From The Depth Of My Brain

Album review

Recorded in 1978, From the Depth of My Brain... is one of Willie Rosario's most intensely focused and deeply moving dates. Featuring a chorus, a trio of singers who include Tony Vega, Bobby Concepcion, and Gilberto Santa Rosa, and lead vocalists Guillo Rivera and Junior Toledo, From the Depth of My Brain... comes out of the deeper experiences in life and love to offer a salsa experience that is full of dimension and texture. Among the participants here are conguero Jimmy Morales, baritone saxophonist Beto Tirado, and pianist Javier Fernández (and of course the maestro himself on timbales). The material ranges from Tito Puente's pumped-up opus "Picadillo con Salsa" and Henry Arana's beautiful "Llorare" to the deep sorrow in Rafael Hernández's "Desesperacion," with its mournful choruses and Rivera's gorgeous lead vocal. The set ends with a Rosario original, "Todo Se Olvida," an elegant son with a knotty chart and killer vocal by Toledo. The taut jazz arrangement for the trumpet section comes right from the Machito school of arrangement. From the Depth of My Brain... is a very progressive recording, and one of Rosario's finest moments on tape.

© Thom Jurek /TiVo