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Alex Alvear
Equatorial
(Colorado Music)
First Appeared in The Music Box, May 2008, Volume 15, #5
Written by Douglas Heselgrave
Mon May 5, 2008, 06:30 AM CDT
Few people outside Ecuador have heard of Alex Alvear. Hopefully, the North
American release of Equatorial, his groundbreaking new album, will remedy
this oversight. Alvear began his career in Quito as the founder of Promesas
Temporales, a group that blended rock and jazz styles with traditional Andean
music. His local rock-star status was cut short in 1985, however, when he was
arrested by the Ecuadorian secret police, who believed he was a member of a
guerilla group that was threatening the country’s right-wing dictatorship. After
being released from prison, he moved to Boston where he enrolled at the Berklee
School of Music and began playing with local Afro-funk and Latin jazz outfits.
Despite recording some excellent efforts — including Immigrant Blues,
a fine album that he made with Mango Blue in 2001 — Alvear became increasingly
dissatisfied with the path of his artistic development. With time, he began to
experiment with traditional Ecuadorian song structures, essentially re-embracing
his cultural heritage, which he had rejected in his youth. If anything,
Equatorial proves that, after years of soul searching, Alvear’s reunion with
his past has been worth the wait.
The music on Equatorial is familiar yet exotic, and the pan pipes,
flutes, and Andean harp that weave in and out of the arrangements help to create
an otherworldly atmosphere that is immensely captivating and appealing. Over the
course of the album’s 13 tracks, the melodic structures and rhythmic guitar
phrasing that anchor the songs carry the listener through some beautiful musical
territory. It is a journey that manages to be both relaxing and stimulating, and
the more that they are heard, the more the gentle melodies slowly reveal
Alvear’s sophisticated compositional approach. The sound of his guitar is
spellbinding, and the seductive vocals offered by Marta Gomez on Soñando
con Quito are absolutely sublime.
Although the effort represents Alvear’s return to playing traditional
Ecuadorian music, Equatorial is by no means a collection of tracks that
should be relegated to the polite confines of a cultural museum. In spite of the
Andean instruments that define the album’s sound, Equatorial’s stance is
defiantly contemporary. After twenty years of living in the United States, it is
inevitable that traces of jazz and rock can be heard in Alvear’s music. These
influences, however, are now under his control, and they represent only one of
the many colors from which he draws to give life to his compositions. So, when
Alvear chose to re-record Flor de Kikuyo — a song that he and Promesas
Temporales first performed while living in Quito — the jazz chords are at the
service of the Ecuadorian melodies and not vice versa.
Equatorial offers a doorway into a warm and vibrant universe that is
worth exploring more fully. It is an album that should help to broaden people’s
understanding of the rich musical traditions of Central and South America as
well as how they have intersected with popular Western forms. Of course, no
matter how frequently a particular piece of music is referred to as "good," such
praise is not worth much if nobody wants to spend any amount of time listening
to the material. This, however, shouldn’t be a problem with Equatorial.
It is a delightful melodic collection of songs that can be appreciated whether
it is played gently in the background or at full volume.  ½
Of Further Interest...
Various Artists - Bachata Roja: Acoustic Bachata from the Cabaret Era
Various Artists - Putumayo Presents: Cafe Cubano
Various Artists - The Roots of Chicha: Psychedelic Cumbias from Peru
Equatorial is available from
Amazon. To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2008 The Music Box
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