Miguel Zenón Examines the American Continent

Cover of the album being discussed

My interest in performances by jazz saxophonist Miguel Zenón tend to be influenced by his eclectic tastes. My last encounter with the release of one of his albums took place in March of 2021, when I wrote about his tribute album for Ornette Coleman, Law Years: The Music of Ornette Coleman. However, Zenón was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and, while his colleagues, including his past membership in the SFJAZZ Collective, cover a diversity of jazz genres, his roots are decidedly Latin.

HIs latest album, Música de las Américas, amounts to his testimony that there is no single Latin genre. Due to basic geography, the American continent provides a base for a wide variety of indigenous cultures. When one then adds the arrival of a diversity of European colonists, one arrives at a social context that is both dynamic and complex. Música de las Américas consists of eight tracks, which cannot account for all of that diversity but can definitely leave the attentive listener with respect for its extent.

Fortunately, the booklet that accompanies the CD release provides a track-by-track account of that diversity. The Amazon Web page accounts for this release, as well as versions for MP3 download and streaming. Unfortunately, the digital content does not include that booklet, seriously undermining Zenón’s intentions in making this album in the first place.

The eight tracks on the album are performed by the latest incarnation of Zenón’s quartet. The other members are Luis Perdomo on piano, Hans Glawischnig on bass, and Henry Cole on drums. Additional percussion, much of which is based on a single culture, contribute to tracks when necessary. The performers are Paoli Mejías, Víctor Emmanuelli, and Daniel Díaz, along with a group called Los Pieneros de La Cresta, a quintet that provides vocals as well as percussion.

As a whole, the album can be taken as an ethnographic study; but Zenón has produced it in such a way that ethnography can enhance the listening experience without interfering with it.