Justo almario plumbline construction

Regarded by this writer as the número uno jazz reedman of Latin American origin found west of the Mississippi, the Colombian-born and South Pasadena-based Justo Almario is a truly solid multi-instrumentalist/composer/arranger, whose compelling and joyful tenor (never mind that he also plays convincing alto on the original track titled Dysfunctional) graces the bebop-oriented CD Love Thy Neighbor, in which he leads a rhythm section comprised of bassist René Camacho, pianist Donald Vega, and drummer Lorca Hart, augmented on three numbers with Francisco Torres' effective trombone interventions. Characterized by the powerful inventiveness of its costeño (native of Colombia's Caribbean coast) protagonist, this partially original (half of the repertoire was penned by Almario) 2004 session demonstrates his unique approach to the instrument he plays most frequently, within a mainstream jazz context, as opposed to the Latin jazz format that he is most often associated with.

A brief statement offered by the late bass legend Al McKibbon could summarize the nature of Almario's most recent, self-produced project: "Listening to Love Thy Neighbor ... I'm reminded of the outstanding jazz recordings where musicians played with heart, emotion

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