Gabriel Espinosa - Bossas & Boleros (CD)

Release Date: 06/23/23

On his fourth ZOHO solo release, composer/singer/bassist Gabriel Espinosa celebrates the Bossa and Bolero styles he grew up with in Yucatan

Bossas and Boleros- the title of this album honors the music I grew up with as a teenager in Yucatan, Mexico in the 60s. I was very influenced by the music of Yucatecan composer Armando Manzanero as well as the music of Antonio Carlos Jobim and Burt Bacharach. The music I write today is inspired by those styles of music which led to the title Bossas and Boleros.

New Year is a Bossa Nova composition that features the beautiful colors of the trumpet of Jim Seeley and the trombone of Jay Ashby with the voices sharing the melody. I wrote this in honor of the year 2021 and the opportunity it brought of a new beginning after the difficult year 2020 around the world.

Amelia- my niece Cecilia had twins in 2019, tragically lost one of the babies, Amelia, at 27 weeks. I was inspired to write this composition shortly thereafter. Kim Nazarian wrote the lyrics to this composition inspired by and dedicated to the memory of Amelia. Kim also does a beautiful job singing the song.

Mi Jarana- the Jarana is a traditional dance and musical style of Yucatan, Mexico. The Jarana meter can be in 6/8 or in 3/4. I invited the brilliant clarinet player Anat Cohen to join me on this track as well as Cris Alcocer, a percussion player from Yucatan who brought together the magical feeling of the Jarana to life. This is our interpretation of the Jarana.

Aquí Estoy Yo- I first heard this beautiful song performed by Mexican singer Jose Jose with an incredible arrangement by Clare Fischer. I always envisioned recording this song only with piano & voice. I was fortunate enough to have the amazing pianist Fred Hersch along with my vocals. This song was written by a friend of mine, Memo Ruiz.

Sing- I was twenty years old when I first heard the classic 1973 recording by the Carpenters. I wrote an instrumental arrangement & my friend Jeremy Fox wrote an arrangement for vocal jazz quartet. Jeremy's arrangement was so amazing I had to ask my friends, The New York Voices, to record it.