Album Notes

Puerto Rican saxophonist Abdiel Flores is premiering his first soloist production titled “He Watches Over Me”. The album is a compilation of traditional hymns with musical arrangements based on jazz rhythms and harmonies with Latin influences.

This new release involves the collaboration of a select group of local and international veteran jazz players. Among them, the bassist Ramón Vázquez, pianist Yan Carlos Artime, guitarist Isaac Lausell, bassist Elías Santos, and drummer Leobadis González.

According to Flores, the purpose of this recording is “to present a repertoire of traditional hymns that are not only interpreted in the jazz genre, but at the same time, carry a message of hope to a world in need”.

Classic lyrics, such as “His Eye is on the Sparrow”, “I Surrender All”, “Great is Thy Faithfulness”, “In the Garden” are included in the repertoire of this new musical release.

Abdiel Flores was part of the first generation of students of Jazz and Afro-Caribbean Music Program of the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music. At that time, he had the opportunity of studying and playing with great teachers like Eddie Gómez, David Sánchez, Marco Pignataro, Luis “Perico” Ortiz, Ricardo Pons, and Luis Marín, among others. In the meantime, the young artist was part of the Berklee workshops in Puerto Rico, where he received the Outstanding Musician Award for some of his interpretations, and a grant to study in the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.