Paquito D'Rivera Who's Smoking?! 2LP

Paquito D'Rivera - NEA Jazz Master, multiple Grammy® winner, Downbeat Hall of Fame Inductee - gained worldwide attention as member of the Grammy® Award-winning Cuban group Irakere, a revolutionary ensemble co-founded with Chucho Valdés in the early 1970s. Blending Afro-Cuban rhythms and jazz, the band was a seminal force and marked a new era in Cuban music. His defection to the United States in 1980 was a turning point, as he became an ambassador of Latin jazz around the world, fusing cultures and genres effortlessly.

A decade into his new status, D'Rivera entered a New York studio to record an homage to bebop. He enlisted Grammy® Award winner and Dizzy Gillespie alum James Moody, distinguished straight-ahead jazzers Mark Morganelli, Harvie Swartz and Al Foster, and major Latin-jazz players of the day Claudio Roditi, Danilo Pérez, and Pedrito Lopez. While his intentions may have been to make an album like "Monk, Bird, and Dizzy" as he states in the liner notes, the results here are undeniably in D'Rivera's signature style.

The album features a mix of original compositions from featured players, alongside the ensemble's take on Coltrane's "Giant Steps," and Monk's "I Mean You," all delivered with D'Rivera's unique perspective and deep understanding of traditional jazz and Latin music traditions.

Remastered by Alex McCollough at True East Mastering. Vinyl cut by Jeff Powell at Take Out Vinyl.

Highly recommended.