Miguel Zenón News

Like a nimble jet aircraft, Miguel Zenón's Esta Plena leaps into flight from its very first notes.

David Adler, All About Jazz

Like a nimble jet aircraft, Miguel Zenón’s Esta Plena leaps into flight from its very first notes. The album arrives not long after Awake (Marsalis Music, 2008), Zenón’s jazz quartet/string quartet outing of 2008, but it follows more logically on the heels of 2005’s Jíbaro (Marsalis Music), a jazz meditation on the rural music of Zenón’s native Puerto Rico. Esta Plena, different but related, finds the alto saxophonist melding authentic plena music with the forward-thinking jazz aesthetic he’s developed as a New Yorker. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on December 12th, 2009 — 12:00am

Saxophonist Miguel Zenón scores first nominations for Grammys.

Maite Junco, New York Daily News

You have to search deep in the 109 categories of the Grammy Awards nominees list to find a Latino artist, but almost halfway through it, you score.

Miguel Zenón, 32, a Puerto Rican saxophonist prodigy, received his first two nominations last Wednesday for his fifth CD, “Esta Plena,” a captivating jazz tribute to plena, an African derived rhythm from the Caribbean island.

“It’s an honor being nominated, and I’m sure it will help us spread our music in many ways,” said Zenón, who lives in Washington Heights. “It always feel good when people appreciate what you do.” Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on December 9th, 2009 — 12:00am

Miguel Zenón Receives TWO Grammy Nominations!!

Marsalis Music’s Miguel Zenón has received two Grammy nominations!! One for For Best Improvised Jazz Solo on ‘Villa Palmeras’ from his album ‘Esta Plena’ and the other for Best Latin Jazz Album. The 52nd Annual GRAMMY Awards will be held on “GRAMMY Sunday,” Jan. 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. We hope you’ll be watching!! Congratulations, Miguel!! 

Submitted by crwadmin on December 3rd, 2009 — 12:00am

& improvisational freedom">Esta Plena embodies excellence - memorable performances, vigorous composition, & improvisational freedom

Mark F. Turner, All About Jazz

From the fruits of winning both a MacArthur (”genius grant”) and Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008, alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón, expands his clear vision of modern jazz and Puerto Rican folk music in Esta Plena. With an incisive voice, his involvement with the SFJAZZ Collective, Guillermo Klein’s Y Los Gauchos and Charlie Haden’s Liberation Music Orchestra is well documented, but his own recordings are what truly reflect his unique heritage and identity. Read more »

Submitted by crwadmin on November 9th, 2009 — 12:00am

Folk Art: On Esta Plena, saxophonist Miguel Zenón matches the proletarian plena music of his native Puerto Rico with modern-jazz ethos

Date: 11.01.2009
Publication: Jazz Times
Author: Fernando Gonzalez


Smart and tough, the music on saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s Esta Plena (Marsalis) often evokes the sounds of his neighborhood back in Puerto Rico. But Esta Plena is not about nostalgia- it’s about a certain wisdom.
Read more »

Submitted by Ben on October 31st, 2009 — 11:00pm