2010 Grammy Nominee for Best Latin Jazz Album!DownBeat   4½   A rollicking triumph of styles and genres that is fun from one end to the other. James HaleWell, well is one English translation for Bien Bein!, by the Wayne Wallace Latin Jazz Quintet. "Good, good" is another. Either is appropriate for this collection of nine songs. Wallace, a trombonist, composer and arranger, has been named "Talent Deserving Wider Recognition" in the Down Beat Critics' Poll, and has shared the stage with a range of performers including Ray Charles, Celine Dion, Carlos Santana and John Lee Hooker. Pianist Murray Low, bassist David Belove, percussionist Michael Spiro and drummer Paul van Wageningen make up the rest of the quintet. All five sing, and the ensemble is joined at times by additional trombonists and vocalists. The title song is straightforward Latin style with additional trombones blending for the melody. Low's piano solo reinforces the mood, that life is good, while Spiro and van Wageningen show their chops during a sequence that sets up Wallace's solo. Belove's bass line is vivid. "Mojito Café," a tribute to Cal Tjader and Armando Peraza, is Wallace's reminiscent look at the 1970s North Beach jazz scene in San Francisco. Several styles of jazz could be heard in clubs on a regular basis, and this song is a freely expressive piece that would be right at home in one of those venues. Although Wallace is the lead performer, the song showcases the tight connection of Lowe, Spiro and van Wageningen, the drummer locking in on the cymbals during Low's solo. With an assist from Belove, the trio cranks it up a notch before Wallace rejoins. Toward the end, the vocalists engage in a call-and-response with the trombone. Wallace composed three of the songs in this set. The covers include some variations of Latin jazz by Duke Ellington, Eddie Harris and Sonny Rollins. Original or interpretive, the band is solid throughout. Track listing: Bien Bien; Freedom Jazz Dance (Baile de Libertad); Mojito Caf Personnel: Wayne Wallace: trombone, vocals; Murray Low: piano, vocals; Michael Spiro: percussion, vocals; David Belove: bass, vocals; Paul van Wageningen: trap drums, vocals; Julian Priester: trombone; Dave Martell: trombone; Kenny Washington, vocals; Orlando Torriente: vocals. --All About Jazz - Woodrow WilkinsTrombonist Wayne Wallace and his Latin Jazz Quintet have come together on ¡Bien Bien!, representing the gamut of Latin music, from Latin jazz to cha cha cha, cu-bop, bolero, and bamba. Surrounded by the talents percussionist Michael Spiro, bassist David Belove, pianist Murray Low, and drummer Paul van Wageningen, Wallace manages to make the trombone sound as though it were made just for this music. ¡Bien Bien! is a mix of Wallace's own original compositions (which include the disc's title track, Mojito Café, and Playa Negra) along with a few selections from such notables as Duke Ellington, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane, some of the jazz world's most celebrated sons. In reading the song descriptions provided in the disc's jacket, it's logical to infer that the songs featured on the disc were selected because they were thought to tell the story of jazz and Latin music what it really means and how that meaning is only really brought forth through the artists who choose to tell the music's story. Wallace seems to take the inference one step further, however, and appears to use the music to also tell his story his views on life, his gratitude and respect for those who have played this music before him, in addition to his love for the music and the cultures that helped to nourish it. When Dave Martell and former Duke Ellington Orchestra member Julian Priester join Wallace on trombones during the opening notes of Ellington's Going Up! and on Latin jazz giant Memo Acevedo's Building Bridges the musicians sound as though they are drawing energy from one to the next as the trombones' tone gets richer as both songs progress. Though the music is happening around them the trombones definitely take center stage in both instances. Mojito Café begins with a subtle groove that has Wallace's trombone engaged in a sultry dance with Low's commanding piano playing and Spiro's soft yet omnipresent percussion work. Low and Spiro have equal footing on this track and, like a good band does, they manage to step into their role without outshining each other or the bandleader. The Rollins penned Solid gets a vamped up remake as Wallace takes the jazz tune and turns it into a more spirited and energetic version of the original. What makes each of these songs and the entire recording so beautiful is that the special guests and members of the quintet are first rate performers that are on board to see Wallace's vision through to the end. The result is pure, unadulterated music that offers a great representation of the spirit of Latin music. Wallace should be proud. Track listing: ¡Bien Bien!; Freedom Jazz Dance (Baile de Libertad); Mojito Cafe; Building Bridges; In a Sentimental Mood; Playa Negra; Going Up! ( Subete!); Solid; Africa. --All About Jazz - Bridget A. ArnwineHow can you tell if a latin jazz album s any good? Well, for one, if you can dance to it. For the new one by trombonist Wayne Wallace s Latin Jazz Quintet, the answer is a joyous si! Over the course of two deliriously good Ellington covers, an imaginative rearrangement of a Coltrane classic and some rambunctious originals, they cover a variety of styles perfect for swinging or snuggling across the floor. In the spirit of the great latin bands of the 40s and 50s, there are as many as four trombonists on the album, including Ellington Orchestra vets Julian Priester and Dave Martell along with Murray Low on piano, David Belove on bass and percussionists Michael Spiro and Paul van Wageningen on trap drums. Obviously, with all the trombones, they go for a big sound, but there s plenty of space for the rest of the band as well. Of the originals, the best is the album s title track, a rousing guaguanco. Eddie Harris Freedom Jazz Dance gets a slinky bomba treatment; another original, Mojito Cafe sets an expansive Low piano solo over some tricky changes and eventually a crescendoing call-and-response between the vocals and Wallace s trombone. Memo Acevedo s Building Bridges is inspiring and optimistic, with a sweet ensemble horn chart. The deceptively simple cha-cha Playa Negra another original is bouncy and even seductive. And the Duke would be proud of how Wallace works In a Sentimental Mood as wee-hours theme music, along with the group s strikingly dark, intense version of Going Up (Subete). The album wraps up with two innovative covers. Sonny Rollins Solid is basically a blues with a latin groove, transformed into a showcase in subtlety as the group brings it down to just Low and the percussion before soaring up again. And Coltrane s Africa is brought vividly into focus, straight up and accelerated considerably over an unstoppable groove. It s quite a change from the original but it works because it s so different, and embraces the melody so strongly. This works equally well as dance music, as party music and just for listening. --Lucid Culture