The debut duo album from pianist
Elio Villafranca and percussionist
Arturo Stable seems like an event dictated by fate. Both were born in Cuba and trained there and now live in America.
Villafranca started as a percussionist before turning to piano, and
Stable's music career began on piano, so they have unique insights into each other's instruments. They both also have huge amounts of talent, as composers as well as players. They also look well outside Cuba for inspiration, drawing from the Middle East, for example, with "Saghezi," or flamenco with "Vertiente." Both musicians are superb, to the point you forget it's only a duo and the voice that enters on "Yusa's" comes as a surprise. Wonderful as they are on the uptempo material, the slower pieces really glisten, such as the beautiful "Alla" and "Agua Marina," an impressionistic delight. But their homeland underpins it all: on "Arara" they use an old melody and team it with a danzon rhythm, while "En la Colonia" is pure Afro-Cuban. The highlight, though, is the closing "Cuba Linda," which opens with a choral piece before taking off into something ineffably Cuban. It's the perfect finish to a delicious album that bodes well for future collaborations. ~ Chris Nickson