Search - Sexto Sentido :: Mi Feeling

Havana Vocal Jazz, Hand-rolled and Heavenly

A Music Fan | san jose, costa rica | 09/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sexto Sentido, a Cuban female vocal quartet formed in the early nineties at Havana's Amadeo Roldan Conservatory, performs in a uniquely arresting style on this 2008 disc, their second after "Bossa Cubana" released in 2005. I say "uniquely" in the sense that it reflects at once the insularity imposed upon the island (the cover of their 2005 disc shows the four singers posed in a vintage mid-50s Chevy Bel Air convertible) and the irrepressibly universal nature of artistic expression. According to interviews available on line, the four began singing together for their own amusement as teenaged conservatory students, inspired by American R&B and especially the Gospel a cappella group Take 6. Along the way, they were exposed to jazz and world, particularly Brazilian, music, but still remained grounded in the Cuban vocal tradition exemplified by Quartet de Aida, the best known of such ensembles. The result has been a musical blend that is at once global and inescapably Cuban.



I read somewhere a comment comparing SS to The New York Voices but I find the comparison inapt. While I enjoy the Voices' work, they are far more reliant on power and vocal pyrotechnics than SS; in terms of texture it would be like comparing rich brocade to fine linen. For those, like myself, with little historical knowledge of Cuban music (outside of Afro-Cuban jazz, which is itself a hybrid), I'd say their closest antecedents are vocal ensembles like Brazil's Quarteto em Cy and Trio Esperanca.



As to the disc itself, "Mi feeling" is a tribute to a particular Cuban vocal music tradition and some its best known cancionistas, past and present. As one of the group's members, Arlety Valdes (no relation to Chucho so far as I know) described the effort: "In this CD the audience will have the opportunity to listen to us interpreting songs, boleros, in most of the cases with very contemporary arrangements. This is our way of doing things. Our formula is to do covers, but with our own style, without threatening the essence of the original, and of course, always making a contribution to the arrangement." One listen to the disc will, I guarantee, confirm Ms Valdes' words.



"Cancion difícil" has gotten some air play on jazz stations and is the cut that persuaded me to download the entire album and I'm very happy that I did. Every song is gorgeous, gorgeously arranged and of course gorgeously sung. The first time I heard the cut "Eres felíz" I thought the words were "Cara felíz" (Happy face). Well, maybe my ear for Spanish isn't perfect, but that certainly describes me when listening to this wonderful collection.



I do wonder, however, what a pure a cappella treatment would have sounded like. The accompanists are all first rate players and there are a few tasty instrumental breaks, but given the excellence of the close harmony singing I'm not sure they would have been missed if their Impalas and Fairlanes had broken down en route to the studio!

"