Afro Bop Alliance (Heads Up): B+
With Berklee prof Dave Samuels’ vibes and marimba replacing Andy Narell’s steel drums, the Caribbean Jazz Project isn’t so Caribbean-sounding these days. More mojito than planter’s punch, it’s far more Latin-jazz oriented, and that’s expecially true with the Maryland-based Afro Bop Alliance big band supplying the brassy horsepower. Most of these tunes are covers or reworkings of earlier CJP tunes, but the sheer power of the arrangements and the exquisite taste of the players more than compensates for what the set lacks in freshness. Download: “Rendezvous.”
