The Majesty of Magos, the Power of Expression, the Songs of Women

 Over the past month, I have listened to four different albums featuring vocalist, composer, and activist Magos Herrera. 2018 saw the release of "Dreamers" (Sony Music/Mexico), her brilliant collaboration with Brooklyn Rider while December 2020 was the release date for "Con Alma: An Operatic Tableau on Isolation" (National Sawdust Tracks), Ms. Herrera's album with Italian-born composer Paola Prestini. The newer albums are reviewed below.

For those who don't know Magos Herrera, she's a native of Mexico City who came to the United States in 1992 to study at The Musicians Institute in Los Angeles.  She continued her studies in Boston, MA, before returning to Mexico.  Her first four albums as a solo artist were recorded in her home city. In 2008, Ms. Herrera moved to New York City and, one year later, released "Distancia" on Sunnyside Records––two years later, she followed up with "México Azul" for the same label.  Since then, she was 1/2 of the duo Magos & Limón (Spanish  guitarist Javier Limón) that recorded two albums for Sony Music.  What stands out for this listener includes her persuasive contralto voice, how she inhabits each song whether she's singing in Spanish, Portuguese, or English, and how she obliterates "borders" in her music (is she a jazz singer, a classical chanteuse, or a folk artist? Yes, all that and more.

"Aire" is her 11th album as a leader, her third for Sunnyside, the first release for that label in 12 years.  With her regular working trio of Vinicius Gomes (acoustic guitar), Sam Minaie (bass), and Alex Kautz (drums and percussion) plus guest Ingrid Jensen (trumpet and flugelhorn on two tracks), Dori Caymmi (voice on "Samba em Preludio"), and Gonzalo Grau (percussion on three tracks). The Knights, the 21-member chamber orchestra (see personnel below) also appear on 10 of the 12 tracks playing arrangements by Mr. Grau, by Argentinean pianist Diego Schissi, and the great Brazilian composer and arranger Jaques Morelenbaum ("Samba em Preludio"). The material includes five originals by Ms. Herrera as well as compositions by Chilean folklorist Violetta Parra (1917-1967), by Ariel Ramírez & Félix Luna, by Guinga & César Pinheiro, by Danilo Moraes & Paulo Cesar de Carvahlo, and by Vinicius de Moraes & Baden Powell. 

Photo: Shervin Lainez

There's so many reasons to listen to "Aire", not the least of which is how strong these songs are and how the vocalist works with both the trio and the orchestra.  Whether it's the dancing rhythms of the title track that opens the album (Grau's arrangement is both lavish and supportive) or the gentle swaying of "Samba em Preludio" (the blend of 79-year old Caymmi's handsome voice with the supple quality of Ms. Herreras voice is charming and touching), the music touches the heart.  Quiet guitar introduces Violetta Parra's "Gracias a la Vida" but note how Schissi's arrangement first introduces the reeds and then the strings move around under the voice. Add Ingrid Jensen's occasional trumpet responses to the vocal rises above the orchestra and the piece has a "magical-realism".  Guinga's "Passarinhadeira" (finch) is just voice and guitar––Ms. Herrera sings so gently over Gomes's finger-picked acoustic guitar that one must lean into the song.  Schissi's handsome string writing behind the wordless vocal on the short "Papalote Intro" leads the listener into Ms. Herrera's original piece. Gomes's delightful guitar solo follows the theme with The Knights' caressing sounds swimming around beneath him. They do the same for Ms. Herrera's wordless vocal improvisation.

The album closes with "Healer", a piece dedicated to and featuring the voice Maria Sabina (1894-1985), the Mexican shaman, in the opening moment.  Ms. Sabina not only used herbs, peyote, and mushrooms but also the voice to heal people. Ms. Herrera uses her voice to deliver the message of healing through music and the celebration of life.  The blend of percussion, voices, guitars, and The Knights brings "Aire" to a magical and delightful close.

Magos Herrera has created a panacea to the fear and worries of the past few years, music to escape the myriad voices of argument and disagreement of people who use words to hurt and stress their superiority.  Can music heal our souls?  Ms. Herrera believes so and this magnificent album serves as her proof!

For more information, go to www.magosherrera.com.  To hear and to purchase the album, go to https://magosherrera.bandcamp.com/album/aire.

The Knights:

Colin and Eric Jacobsen - artistic directors

Wayne du Maine - conductor

Colin Jacobsen, Christina Courtin, Abi Fayette, Alex Fortes, Kristi Hellberg, Nannte Iwata, Yaira Matyakubova - violin

Mario Goto, Celia Hatton - viola

Gabriel Cabezas, Jia Kim - cello

Grey Fulmer - bass

Alex Sopp - flute

Michelle Farah - oboe

Agnes Marchione - clarinet

Edward Burns - bassoon

Karl Kramer-Johansen - horn

Micah Killian - trumpet

Dave Nelson - trombone

Megan Conley - harp

Blair McMillen - piano

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Listen to "Choro de Lua":

Venezuelan-born pianist and composer Edward Simon first met Magos Herrera in 2017 when he, his trio members (bassist Joe Martin and drummer Adam Cruz) and the vocalist performed together in a 2017 tribute concert honoring the great Argentine vocalist Mercedes Sosa (1935-2009).  That planted the seed in the pianist's mind to create a follow-up to his 2016 Sunnyside Records album "Latin American Songbook".  This time, Simon with Herrera and the Trio, would focus on Latin American women composers and performers. In addition, the ensemble (with bassist Reuben Rogers replacing Martin and now including  and guest percussionist Luis Quintero) worked on a commission that Simon received from the Chamber Music's New Jazz Works––"Latino Soy" is a three-movement piece, two movements featuring lyrics sung and spoken by Ms. Herrera.

"Femeninas: Songs of Latin American Women" (artistShare)  is an 11-song, 63-minute, program that pays tribute to artists such as Joyce Moreno (Brazil), Elizabeth (Chile), Chabuca Granda (Perú), Violetta Parra (Chile), Marta Valdés (Cuba), Rosa Passos (Brazil), and Georgina Hassan (Argentina).  Opening with Ms. Moreno's "Feminina", the music jumps out of the speakers on the lively rhythms created by the trio plus the crisp acoustic guitar of Romero Lubambo (one of his two appearances on the album).  After Ms. Herrera delivers the lyrics, composed as a question to a Mother as to what "female" means, Rogers takes a delightful, melodic, solo and Quintero adds a short solo. That leads into Ms. Morris's lovely ballad "Décimas"–Simon's arrangement does not stray too far from the original until he pushes the tempo in the second half of the piece. Again, Roger's melodic bass lines stand out not only as foundational but in counterpoint to the vocal. 

Simon's suite, "Latino Soy", takes up 1/3rd of the album's running time. "Naked Sky" features original English lyrics by Ms. Herrera. The music slowly builds up behind the vocal into a fast bolero––Cruz's drumming and brush work stand out as do the richly melodic solo Simon creates.  "Buleria" is even quicker, with the feel of flamenco (Simon's piano captures the feel of a guitarist). The break in the middle for drums, handclaps, and percussion sets up a powerful with Ms. Herrera's wordless vocal soaring above the ensemble. Here, the overdubbing creates a responsive chorus that is hypnotic, mesmerizing.  The final section, "Mujer Remolino", takes its title from one of the nicknames of the shaman Maria Sabina (see above)––the words translate to "Whirlwind Woman".  The medium-tempo piece opens up to a long, twisting, rhythmical, piano solo. After a break where Ms. Herrera joins in on wordless vocal, she then begins to read the words of one of the Mexican shaman's healing ceremonies.

Other highlights include the stunning "Gracias de la Vida" ("Here's to Life") from the pen of Ms. Parra. After the voice and piano move through the verses, Cruz enters to "converse" with Simon during his solo. Rogers joins them for the final verse of the song.  The song then breaks into double-time, a dramatic close to quite a dramatic piece.  Lubambo returns for Ms. Passos "Dunas" (lyrics by Fernando de Oliviera), a delicious Bossa Nova with a pleasing solo from Simon. 

The program closes with "Hacia Donde" ("where" or "wherever"), a lovely ballad composed by Ms. Valdés (born 1928) for voice and piano.  One may not understand Spanish but you cannot miss the pensive mood of the singer and the gentle, "formal", piano in the background that carries that introspective and emotional mood throughout the performance.  

When you sit and listen through "Femeninas" several times, you can really hear how the pairing of Magos Herrera and Edward Simon is magic. One feels, actually intuits, that they have worked together for many years.  Yet, that's just part of the magic of this project. The rhythm section is powerful, able to "groove" and support in equal measure. Simon's piano work is clear, his phrases articulate, and his arrangements intelligent and respectful.  Ms. Herrera's voice is so wondrous, her ability to express emotions and transport listeners beyond the mundane explains why every project she is involved with is worth investigating.  

"Femeninas" will be released on June 8, 2023––go to www.edwardsimon.com/projects/femeninas to find out more.

Listen to and watch "Gracias a la Vida":