Hilario Durán - Francisco's Song

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:22
Size: 154.2 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[6:29] 1. Francisco's Song
[3:39] 2. Medley Matamoros
[6:06] 3. Lush Life
[9:23] 4. For Emiliano
[5:14] 5. Esto Si Tiene Que Ver
[1:59] 6. Giant Steps
[5:13] 7. Confession
[5:37] 8. Tiembla Tierra
[5:45] 9. Suavecito
[4:28] 10. Conqueta Conquín
[5:20] 11. Days Dreams
[4:34] 12. Esperando La Carroza
[3:27] 13. Hot House

Hilario Durán - piano; Jane Bunnett - flute (tracks 1 and 5) and soprano saxophone (tracks 4, 12 and 13); Alain Caron - bass (tracks 1, 6, 8, 11 and 13); Sonny Greenwich - guitar (tracks 1, 7, 11 and 13).

After studying music at The Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in Havana in 1981, Hilario joined Arturo Sandoval's group where he stayed until 1990. During this time he performed as a jazz pianist at major jazz festivals around the world, sharing stages with such outstanding musicians as Dizzy Gillespie, Herbie Hancock, Michel Legrand, Wynton Marsalis and many others. Hilario has worked as musical arranger, producer and pianist on many recordings with a variety of artists in Cuba and abroad. When Arturo Sandoval left Cuba, Hilario began his own group and truely came into his own. In 1991 he joined Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Frank Emilio on Jane Bunnett's Juno Award winning CD "Spirits of Havana".

"I would like to thank Jane Bunnett and Larry Cramer for the great support that they gave me and their entire help in making my record possible. My thanks to Jim West for trusting me to perform in this project. Thanks to Sarah Bunnett-Gibson for her patience and dedication, to Thompson Highway for letting me use his own piano generously, to Chucho Valdés for the support and help throughout all my professional career. Also thanks to Alain Caron for offering all his talent on this record, to Sonny Greenwich for the possibility of working together, and to Denis Cadieux and Ian Terry for their great ears. I dedicate this album to the memory of Emiliano Salvador and all the pianists in Cuba, and to all the Cuban musicians to keep maintaining their roots all over the world."

Francisco's Song

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Hilario Durán - Francisco's Song

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:22
Size: 154.2 MB
Styles: Piano jazz
Year: 1996
Art: Front

[6:29] 1. Francisco's Song
[3:39] 2. Medley Matamoros
[6:06] 3. Lush Life
[9:23] 4. For Emiliano
[5:14] 5. Esto Si Tiene Que Ver
[1:59] 6. Giant Steps
[5:13] 7. Confession
[5:37] 8. Tiembla Tierra
[5:45] 9. Suavecito
[4:28] 10. Conqueta Conquín
[5:20] 11. Days Dreams
[4:34] 12. Esperando La Carroza
[3:27] 13. Hot House

Cuban pianist Hilario Duran was a dynamic presence on Jane Bunnett's "Spirits of Havana," particularly on the tune "Yo Siempre Oddara." Bunnett returns the favor here, playing alto sax and flute on five of thirteen selections. The other principals are Alain Caron, bass, and Sonny Greenwich, guitar. Duran plays solo piano on "Suavecito," "Medley Matamoros," "Conqueta Conquin," and "Lush Life." Two numbers, "Francisco's Song," and "Hot House" employ the full quartet. The remaining tunes offer various configurations of piano, guitar, and bass. Duran composed seven tunes, including "For Emiliano," his tribute to the late Cuban pianist Emiliano Salvador. The standards are the aforementioned "Hot House," "Lush Life," and "Giant Steps." His reading of "Lush Life" is Tatumesque, full of trills and runs. Duran's playing draws on his native Cuban traditions and has a strong classical component. He has a liquid tone and his virtuosity gets full play on these exploratory,ruminative selections. ~Marcela Breton

Francisco's Song

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Hilario Duran & His Latin Jazz Big Band - From The Heart

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 52:23
Size: 119.9 MB
Styles: Latin jazz, Easy Listening
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[5:17] 1. Mambo Influenciado
[6:32] 2. From The Heart
[5:42] 3. Habanera In Spain
[4:22] 4. Angel Eyes
[5:42] 5. Paq Man
[6:02] 6. T'dot Cha Cha Cha
[5:31] 7. Moon Face Again
[1:23] 8. Rumba For Chano
[4:39] 9. Blem Blem Blem
[7:08] 10. Farewell

Anyone who heard the explosive band put together by multi-instrumentalist Arturo Sandoval shortly after he broke away from the seemingly indivisible Irakere would probably remember the ubiquitous young gentleman at the piano. He was the one with the propulsive attack that featured a left hand like God in a Cuban descarga, abetted by the lightening fast right hand with darting flourishes that finished his intricate phrases. The "escuela de vida," where he cut his musical teeth, was the Orchesta Cubana de Musica, with whom, in 1976, he replaced departing pianist Jesus "Chucho" Valdes.

The gentleman in question is Hilario Duran. It was at Orchesta Cubana de Musica, Duran has said, that he "learned the art and tricks of big band orchestras (taught by) the director of this great orchestra, German Pifferrer." When he said that, Duran was being his typically modest Cuban self. Six years earlier, in 1970, he was responsible for the arrangements of another well-known big band, Orchesta de Aficionados. So by the time 1976 came around, Duran had already, over six years, come to leave his personal voice in the echoes of the charts for two famous orchestras—and that almost four decades ago.

So the art of the big band would be nothing new to Duran. This is what makes his first US release, From the Heart, not just an exciting experience, but the closing of a circle and the culmination of a musical expedition that has come to fruition after long and hard journeying. It's a journey that first began in Cuba and hit milestone after milestone in Canada, the country in which Duran chose to live. And what a journey it has been. Full of ritmo, soul and jazz and such obvious love for an art that Duran has mastered with style and finesse. Hats off also to Alma Records producer, Peter Cardinali, for seeing this gigantic project through.

From The Heart

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