“Listening to Criollo Electrik is to be first struck by the fact that it does incorporate words to be – not sung so much as chanted. Somehow, to say that this is “African” begins to sound dismissive even before the word is uttered. That word, after all, has been given a continent, it is true, but being African is about all of our collective humanness. This “humanness” is another aspect of the record, Criollo Electrik. It is vibration before it becomes music, so that when it does become music, played principally on guitar and bass, with keyboards and all manner of drums. However, the vibrations – each throb actually – comes from the unintelligible (to us) syllable sung by Adan de Dios, Emelina Reyes Salgado and Teresa Reyes Salgado.” — Raul da Gama

Newly Brooklyn-based, trumpeter, composer, and bandleader, Rachel Therrien already boasts an enviable CV. Known for her very personal signature, she has developed a reputation as a highly-skilled, versatile and creative artist. Winner of the 2015 TD Grand Prize Jazz Award at the Montreal International Jazz Festival and the 2016 Stingray Jazz Rising Star Award, where she presented her second album Home Inspiration, “an emotionally charged show filled improv and exceptional musical orchestration” -FIJM. Therrien just launched “Pensamiento” her new afro-colombian inspired jazz album recorded with 12 musicians in Bogota, Colombia, and she’s starting the production of a third album with her Montreal Quintet.

“For the wonderful Québécoise musician Rachel Therrien, stepping out of her comfort zone of her Jazz-inspired quintet, Afro-Colombian music must have been a rather beckoning challenge. But like everything the trumpeter is known to do, she immersed herself in it body and soul. The result is a vivid expression of herself in an undeniably Afro-Colombian persona, complete with a very scorching tone, viscous timbre harvested in a palette of colours that come to life in the greens and rusts of Colombian Pilón, Champeta, Puya and the myriad of other rhythms that flavours the musical topography of that magnificent country. However, Therrien’s predilection for the Jazz idiom is never very far away. As a result of this a truly imaginative osmotic process takes place in Pensamiento where, with a group of viscerally exciting Peruvian musicians Proyecto Colombia becomes a jazzy excursion as much as it does a rustic Colombian adventure.” — Raul da Gama

At a time when the lines between true and false have been insidiously blurred, Las Cafeteras are the real deal. A product and reflection of the diverse, hard-working, politically active neighborhood of East Los Angeles, Las Cafeteras present songs of activism and celebration on their second studio album Tastes Like L.A., which will be released on April 14. The album offers a powerful counterpoint to the current dominant news narrative, while encouraging people of all backgrounds to cherish both what makes them unique and what unites them all. With open hearts and open minds, Las Cafeteras offer a timely and affirmative statement to confront a troublesome time.

The album’s first single “If I Was President” was released fittingly on President’s Day, February 20th. This bilingual song blending Mexican folk traditions with urban hip hop flavors and bluntly political discourse serves as the perfect summation of what Las Cafeteras is all about.

“We wanted to engage people’s imaginations about the future of this country,” notes the band. “Everyone knows what’s wrong, but not many know what to do. We hope to push people to think about themselves as presidents of their homes, schools, workplaces and to create the kind of country they would like to see starting from the local and moving outward.”