For those unaware, there are moments in the journeys of gifted artists where they produce a piece of work that transcends anything they have done in the past.

They could be painters, musicians, or poets, but when it happens, it�s as if their thinking, vision, creativity, passion, experience, and purpose all align in such a way that their hearts and souls lift their work to the highest levels.

The only way to describe a great piece of work is �Magnum Opus� and thus that is the case of Wilson �Chembo� Corniel�s new album, Artistas, M�sicos y Poetas.

Musicians and music bring us together for a community gathering and celebration, bring us light when there is darkness, hope when there is despair, therapy when our bodies and hearts are in pain, and uplift our spirits with inspiration.

Percussionists in particular take me to distant places, to our roots and with every slap of their hands on the skin of a drum, or the sound of a stick, they awaken the spirits of our ancestors and connect us so that we honor them while we continue their legacy and path forward.

1. Volando Con Don Pancho Terry
2. P.R.I.D.E.
3. Dalila
4. Child of Wisdom
5. Pa�La Ocha Tambo
6. L�grima de Monte
7. Big City Gossip
8. Evidence
9. Red Hook Rumba

This Chembo Corniel�s 6th album under his record company Chemboro Records, Inc. and everything about this recording is exceptional: the selection of music, its sequence, the musicianship, the spoken word, and even the beautiful cover art by Andres Chaparro and artwork by Charlie Rosario.

The recording opens on the atmospherically-charged Volando Con Don Pancho Terry and the spoken word-enhanced, infectious jazz-blues of P.R.I.D.E. (featuring poet Ismael Carlo East) and then we get the languishing beauty within the dulcet-hued Dalila, and the upbeat and fervent Child of Wisdom.

This colorful musical stew of explosive polyrhythms, inventive jazz solos, and exciting ensembles, continues onward with the playfully-imbibed, spirited even Pa�La Ocha Tambo and the quietly uproarious L�grima de Monte, and they are in turn backed by the free flowing majesties of melodies and rhythms within Big City Gossip, the album rounding out on a rambunctious take of Thelonious Monk�s Evidence, coming to a close on the Red Hook Rumba (featuring spoken word from poet Felipe Luciano).

A brilliant percussionist who plays tumbadoras, Caj�n, Barril de Bomba, B�t� (Itotele), quinto, shekere, gua-gua, clave, and guiro along with other rhythmic instruments, Chembo Corniel can always be relied upon to create musical excitement. It is little wonder that he has long been in demand by the who�s who of Latin music and Jazz.

Artistas, M�sicos Y Poetas, which celebrates Chembo Corniel�s 20th anniversary as a bandleader, begins with �Volando Con Don Pancho Terry,� a piece featuring the late Eliado �Don Pancho� Terry on shekere and voice along with its composer flutist Andrea Brachfield, Ivan Renta on tenor, and pianist Elio Villafrana, all of whom are propelled by Corniel�s percussion.

Poet Ismael East Carlo looks towards the future on �P.R.I.D.E,� a performance that soon shifts tempos for the solos of pianist Cuevas and tenor-saxophonist Paul Carlon. �Dalia� puts the focus on the quintet (with Cuevas switching to electric piano) over Corniel�s polyrhythms. �Child Of Wisdom� has an ominous sounding keyboard pattern while Eddie Palmieri�s �Pa�La Ocha Tambo� with the percussionists is quite exhilarating.

�Lagrima De Monte� has one of the catchiest melodies of the set and features the Afro Puerto Rican rhythms of Bomba, Hery Paz is featured on flute and Nelson Mathew Gonzalez on primo barril. �Big City Gossip� explores several moods before building up to an exciting conclusion.

Thelonious Monk�s �Evidence� proves surprisingly adaptable to the Afro-Cuban setting before the infectious release closes with poet Felipe Luciano�s showcase on �Red Hook Rumba.�

The core group, consisting of tenor-saxophonist and flutist Hery Paz, pianist Carlos Cuevas, electric bassist Ian Stewart, and drummer-percussionist Joel E. Mateo, is a mighty force by itself. Add to that the guests (which on �Pa�La Ocha Tambo� includes an additional trumpet player, Agustin Someillan Garcia and guest pianist/arranger Hector Martignon) and one has quite a musical feast.

Official Website