Frank Colón is the JLO male counterpart, and he has a one-up on her because he’s a couple of decks ahead. This man is fierce, puts us all to shame really, and I mean us that have allowed our “let’s get physical” thing go by the wayside. I included (Though I’m at it again). He’s a martial arts master, a scuba diver, which I did not know, I found out this week during our back-and-forth correspondence from his home in Brazil. He’s an American-Puerto Rican-Brazilian hybrid with an incredibly lush and practiced musical career. An “A” echelon percussionist, or what I call a beast.
I know Frank Colón through his sister for another mother, Angie Garcia, who is my second mother and a part of my Dad’s career since the beginning. He would agree with me when I say that Angie is, at least, a matter for a 60 chapter book. LOL! And of course, Frank and Danny hold only mutual respect for one another.
Frank has played with some of the baddest music acts out there in the world— The Manhattan Transfers, Harry Belafonte, Tania Maria, Milton Nacimiento, Gato Barbieri, Herbie Hancock, to name a few.
His latest music project Latin Lounge came to me at the right time, he first shared the video to Whales of Bahia, and I was mesmerized. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The entire album is crisp, clear, assuaging, sexy, elongated in tasteful vibrations like thick savory honey coming down to the spoon.
If only Frank could come to New York to play a gig, but alas, Brazil is burning and suffering, and the world is in a deadlock for international travel. Since we're sheltered in place, I picked up some wine, put on my earphones, and went inside Latin Lounge.
Emerald Coast has this nostalgic flute and sway that makes me miss the live gigs so much. I would love to sit through a live Latin Lounge date at some spot, which makes me miss my dear friend Ned Sublett, the perfect mate for live gigs. Holler to me if you agree.
In Easy Does It, I’m reminded of Stevie Wonder for some reason. Sexy this tune, perfect for lovers or sundown time after an exhausting day. The trumpet is fucking fierce here, with bass to die for, and the percussion just so blended right. Get ready for a Tanquerey and tonic with a dash of bitters in Summer Cocktail, un chin de cha-cha-cha with an up spice because of the harmonica—lindo, lindo, lindo. All around the piano, keyboards fuckin’ rock.
Let’s Just Go opens with a bass so beautiful and steady that makes the tune open up, perfect for a road trip, or thinking about what you’ve left behind. Samba Gitano makes me cry, the violinist Rapaehl Batista, que artista. Wow. Fined tuned is an understatement, otro bestia. And then there’s Frank at it with vocals and percussion nailing that sound the world has come to know as Brazil.
From where did Spanish Heart come from, I wonder, I got to ask him, but I love, love, love this tune, perhaps my favorite. What a melody. Good to get you to face something or to prepare for battle. Perhaps the one we are all in, to save the world, and our souls.
Bali is inspired for sure. A piano solo here that is so lovely. Yoga lovers use this for funky classes. Wishful Thinking is super witty, quick, funky, a bit of Peter Sellers as Pink Panther grooving in his quest to find the culprit. Successful, of course. It’s that trumpet by José Arimatela that makes it so slick. Tango Lucumi is brilliant. I never thought I would hear these two genres together, but it works. The flamenco guitar and the accordion are spellbinding.
The Whales of Bahia hands down a tune to keep. Amazing. And the video, like I said at the beginning, is beautiful. What’s under the sea is another life, a world both known and unknown, like our minds, our past lives, or the legends of the Gods. They left behind so much. Are they with us still, the lords of ancient times? Seek and ye’ shall find…Goodness matters. Music brings people together, so try this, it might help you come closer to touching the fiber of what hurts and what makes us human.
Live long and prosper
Sol