This album by the exciting young Cuban pianist Roberto Fonseca was recorded in Havana in 2008 and appears on the German based Enja label, long established as one one of Europe’s premier jazz independents. Fonseca combines the music of his native country with jazz, the actual jazz content being very high and informed by Herbie Hancock and McCoy Tyner among others.

A former member of the renowned Buena Vista Social Club Fonseca is a precocious talent. “Akokan” (meaning “Heart” in Yoruba) is a wide ranging album that features guest vocal slots from Cape Verdean singer Mayra Andrade and Venezuelan vocalist/guitarist Raul Midon, thus making the album a truly international affair. These two appear alongside Fonseca’s regular working band comprising of Javier Zalba (reeds), Omar Gonzalez (double bass), Ramses Rodriguez (drums) and Joel Hierrozuelo (percussion).

Recorded quickly “Akokan” captures something of the vitality of Fonseca’s stage shows but without sacrificing any of the high technical standards we have come to expect from Enja. The mixture of instrumentals and songs plus the blend of jazz harmonies, folk melodies and Latin rhythms makes for an album of varied moods and colours that consistently engages the listener. Fonseca is a superb technician and his hand picked band are all sharp, highly versatile players. They avoid the clichés of Latin American music and come up with something fresh and inventive that is particularly appealing to the jazz audience.“Akokan” deserves to establish Fonseca as a major figure on the international jazz scene.

The album opens with “Fragmento De Misa”, a snatch of a popular Cuban folk song sung by Mercedes Cortes Alfaro, who I suspect may be Fonseca’s mother although the liner notes don’t make this 100% clear.

Two instrumentals follow, the celebratory “Lo Quo Me Hace Vivir” (“Those Who Give Me Life”) features what is essentially a piano trio plus percussion. It is an excellent introduction to Fonseca’s pianistic credentials, simultaneously lyrical and forceful and here informed by church music he also demonstrates his considerable abilities as an improviser. 

The lullaby “Drume Negrita” introduces the versatile Zalba to the proceedings, here displaying silky skills on the clarinet. There’s atmospheric percussion from the excellent Hierrezuela who adds a touch of warmth and colour throughout the album and flowing piano from Fonseca.

“Siete Potencias (Bu Kantu)” features music by Fonseca and Spanish lyrics by Mayra Andrede who also sings. The vocalist acquits herself way on helped by Fonseca’s gorgeous folk inspired melody. Bassist Gonzalez contributes a lyrical solo as Hierrezuela chatters around him. Fonseca also figures as a soloist displaying fluency and invention.

“Bulgarian” is inspired by that country’s music and features Zalba on clarinet. Here a Balkan, almost Middle Eastern feeling enters the music to pleasing effect. Much of this is down to Zalba’s clarinet tone but Fonseca’s urgent solo is also hugely impressive.

“Cuando Uno Crece” is dedicated to Fonseca’s mother and is a piece for piano trio only. Gently exploratory but essentially lyrical the piece is a tour de force for Fonseca although I felt that drummer Rodriguez is a little over busy at times.
No such problems on “Lento y Despacio”, a paean to the people of Latin America as a whole.  An air of celebration once again imbues the piece and Rodriguez and Hierrezuela conjure up a mighty rhythmic punch to accompany the leader’s percussive piano. The percussionists are featured prominently in the mix, almost soloing at times as they celebrate their corner of the world.

The ballad “Como En Las Peliculas”  is dedicated to the country of France and takes it’s inspiration from the movies. Played in piano trio format the overall mood is romantic with Gonzalez contributing another distinctive solo from the bass. 

“Pequenos Viajes” is a brief passage for limpid solo piano leading into another ballad “La Flor Que No Cuide” which restores Zalba to the line up, this time on flute. The flautist makes an excellent contribution, light, airy and beautiful yet probing subtly to open the door for Fonseca’s more full blooded piano solo. Zalba then returns to end the tune on an elegiac note.

The rousing “El Ritmo De Tus Hombros” changes the mood completely. Pounding drums, honking baritone sax and a wordless vocal chant (presumably by Fonseca himself) lay the foundations for a barnstorming, percussive piano solo that recalls Thelonious Monk and Cecil Taylor among the more obvious Cuban influences. As Fonseca suggests play it loud. It’s invigorating stuff.

Now we come to the contribution by Venezuelan vocalist/guitarist Raul Midon singing his own song “Everyone Deserves A Second Chance” complete with English lyrics. His voice is smooth and if the lyrics are not particularly profound I’ve heard a lot worse. It’s pleasant enough, even classy in it’s own way but for me it’s just a little too saccharine and seems out of place with the rest of the album. A characteristically imaginative solo from Fonseca offers some redemption.

The album ends with “Cuando Una Madre Llama A Su Hijo”, a brief vocal snippet from Fonseca giving the record as a whole a certain symmetry.

In the main “Akokan” is an excellent album full of varied and imaginative writing and some sparkling playing, especially from Fonseca himself. The pianist’s dazzling performance plus the prominence given to him in the lavishly photographed CD booklet leave one in no doubt as to who’s the star of the show but his regular band members are pretty much excellent throughout and are thoroughly deserving of credit too. Of the guest slots I felt Andrade worked just fine but I have my reservations about Midon. Somehow his piece meant that the album faltered just as it was about to cross the finish line. “El Ritmo De Tus Hombros” would have concluded the record in stirring fashion. Taken as a whole though I was hugely impressed, we should be hearing a lot more from this highly talented young musician.

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