Search - Frank Emilio Flynn :: Tiempo De Danzon

The danzon, an elegant, stately mix of European and indigenous elements, is one of the quintessential Cuban music styles. Cuban maestro Frank Emilio Flynn, 77, became popular in the 1930s in Cuba as a pianist and leader of a danzon orchestra and in A tiempo de Danzon revisits some of the classics of the genre including "Las Alturas de Simpson," generally considered the first danzon. The supporting ensemble here is serviceable rather than inspiring but Flynn holds the music together with his crisp, unsentimental touch and economic style. This is music at once delicate and earthy, courtly and streetwise and Flynn time and again finds the exact balance with authority and unfailing grace. --Fernando Gonzalez