CD Review: Carlos Jimenez, Arriving - Page 2

Arriving is a collection of originals by Jimenez (plus Miles Davis' "So What"), most of which are open-ended head charts that devote most of their space to soloing (I'm not even sure if a couple of Jimenez' compositions even have heads or not). While this suggests that Jimenez' writing has a lot of growing up to do, it doesn't actually detract from the album as a whole. With a rhythm section as tight and alert as his, Jimenez can carry tunes on solos that, though sometimes limited, are expressive enough to retain interest.

Standout tracks include the opening "Tomando Cafe," "Natalie's Cha Cha Cha" and "Arriving," which percolate with sparkling rhythms and probing solos from Jimenez, Ruiz, and guest player Bobby Porcelli (alto sax) on "Arriving." Elsewhere, as on "Tunnel of Flowers" and "My Allison," Jimenez and crew give over to prettiness that goes on too long to really hold interest.

The greatest compliment I can give is that I have Arriving on an IPod playlist with a number of heavy hitters in Latin and Latin hybrid music - The Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Mandrill, Jimmy Bosch, Poncho Sanchez, Mongo Santamaria, and so on - and the best selections from Arriving always send me rushing back to the "now playing" screen to remind myself who's making this good noise.

Although not perfect, Arriving is a strong debut from a young player.

Article Author: John Owen

John Owen is a music writer, multi-instrumentalist and music industry veteran based in coastal Massachusetts.

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