About this user
There have been few new voices in the jazz world that have caused as much of a stir and possessed as much individuality
as Miguel Zenón. The buzz began with his quartet's first Marsalis Music release, Ceremonial, a program of original compositions that appeared in 2004. Jíbaro, his second disc, followed a year later, and its bold reinterpretation of the
rural music of Puerto Rico helped earn Zenón the overall Best New Artist award in the 2006 JazzTimes poll. Now, the alto
saxophonist and his talented crew plus special guests embark on a more personal journey with Awake that is sure to
bring even greater accolades.
The ten tracks chart what for Zenón has been a critical inner journey. "I wrote all of the music over the past two or three
years," he explains, "and the individual compositions fell into an order around one of the older tunes, 'Awakening'. The
composition represents a period I went through that in many ways was about personal growth. Trying to find myself as a
musician and understanding what it means to have a career in music. What resulted was an awareness of my priorities,
and how I want to portray myself as an artist. As central as music has been to my life, I realized that other things are
important and carry the same force."
All of these forces have come together to create the strongest statement to date from Zenón, who has also been turning
heads of late through his affiliations with the SFJAZZ Collective, Guillermo Klein Y Los Gauchos and Charlie Haden's
Liberation Music Orchestra. "I'm getting my ideas out and communicating them to the band more easily," he reflects. "I'm
more relaxed when I write, and I feel I'm growing as both a composer and a communicator of ideas."
Awake captures all of that growth, as well as the passion, intellect and spirit that has become a Miguel Zenón trademark.
