Album Notes

Trumpeter and composer Gabriel Alegría has developed a unique form of World Jazz that combines his distinctive approach to the jazz trumpet with the rich heritage of Afro-Peruvian music. Visit www.gabrielalegria.com.

Alegria’s Afro-Peruvian Sextet features saxophonist Laurandrea Leguía; acoustic guitarist Yuri Juárez; bassist Joscha Oetz, drummer Hugo Alcázar and master percussionist Freddy “Huevito” Lobatón, who plays the traditional Afro-Peruvian instruments cajón (box drum) and quijada (jaw bone) and adds spectacular passages of zapateo dancing on the track Piano de Patio.

Alegria and his Afro-Peruvian Sextet are joined on this recording by renowned American jazz artists Bobby Shew, Russell Ferrante, Tierney Sutton and Bill Watrous.

The band tours the world spreading the love and joy found in Afro-Peruvian jazz music.

A native of Lima, Peru, Gabriel Alegria is the founder and artistic director of Jazz Peru Internacional (JPI), the premier jazz arts and cultural exchange organization in his homeland and producer of the annual Festival Internacional Jazz Peru. Alegria was recently named Associate Director of the Jazz Studies Program at New York University and has been living in New York City since September 2007.

Comments about Gabriel's artistry:

Gabriel’s a wonderful trumpet player and composer creating a sound few people have heard. Very Fresh! – Maria Schneider

Gabriel is a talented and inspired leader and a positive force in the Peruvian Jazz movement. -- Ron Carter

I can’t help but be impressed with Gabriel. He brings a whole lot of great music to the table. – Bill Watrous

Incredible! We Americans sometimes have a bastardized idea of Latin Music. It is great to get this information straight from the source and presented the way it is supposed to be. – Christian McBride