Bobby Matos

American Latin jazz luminary Bobby Matos, long admired for his propensity to unite varied jazz traditions with Afro Cuban rhythms, sees highlights from his time on Ubiquity’s Cubop imprint gathered together for this reflective Best Of set. Straight-ahead Latin grooves like the upbeat "Back To The Roots,” with its melodious vibes lead, busy percussive inflections and pace-keeping piano chord changes, provide a stark contrast to Matos’s more explorative arrangements, like his take on "The Creator Has A Master Plan.” The Bronx-born percussionist’s version of the Pharoah Saunders original is a sublime, ethereal affair filled with echoed choral vocals and dreamy piano runs floating above the subtle percussion work that anchors the track. A reworked edition of Matos classic "My Latin Soul” is also included, along with the novel "I Don’t Speak Spanish, But…” a traditional Cuban shaker topped with an English spoken word toast to the translatory power of music, filling out this rounded collection of Bobby Matos’s expanded influences.