MAQUINARIAS

MEDIABANDA has won numerous awards in its native Chile for best artist ever since this band was formed by ex-Fulano members Arlette Jequier (vocals, keyboards, clarinet) and Cristian Crisosto (saxophone, flute, bass, clarinet) all the way back in 2004. They immediately made a huge splash on the music scene and even won a FONART, a government fund to promote the arts which they have benefited from immensely. Since this wild and energetic jazz-fusion meets avant-prog band got its introduction to the Spanish speaking world at large, it has remained a bit off the radar in the world of Anglos but yet here we are in the year 2021 and MEDIABANDA is releasing its fifth album MAQUINARIAS and all i can say is, WOW, we gringos have certainly been missing out on one of Chile's best kept musical secret!

While European jazz-rock can get a little heady and abstract, the Latin musical styles are inviting and offer an immediate emotional connection that is fun for the whole family! MEDIABANDA is an absolute giant of the world of jazz-rock by taking the infectious grooves of funk, rumba, cumbia and reggae and throwing it into the blender with ample doses of progressive rock, moments of angular avant-prog, jazz-fusion and even good old fashioned pop music. The result of this visionary recipe of experimentalism is a playful blend of progressive rock complexities, danceable Latin rhythms, outrageous vocal antics and soft sensuous tones and timbres that even venture into moments of Canterbury Scene splendor.

This is one of those larger than life sounding bands with eight official band members and six guest musicians as well. In the mix are no less than five brass instruments including alto, soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, traversa flute, trumpet and trombone. The horn section can be chaotically bombastic or sensually fluid and seemingly a single instrument playing in tandem. The tracks can range from flirtatious such as the opening "Perro Chico Malo" with Florencia Novoa's wild and uninhibited vocal style shifts to the more instrumentally inclined such as the title track which ventures into complex time signature shifts that oft remind of classic 70s acts such as Il Balletto Di Bronzo or early Return To Forever.

The track "Fulano" is a dedication to the band that began in 1984 which was the predecessor along with another band Congreso that led to the wealth of sounds on board the MEDIABANDA bandwagon. The track deftly showcases MEDIABANDA's uncanny ability to merge funk grooves, Canterbury jazz, Latin musical styles and the angular side of progressive rock into an amorphous flow of continuity that these skilled musicians make sound ridiculously easy in the process! "Suita Recoleta" really showcases Novoa's vocals in full regalia with a scatting technique reminiscent of Ella Fitzgerald only on hyperdrive and in the much higher registers. Her beautiful vocals colorfully punctuate the flawless transitions of jazz-rock slowly drifting by.

Two tracks, "Suite Recoleta" and "El Dar del Cuerpo" extend past the eight minute mark and showcase the band's ability to improvise in intricate jamming sessions. Shorter tracks like "Señor Gorro Capucho" showcase more complex moods and motifs that wouldn't sound quite as good in such an extended fashion but offer the needed diverse elements to make this a really compelling and fascinating album. This is my first exposure to the infectious sounds of MEDIABANDA but i guarantee it won't be my last. The unique mix of swinging jazz, vocal extravaganzas, progressive rock workouts and larger than life band unity has the overall effect of the type of jazz-rock-fusion act that just makes sense to exist yet i can't think of anyone who has taken this playful and seductive avenue. A real treat this one!