Miguel Zenón News

Publication: Ottawa Citizen
Author: Peter Hum
Date: August 31, 2011

Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook (Marsalis Music)
Miguel Zenón

Sitting behind me at the Newport Jazz Festival almost a month ago, a man was singing along with alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón as the alto saxophonist offered his lush and thrilling renditions of pieces by Puerto Rican composers.

I knew none of the tunes played by Zenón, his quartet, and an accompanying woodwind ensemble, but the music nonetheless worked its magic on me. Although the Newport Jazz Festival is packed two days straight, with pretty fantastic sounds, nothing I heard topped the set by Zenón saluting the music of his homeland.

I took home a copy of Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook, which was available at Newport’s disc tent but has only been officially released this week. I’m happy to say that Zenón’s latest disc is much more than a souvenir. Read more »

Publication: The Huffington Post
Author: Adriana Teresa Letorney
Date: August 23, 2011

Grammy Nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón recently finished his new album—Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook, which will be released on August 30th, 2011.

Born and raised in San Juan Puerto Rico, Zenón adapted traditional popular songs by legendary Puerto Rican composers—Rafael Hernández Marín, Pedro Flores, Sylvia Rexach, Bobby Capó, and Don Tite Curet Alonso—to jazz, a genre that has a tradition of making standards from popular American songs. The music in this album was arranged by Zenón and orchestrated for a 10-piece woodwind section by Argentine pianist, composer and arranger Guillermo Klein.

Adriana Teresa candidly speaks with Miguel Zenón about Alma Adentro, his commitment to music and education, and a future project.

—Adriana Teresa: What does Alma Adentro mean to you?
Miguel Zenón: I have a very profound and personal connection with many of the songs in this album. Read more »

Publication: The Revivalist
Author: Liam Bird
Date: August 23, 2011

“Latin jazz” is a term routinely used to index the music of Cuba and Brazil, but its existence in Latin America is more endemic than this might suggest–though its prevalence in the U.S. as in Europe remains as limited as it is eluding. Miguel Zenón, an alto saxophonist at the forefront of the Afro-Rican jazz movement, is one of a handful of artists who have been able to break through this paradigm by fusing Puerto Rican traditions, African Roots and modern jazz while garnering critical acclaim on an international stage. He has had multiple Grammy Nominations and is a Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow, but I didn’t have to tell you that as Zenón’s arrangements on his new release, Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook, speak for themselves. Read more »