The Canarian musician Carlos Meneses gives us LIKE ONE
Recorded in the Auditorium of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), through the Vice-rectorate for Culture, Sports and Social Activation of the Campuses, on April 20 and 21, 2022, “Like one” is the 4th album by Carlos Meneses and the first recorded as a trio in the studio.
It contains 5 original works and an arrangement of the classic Jordu, by Duke Jordan. There are various styles that range from the most traditional Jazz (Jordu, Saint Pine) to the most contemporary Jazz (Vamp for Ever, I’ve heard enough), others with pop overtones (Hope) or samba (Sphere). It will go on digital sale on July 8, 2022, on the main online platforms.
You can listen to 6 songs that will not leave anyone indifferent, for various reasons:
The fundamental novelty of Like one is that it has been conceived as an album for drums, whose absence in Sharp Jazz and Jazz a.m. It attracted a lot of attention among specialized critics. Meneses’ initial decision not to include drums on his first two albums (for aesthetic purposes) is lost on this new recording. And, to give that long-awaited touch, Carlos called one of the great drummers in the Canary Islands: Daniel González Batista. This Tenerife resident based in Madrid presents himself with his elegant and energetic accompaniment, his attentive ear and good musical taste, these facets as inherited in some way from the tradition of the great Jazz drummers.
“The initial idea and purpose of this third album was to create complicated music, to interpret it in a simple way,” says Meneses. “A real challenge for any Jazz musician: subtract instead of add“, he continues. This is how Carlos Meneses perceives the richness of his music. In this way it finds its way of expression, “bringing together the different schools in which I have been forged: classical, urban music, jazz, contemporary music, Latin, and at the same time trusting my musical instinct, to obtain musical formulas from which I subtract elements until I get the exact sonority to the delight of the ears”.
It is worth noting the participation at the piano of an internationally renowned musician, and a great friend of Carlos, who has been able to understand like no other the modest musical universe of the author of this music. The ease and mastery with which Federico Lechner develops in any style makes him one of the most respected and at the same time requested (both in Jazz and in flamenco, pop, tango…). This great Argentine talent (and in love with the Canary Islands) is already a reference for the following generations of pianists.
Carlos Meneses is known for his original touch on the double bass, a facet that he expresses mostly on his records. He defines himself as a lover of transcription, arrangements, improvisation and composition.
They will perform at the Canarias Jazz & Más Festival on July 7, 2022, presenting the album.
Likewise, they can be heard at the Canarias Jazz Showroom on October 7, 2022.
