Publication: Capital Bop
Author: Giovanni Russonello
Date: November 8, 2011

Puerto Rico native Miguel Zenón, whose quartet plays this Wednesday at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, is a seeker. Enamored with John Coltrane since high school, the alto saxophonist has spent his entire adult life chasing after a wide array of musical impulses – from his early days in Boston’s quirky Either/Orchestra to his mid-2000′s tenure in the SF Jazz Collective, one of the country’s most formidable experimental jazz institutions, to his recent, full-circle return to the songs of his homeland. Through it all, Zenón has maintained a dogged commitment to doing things on his own terms, and has invested greatly in his own recordings, producing six albums of gaping variety over 10 years. What holds them all together is Zenón’s searing alto attack – which he wields like a hot blade administered in deep, irrefutable cuts, rather than bewildering slices at lightning speed – and his fastidious ear toward group dynamics. Read more »

Publication: Washington Post
Author: Mike Joyce
Date: November 4, 2011

Anyone following jazz saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s career knows that two of his albums, “Jibaro” and “Esta Plena,” explored traditional Puerto Rican rhythms. His new release, “Alma Adentro: The Puerto Rican Songbook,” shifts the focus from original compositions inspired by indigenous beats to popular tunes by five Puerto Rican masters: Rafael Hernandez, Pedro Flores, Sylvia Rexach, Bobby Capo and Tite Curet Alonso. Read more »

Publication: JazzTimes
Author: Michael J. West
Date: November 2011 issue

Alma Adentro is alto saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s most ambitious exploration yet of Puerto Rico’s music. It is also his best. The disc surveys the Puerto Rican Songbook, but Zenón assumes command of each tune with ease. Read more »