PARADIGMA
Musicians: Xavier Padilla (eb, compositions, arrangement); Philippe Slominski, Christian Martinez (flg); Nicolas Folmer (t); Allen Hoist (as); Thierry Farrougia, Leandro Guffanti (ts); Pierre Mimran, Bobby Rangell (f); Julio Font (p. fr)), Mario Canonge ( p 4), Vinh Le (p 6), Franklin Lozada (p7); Roldan Peña (g); Luis Augusto Cavani, Stephane Lambotte, Daniel Garcia Bruno, Luis Augusto Cavani (d), Rafael Mejias, Minino Garay, Luis Viloria (perc)
Tracks List: Utopia; Bridges; Paradigma; Conga Town; Firmamento; Smiling Ape; Sukhumvit Av.; Membra Disjecta
Comments on each of the musical pieces by Xavier Padilla himself:
Utopia:This is a truely hearted jazz samba. It’s got a "dream-comes-true" feel and, along with it, that of fullness. Feelings as these can be so extremely rare nowadays that sometimes I have imagined a land (a place) where any positive, colorful expressions of the human soul would be common and safely lived. That land is a utopic planet, of course.
Bridges: Wings are better, but as mortal bipeds we can't get wandering in higher places too long without bridges. In this tune the theme is not composed of a theme but of bridges. Yes, every section of the theme is a brige to another bridge, and none is a place to stay –like any bridge– but to keep going. The journey is in a 3:2 clave Latin van, not running on the usual congas' gasoline; here we are crossing the hills in another kind of analogic charriot: just bass & drums. Following of course a carrot.
Paradigma: Elements of several musical genres share a place here: modal jazz, tango, rock, Cuban rumba. So one could say it’s a fusion piece. However, when the complexity of a tune becomes too obvious, fusionistic attempts are vane. The goal of fusion music, as with any style of music, should be to produce pieces that do not reveal easily, at first glimpse, their components, but show us an almost indivisible integrity; in other words, the role of each element in them should be really indispensable to the whole.
Conga Town: "Conga" is a Cuban rhythm, not just the name of the famous percussion instrument. That rhythm is also known as "comparsa." Comparsa is a carnival procession, with people dancing around joyous music along the streets. This tune features the rhythm conga, not the instrument. The spirit of that rhythm has been assimilated here to the electric bass, which is in this occasion the instrument that holds down the groove with a characteristic sixteenth-note pulse throughout.
Firmamento: There is a 6/8 musical genre called Onda Nueva, which emerged in the sixties in Venezuela and still is pretty much unknown to the world. It is basically a marriage between a folkloric local style called joropo and the Brazilian harmonic colors that came along the Bossa Nova era. In order to play Onda Nueva, a musician must be aware of all the "rhythmic games" proper to joropo and be able to put them into action within an extended harmonic frame, which is precisely the thing that joropo in its pure form does not allow because of its essential harmonic simplicity. People like Aldemaro Romero and Frank “Pavo” Hernández (his drummer) found in the sixties a sort of formula that ended up being this new genre, a real one that didn’t interfere with the sources and brought along its own new codes. This tune is my modest contribution to the Onda Nueva repertoire.
Smiling Ape: A jazz samba inviting us to relax in our inner jungle, to wander around a bit making silly faces, and mock about our serious selves. Let the bass be the king of harlequins, and steal you a smile, but like the one which would've saved Narcisus's life.
Sukhumvit Av.: In 1997 I had a wonderful 3-month gig at luxury hotel in Bangkok, just in this avenue. The hotel food was amazing, and we had the best of conditions. Access to all facilities, menu à la Carte and even Room Service. On top of that, our band was free to play whatever we wanted to play. We could even play originals! It was my first hotel residency gig ever, and subsequently I thought that all hotel gigs were like that. About 12 years later I ventured again as a musician into the Asian hotel realm, to shockingly find out that what I had lived in 97 was actually an exceptionally good and extincted gig species. I composed this tune while in that marvelous hotel suite, and named it after it's location. Sometimes the best we can tell about a song is the place where it was born.
Membra Disjecta: This one is an Onda Nueva tune (a contemporary folk-fusion Venezuelan musical genre), but its theme and structure does not have the same song-like properties known to the genre. Also it's a totally foreign lyricism to the style. We may not know it's origin, but is a casual visitor, dressed up with new clothes, telling its pains on new lands. It claims (the tune) that the parts of its own being are in conflict but still work together. Perhaps a newborn dimension is on its way to become a unified hope. At least that is what it seems want. That’s why it insists at length on those same parts, which are slightly different every time they appear, but are just the same. I call it ostinati variations of an endless, merciless joy.
Xavier Padilla was born in Caracas, Venezuela. A bass player, composer and arranger he started in the late 70’s as a member of the award winning experimental group Autana, then cooperated with local groups such as Cuarteto de Música Creativa, Octano, Adrenalina Caribe, Salsa Silva y Guerra, la Típica Manía, Paraguas, Sangre Nueva and finally with the iconic national composer and conductor Aldemaro Romero. Xavier grew up inmersed in musical genres as diverse as Afro Venezuelan folk music, Cuban Son, Gaita, Salsa, Jazz, Fusion, Brazilian Folk and Pop, Free Jazz, Blues, Progressive Rock, Latin Jazz and Latin Pop. In the early years of his career he recorded in Guaco’s arranger (Ricardo Hernandez) first solo album. By then he had already toured –at 21– with legendary « Queen of Salsa » Celia Cruz.
Aiming to expand his musical horizons, Xavier moved to Europe in 1988. A brief sojourn in Paris led him to a settle in Germany where he spent the next 5 years working professionally with different formations, joining the reputated salsa orchestra Conexion Latina, which had the legendary Nicky Marrero on timbales. That band played a great deal of jazz festivals throughout Europe. Then Xavier partcipate in various recordings with other artists.
Xavier Padilla started touring and recording with Platinum selling rock group Pix-Lax. After 5 intense musical years in Greece, Xavier moved back to France, settling for good in Paris in 1997. There soon started playing and recording with Venezuelan pianist-composer Franklin Lozada and his Marums. Following of course a carrot.drugada Feliz, and joined Orlando Poleo’s group CHAWORO, for extensive touring in France, Africa, Great Britain, Venezuela, Turkey and Tahiti, besides recording, composing-arranging for that group as well. Simultanously, Xavier performed live, recorded and arranged music for Alfredo « Cutufla » Francheski and his Charanga Nueva, and gigged randomly with Camilo Azuquita, Yuri Buenaventura, Mario Canonge, Franklin Veloz and Aricando, among others.
In 2001 The Gipsy Kings invited Xavier to fill in the bass spot, which lead to an intense stint of writing and world touring with the internationally acclaimed group. He authored one of the most prized ballads they ever recorded, « Como Siento Yo », which Nicolas Reyes, lead singer of the band uses present as his « favorite song ».
Alternatively to The Gipsy Kings and all others artists above mentioned, Xavier either arranged, recorded or performed with other international names such as Bernard Lavilliers, Tito Puente, Carlos "Patato" Valdes, Miguel "Anga" Diaz, Luisito Quintero,Tito Allen, Marcia Maria, Mario Canonge, Tato Marenco, Mario Regis, Jeff Gardner, Alfredo Rodriguez, Triana D'Alger and French progressive rock group Tai Pong. Xavier co-produced as MD with Miles Copeland (Sting's former manager-producer) a recording of the group Gipsy Royale.
Currently Xavier Padilla leads his own group GIPSY 4 EVER.
Viva The Latin Jazz!!
www.jazzcaribe.blogspot.com
jazzcaribe2001@yahoo.com
VIER PADILLA was born in Caracas, Venezuela
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