Corina Bartra Afro Peruvian Jazz Celebration

A JOYOUS CELEBRATION
This CD includes recordings Corina did in Peru with some of the musicians she has worked for the last 9 years and tracks she recorded here in New York with top-notch players she has performed and recorded with these past years.
Afro-Peruvian rhythms and jazz. Spanish and English lyrics. Music from North America and South America. Originals and classics. Corina Bartra’s restless exploration of diverse musical idioms and locales over many years has now evolved beyond study and mastery of these forms into something new, in her fifth CD. To a celebration that synthesizes all she has learned from a lifelong engagement with the music she loves. Afro Peruvian Jazz Celebration embraces the driving rhythms of South American music—the lando, the festejo, the baiao—and links them with the ballads and standards of American jazz to make a joyous combination of the indigenous music of her native Peru and her adopted New York City. This celebration draws you right into the swirling movement of joyous music. Revel in the Peruvian moment with incessantly swinging tunes like “No Valentin” and “Chacombo.” Then switch to jazz standard like “Stella by Starlight” or Corina’s own originals, “You Took Me by Surprise” and “I Won’t Regret a Moment.” As with her previous Afro-Peruvian jazz CDs—Corina Bartra Quartet, Travel Log, Son Zumbon, and Bambu Sun, Corina has assembled a world-class set of musicians from both Peru and New York (including Cliff Korman, piano, Vince Cherico, drums, and Perico Diaz, cajon) whose virtuoso talent and infectious enthusiasm turn this spectacular music into a celebration of life, love and eternal rhythm.

--MARK FOGARTY, author of WENT TO SEE THE GYPSY

Listen to selected MP3's of Afro Peruvian Jazz Celebration

La Flor de la Canela
ground breaking fusion of Jazz and Peruvian Coastal music.

Chacombo
Ground breaking fusion of Jazz and Afro Peruvian music.

You Don't Know what Love is
Classic Jazz Standard in a contemporary Afro Peruvian arrangement.

You Took me by Surprise
Corina's original with Afro Peruvian grooves. Instrumental & vocal.

Corina Bartra Bambu Sun

Corina Bartra new CD represents a look both back and forward in musical direction. The new album is both a return to the Peruvian artist Afro-Peruvian jazz roots after two wonderful chanting/meditation records, and a look forward to joyful and rewarding musical days ahead.

Bambu Sun reflects a bright and joyous spirit that consolidates the artist pioneering incorporation of Afro-Peruvian and New Latin undercurrents into her own personal creation. Fans of Corina previous jazz CDs, Corina Bartra Quartet, Son Zumbon and Travel Log, will find she has even revisited a couple of the key songs on those records, holding them up to the light of a Bambu sun to find new meanings. It is great to hear Peace Loving People Are on the Rise and its timeless message in a new version.

As always, Corina fronts top-rate musicians like Rufus Reid, Jay Rodriguez, Cliff Corman and Vince Cherico, and their support of her mix of originals (like uajira Son and ol Azabache and covers (Wayne Shorter, Lennon/McCartney) is outstanding. Listen hard and you can hear a lot of things on Bambu Sun: bits of bebop, the complicated rhythms of Peru, energetic male voices on choruses or just exclaiming behind the music (the recording sessions must have been fun). It is really impressive and also the first time to hear in a jazz recording two cajon players playing counterpoint rhythms together on ajoral.
Let hope there is nothing but bambu sun for this engaging artist from now on!
-MARK FOGARTY

Listen to Selected MP3's of Bambu Sun:

Afro Peruvian Folk Song
Ground breaking fusion of jazz and Afro Peruvian music.

Guajira Son
One of Corina's original compositions with a cha-cha groove.

Peace Loving People are on the rise
Soulfull ballad Corina wrote to inspire world peace.

Corina Bartra - SON ZUMBON - CD Release

Corina Bartra Son Zumbon

Afroperuvian music is how Corina Bartra describes the kind of music she makes. Actually, I think there's more to it than that- a cross cultural mix of American jazz, traditional Peruvian song, African rhythm, and more performed with passion and assuredness by a very strong ensemble of musicians.

Corina Bartra, a native of Peru living in NY City, has released her new CD SON ZUMBON bringing to fruition many years of musical study and collaboration that make her strong singing seem effortless and pure. This music flies right through the head, down through the heart and lifts the spirit. Mark Fogarty summed it up this way:

Spanish and English, Latin and American, African and Peruvian with blues and jazz thrown in these songs are a potent and poignant mix of heart and mind and soul, and a big step forward for Corina Bartra.

THE SONGS

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Latino Blues
This original song by Ms. Bartra is sung includes English lyrics and is just what the title says it is if you can imagine that!

Green Dolphin Street
I love the way this track is performed on this CD- fresh air for an old standard

Alcatrachu
This track is a blend of two Festejos and features some very unusual Afroperuvian rhythms- really marvelous and magical!

RECENT REVIEWS

- Jazz Times:
"Bartra is influenced by Afro-Peruvian music, American Jazz, and the scatting of Tania Maria." - Jerome Wilson, Cadence Magazine
"There is a slight resemblance to Flora Purim but Bartra's work is tighter and has more melody. This is exccellent Afro-Latin music."

-Mark Holston, Latina Style
"Bartra's expressive voice flirts with avant-garde techniques whiles she fashions an adventurous program built on exotic, seldom heard AfroPeruvian rhythms."      

Corina Bartra Quartet    Listen to selected MP3s of Corina Bartra Quartet: Come On And Dance - nice opening song written by Corina and makes me want to do just what she says. The Midnight Sun - Unique and laid back interpretation of a classical jazz standard. For all booking and promotional inquiries: PH: 718.730 9371 You can email to Corina Bartra by selecting this link. Join our mailing list	Corina Bartra is a remarkable musician. A native of Peru living in NY City, she has an extraordinary range and an almost restless musical ability to incorporate exotic traditions into her own unique music. I'm fortunate to have a copy of an earlier recording she made Son Zumbon featuring a heady mix of African, traditional Peruvian and American jazz that felt like a fresh, reviving wind and is one of the more unusual "world" recordings around. Recently I received two more CDs that truly surprised me and are vastly different from each other. Instead of following the path set in Son Zumbon, Corina Bartra spreads her musical wings to encompass a whole new world. The Quartet CD features several jazz standards expertly performed by Corina's quartet and includes many originals that range from a pop latin dance number to the humorous Boring Blob. These musicians have been playing together for several years and it shows. I expect this earlier produced recording is closer to the kind of music Corina performs at her many NY City club dates. The newer Trave Log CD is an altogether different story. Here we have Corina Bartra exploring the voice- ancient singing techniques to modern jazz and putting altogether in a brand new way. The tracks feature an extraordinary mix of styles fashioning a brand new world that is wild and mesmerizing. Please take some time to listen to these musical offerings from this most gifted and unprecedented musician.	Corina Bartra Travel Log   Listen to selected MP3s of Travel Log: Rythm of Life Sets the stage for a rhythmic journey. Aruhe Scatting away, this song shines like the sun and waves on a beautiful day. Kacharpari Magical flute begs you to follow. Little Wing"Bartra's intrepreation of Jimmie Hendricks Little Wing is celestial" (Voodoo Child magazine)

Samples of Corina's originals and arrangements

Click Song titles to purchase in itunes