018