| The concept of blending the vibraphone with latin rhythms was introduced by the great Tito Puente in the late 1940's and was later refined and perfected by the late Cal Tjader, first as a member of the George Shearing Quintet and then as the leader of his own small groups. The Tjader sound virtually defined west coast latin-jazz in the 1950's. He was often imitated but never duplicated. On the east coast there was Pete Terrace, Tommy Berrios, Louie Ramirez, Phil Diaz and Oscar Garcia. Here on the west coast it was Manny Lopez and Bobby Montez. Pianist and bandleader Eddie Cano used the vibraphone stylings of the great Larry Bunker to accentuate his latin beat both live and on records. Many mainstream straight-ahead jazz vibraphone players also made latin-jazz recordings. This includes Terry Gibbs, Emil Richards, Victor Feldman, John Rae, Dave Pike and believe or not even Lional Hampton. Other vibists have also tried this formula over the years, often with mixed results. However, it is a formula that is tried and true and if it is in the right hands can as a rule produce the most exciting, electrifying, passionate and satisfying music imaginable. As we prepare to enter the next millennium, who will carry on this tradition and legacy into the twenty-first century? I'm putting my money on Bob DeSena.
"The balls of his mallets hit the bars of his vibraphone with such friction that you can almost see the sparks flying."
I first met Bob DeSena back in 1994, at the world renowned Plaza De La Raza located in Los Angeles' Lincoln Park. He was playing trumpet and vibraphone with the excellent chicano music ensemble "Nuestro". I had heard of DeSena through a friend who had recently seen Nuestro perform at the historic San Gabriel Mission. This friend knows how much I love the vibraphone and told me that he thought I would enjoy DeSena's playing. He was absolutely right. Never before had I seen someone play the vibraphone with such vehemence as DeSena. His fierce and fiery solos generated so much intense heat that I thought for sure his instrument would ignite and be engulfed in flames at any given moment. His lightening quick reflexes, incredible strength and stamina combined with his extremely sharp and creative mind as well as acute sense of hand-eye coordination enable him to perform fantastic feats of percussive pyrotechnics. He builds his amazing runs on the instrument from the bottom up, starting off at a medium pace then gradually growing more frenetic. He plays with such speed, force and intensity that to the naked eye he gives off the illusion that his two arms become four, six then eight before disappearing in a blur altogether. The balls of his mallets hit the bars of his vibraphone with such friction that you can almost see the sparks flying.
Ever since my initial encounter with Bob DeSena and his one-of-a-kind style of playing the vibraphone I have been a fan and am proud to say a friend. After their Plaza De La Raza concert I followed "Nuestro" and DeSena to their next gigs which took place in Oxnard, Ventura and Santa Barbara. Although all of the members of the group are outstanding musicians, I just couldn't get enough of DeSena.
In March of 1995, I was asked to organize a vibraphone summit honoring the late Cal Tjader on the USC campus. I invited DeSena to participate. He did and was one of the highlights of the program. Several months later I received a frantic phone call from a conga drummer and bandleader who I was casually acquainted with. He informed me that his vibraphone player had cancelled out on him just days before a very important performance celebrating the release of his brand new CD and that he was in desperate need of a replacement. Knowing that I am familiar with practically every vibraphonist in town, he pleaded with me to find someone for him. The first and only name that came to mind was that of DeSena. I told the conga drummer that I would call DeSena to see if he was available as well as willing to bail him out of this unfortunate predicament. It was after all extremely short notice and it also meant that DeSena would have to learn an entire book of original charts he had never seen or played before in his life. I called DeSena immediately and explained the situation to him. Not being one to resist a challenge, DeSena said he would go for it, meet the mission head-on, hope for the best and just see what happens. He and the conga drummer had never met, nor had they even heard of each other before. They met that night over the phone for the first time.
"Where did you find this guy? He's sensational!"
DeSena went to his local record store, picked up the conga drummer's CD and woodshedded for the next three days. All the while the conga drummer kept calling me apprehensively and nervously asked me again and again "are you sure this guy is good?" I assured him that he was and told him not to worry about it. When the big day arrived, not only had DeSena memorized all of the tunes with their notes, keys and chord changes in tact but actually played them even better than the conga drummer's original vibist. Every time he took a solo the crowd went wild. Without intending to, DeSena all but stole the show. After hearing only a couple of tunes, Bill Lazerus who had produced the conga drummer's disc turned to me and asked "where did you find this guy? He's sensational!" I just shrugged my shoulders. I felt like Colonel Tom Parker showing off Elvis Presley for the first time. Everybody in attendance that day was immensely impressed with DeSena. Thanks to his sense of discipline, dedication, professionalism and of course talent, the CD release party was a smashing success. DeSena saved the day.
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Once DeSena realized that he had secured this record date he enlisted the help of pianist, composer and arranger Bob Luna who he had met at a couple of casual gigs when both were members of someone else's group. DeSena was immediately taken by Luna's virtuosity as well as his compositional skills and the two hit it off right from the start. They were very compatible both musically and personally. For this project DeSena outlined his concept of what he wanted the recording to say to the listener. The message that the individual tunes as well as the disc as a whole was to convey. He wanted so many boleros, mambos, cha-chas, salsas, songos, montunos and latin jazz numbers. He wanted Luna to take his rough ideas, refine them, make sense out of them and tailor each composition to his own distinct and unique style of playing. DeSena also had total creative control and final approval of every phase of the project. Luna went right to work and single-handedly composed eleven of the disc's twelve outstanding numbers. The tune "Forever Gigi" composed in honor of DeSena's daughter Jennifer, was written by both DeSena and Luna. On this one particular number, DeSena steps away from his vibes to play a very pretty original flugelhorn arrangement which is accompanied by two harmonically structured flutes. The other tune dedicated to a lady is "Anna My Love" which was written and arranged by Bob Luna in honor of his fiance. "Mambo Habanero" features dynamite solos by trumpeter Bobby Loya and trombonist Lon Normon. The remaining nine tracks contains a wide variety of latin rhythms and tempos which in my opinion are all first rate. Each song has it's own individual and distinct personality which reflects the versatility of Luna as a composer/arranger. However, it is DeSena's exciting and original interpretations that truly bring these songs to life.
"All That (Latin) Jazz" is an extremely strong debut recording by DeSena which I am convinced will be the first of many more to come. Bob DeSena is a gifted and talented musician who is one of the freshest and most thrilling new voices on the vibes to come along in quite some time. He has a bright future ahead of him and is certain to be one of the major latin jazz artists of tomorrow. Remember, you heard it here first.
Mal Sands
L.A. Jazz Scene
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