DANILO PEREZ
'Til Then

Verve

On …Till Then Danilo Perez plays with two trios: his touring group, comprised of Ben Street and Adam Cruz, and the rhythm section of the current Wayne Shorter quartet, featuring bassist John Patitucci and drummer Brian Blade. To these solid units Perez occasionally adds vocalist Lizz Wright and soprano sax work by Donny McCaslin. The results are less grandiose than on his previous outing, Motherland, but still explore and bridge the Latin, Afro-Carribean, jazz, and pop worlds.

“Native Soul,” the album’s opener, is typical of Perez’s approach, a trio setting where many of the pianist’s influences, including Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, and Chick Corea, come together to create his unique pianistic voice. There is good communication between the trio members as well, with Cruz and Street collaborating with, rather than merely supporting, the pianist.

From there, Perez takes us all around Latin America, with the pastoral “Gracias a la Vida” by Chilean composer, artist, and folk singer Violeta Parra, as well as Brazilian songwriter Chico Buarque’s “Trocando em Miudos,” on which bassist John Patitucci provides a bouncy rhythmic counterpoint. Rounding out the trip are fellow Panamanian Ruben Blades’ “Paula C,” “Rabo de Nube” by Cuban songwriter Silvio Rodriguez, and Milton Nasciemento’s “Vera Cruz,” which closes the album. Each of these performances demonstrates that while Perez is a lyrical player, he is also very inventive and aggressive rhythmically, and both combinations of bassists and drummers are up to his challenge.

Perez visits the pop world with the album’s title track, which he composed with vocalist Lizz Wright. Her lyrics emphasize themes of rebirth, unity, and timelessness, echoing the way that Perez blends musical forms from different countries and cultures. Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed” is given a soulful reading, its ascending melody rendered delicately by Perez. “Fiddle and the Drum,” written by Joni Mitchell and included on her 1969 album Clouds, compares an angry, war-focused U.S. government to an embittered friend; Wright again provides vocals.

Danilo Perez, a formidable pianist and talented composer, continually finds fresh ways of combining Latin American and Caribbean elements with the swing of jazz. Rather than coming off as an awkward hybrid, his music sounds like a reinvention.