Sombras

The Afro-Cuban roots group OKAN present their first full-length release of jazz-influenced music paying tribute to the sonic traditions of Santería (a syncretic religion that grew from the Yoruba faith, brought to Cuba by displaced West Africans during the slave trade times). From the opening title-track, the listener is thrown into OKAN's stark juxtaposition of styles. The tune opens with an Afro-Cuban chant, sung in Yoruba, similar to the melodies found in Daymé Arocena's most recent release, Sonocardiogram. Then, half way through, an abrupt stop gives way to snare fill, followed by a drum-kit and batá (a set of three drums ubiquitous in Santería music), which drive a jazzy section, with a grounding ostinato bass holding together an explosion of piano flutterings and thickly layered vocals.

Stylistic contrast is perhaps the main thread through this album, with ‘Quick Stop’ showcasing a fiddle performance influenced by Canadian folk traditions, the tear-jerking slow-dance ballad ‘Desnudando El Alma’ (this is, tied with English-language ‘Last Day’, the album's weakest link) and the Brazilian-tinged ‘Mas Que Nada’, which appears melodically inspired by the famous tune by the same name. This reviewer would have preferred to hear OKAN's take on Afro-Cuban jazz and Santería to be fully explored (as in the title-track), rather than a hyperactive album of stylistic tangents.