SIEMPRE QUE HAY UN CORAZÓN...

EL TRIO is a interesting case of a jazz-rock coming from the Dominican Republic where Latin dance music such as merengue, bachata and salsa are very much the dominant musical force with newer more hip styles like reggaeton entertaining the younger crowds. This is a three-piece band that originated in Santiago de los Caballeros which in the northern part of the country. As the moniker suggests in Spanish that this is indeed a trio that includes singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jonatan Piña Duluc (aka Jonas) along with Kilvin Peña (bass) and Johandy Ureña (drums).

This band formed all the way back in 2003 and has only released three albums since with this debut album SIEMPRE QUE HAY UN CORAZÓN (Whenever There Is A Heart) having been released in 2007 on Progshine Records. While situated in the Latin culture where progressive rock and jazz-fusion are not the most popular of genres, EL TRIO eked out a living in the underground mostly influenced by the American and British scenes but didn't totally erase the cultural heritage which surrounded them by adding in small doses of Latin flavors and keeping the lyrics in the national Spanish language.

SIEMPRE QUE HAY UN CORAZÓN adopts the Latin tradition of keeping the album light-hearted and a joyful listening experience and when listening to this one it's not a stretch to imagine yourself on the beach gazing at the Caribbean Sea with a nice adult beverage by your side. While more jazz-rock than jazz-fusion per se, EL TRIO mostly delivers gentle vocal driven songs that hum along with funky guitar rhythms along with the bass however knotty progressive rock time signature deviations pop up from time to time and add some zest to the otherwise straight forward jazz rockers. In fact the overall sound is more bossa nova oriented than anything from the Spanish speaking world.

The strength of the album is in how the compositions are arranged with light breezy segments alternating with heavier rock and fortified with jazzy saxophones, atmospheric keyboards and oft syncopated rhythmic grooves. For the most part the album doesn't resonate as a progressive rock album at all but then certain angularities arise out of nowhere. Occasionally Latin influences do creep in like outbursts of Latin percussion ensembles or Spanish language vocal gymnastics. This is definitely on prog lite mode but doesn't disappoint for those who dig a different style of music form that blends different disparate genres across the great divide of cultures.

Clocking in at nearly an hour, SIEMPRE QUE HAY UN CORAZÓN inevitably drifts on past its time and outstays its welcome and beings to sound like a chore around the 40 minute mark as the tracks start sounding a bit samey as the formula is set on autopilot. This is definitely an interesting debut that forges a new path especially in a country not associated with prog at all such as the Dominican Republic. I for one am pleased that the Latin influences creep in to give the musical variety much more color however when all is said and done this one should've been trimmed down a bit with tighter arrangements that give the album more of a cohesive feel rather than a random sampling of songs. A great start for an interesting act and as good as this one is fails to captivate for its entire running time. Perhaps more prog outbursts would've spiced this up a bit more.

3.5 rounded down