Alexis Cuadrado: A Lorca Soundscape

Bassist and composer Alexis Cuadrado swapped his native Barcelona for New York more than a decade ago. Though he's since become a leading voice on the dynamic Brooklyn scene, he still clearly feels Iberian enough to identify with another visiting Spaniard, the poet Federico García Lorca. Arriving in New York from Spain in 1929, Lorca was just in time for the Wall Street Crash. His anguished New York poems, prompted by the injustices and inequalities he witnessed, provide Cuadrado with the libretto for a suite of music that mixes the grace and poise of chamber jazz with the power and outrage of a protest song. Lorca's words, sung here with real conviction by Claudia Acuña, retain their relevance and surreal power, and they are given extra force by an outstanding contribution from Puerta Rican saxophonist Miguel Zenon. alexiscuadrado.com