For those unaware, this brand new recording by Foreign Affair – a trio helmed by pianist Hector Martignon – is out now and is ready for everyone to enjoy!

There are no two cities more dissimilar and difficult to compare than New York and Geneva, says Martignon.

Even both cities’ proximity to large, important bodies of water fail at close examination: New York’s mighty Hudson and the stormy Atlantic, versus Geneva’s tranquil Rhone and the peaceful and majestic Lake of Leman share little beyond their constituent molecule, H2O.

If anything, then New York City’s mountains of glass and concrete called skyscrapers, competing in awesomeness and daring with the towering Alpine peaks surrounding Geneva.

And still, commuting between both cities for the last 15 years or so, to visit my daughter Leticia and her children in Geneva, I saw a musical home flourish and thrive in both cities, to which this CD offers the finest testament.

Having worked with Raphael Nick in several Afro-Cuban-tinged projects and enjoying his versatility and virtuosity, we decided to join forces whenever I would come to Switzerland. It was he who brought amazing Brazilian bass-virtuoso Dudú Penz to the mix and, voilà!, a magic recipe was ready to cook.

1. Prelude X
2. Pasilleando
3. NY Minute
4. One Step Behind
5. Johnny Come Lately
6. Sous Le Vent
7. Amazonas
8. Bye Bye Brasil
9. Gabriela

This brand new recording opens on the veritably hauntingly ethereal Prelude X and then sprightly Pasilleando (their take on Pasillo) and then comes the pulsating NY Minute and the organic One Step Behind and the jauntily-grooved Johnny Come Lately (one of Billy Strayhorn’ most swinging compositions for Duke Ellington).

Along next is the delicate title track Sous Le Vent (another of the 24 Preludes re-born as a Jazz tune in the Choro style) which is in turn backed seamlessly by the playfully rhythmic, NYC-Latin influenced Amazonas, the recordingly closing on the opulent Bye Bye Brasil (which depicts the Brazilian emotion of saudade) and the fabulously-crafted Gabriela.

Official Spotify Purchase Link