NÓMADAS

Amarillo, Cian y Magenta is the name of this talented Costa Rican ensemble named after the primary colors. And just because of this, it seems quite natural that this band takes a dominantly relaxed approach to the modern jazz trend of their choice: their music is agile and quite lyrical, with some moments of plain energy that ever get aggressive or abundantly explicit. With this debut effort "Nómadas", ACM gives us a solid example of fusion with wide modernistic features that include acid-jazz, Word music, the texturial side of prog rock's tradition and the ethereal side of space-rock (a la Ozric Tentacles with an emphasized jazzy overtone). 'Obertura' is a lovely introduction to the world of ACM, undeniably influenced by Yellow Jackets, with old-fashioned swing and Latin jazz passages building up an interesting finale. 'Nómada' is more strongly inclined to the acid- jazz standard, while the pair of 'Percatarse' and 'Signos de Puntuación' is ordained on a fluid combination of candid joy and eerie percussive rituals, ultimately landing on the spacey reggae moods of 'Catarse', a patent hint to the fusionesque side of the Ozrics. So far, we have a set of colorful musical pieces, and this notion won't change a bit through what remains of this album. This shows at listening to the next two tracks, 'Tren' and 'Después de Medianoche', which capitalize the cosmic resource partially inflicted in 'Catarse' and enhancing it in order to create a magical dynamics, filing the space yet not being overwhelming at all. The specific case of 'Después de Medianoche' states a more developed sequence of themes within a tight framework. The pair of 'Grilos' and 'Sigilos' brings a healthy return to the once predominant fusion side, this time mixing the Latin thing with well attuned Flamenco nuances, elegantly punctuated by the 5/4 drive laid by the rhythm section. After this exhibition of joy comes a slightly more mysterious piece, 'Desert House', where the joie de vivre is not only prolonged, but also complemented with a dreamy ambience properly nourished by African-tropical cadences in an acid-jazz scheme. Next is another pair, 'Encuentro'-'La Danza de las Serpientes', featuring Arabic flourishes that demand that the keyboard placer assume a leading role to a wider extent than on any other parts of the album. His input generates a solid wall-of-sound for the other instrumentalists to revolve around? and they do so great! 'Cuarto Menguante' comes to bring back some contemplative vibes, with the pair 'El Camino'-'El Otro Camino' bringing back a different trend, one of sensual extroversion that we have already found in a number of preceding pieces. The album's epilogue is 'Ríos y Aguaceros', a beautiful interplay between the piano calm textures and the tenor sax's crepuscular lines surrounded by sounds of waves and streams. "Nómadas" is an exquisite musical work, and so I recommend all lovers of modern jazz pay close attention to Amarillo, Cian y Magenta.