El Violin Latino Vol.3 - Los Sonadores

Every now and then, a project comes around that makes you contemplate not just the music but the world in which we live. Gregor Huebner's El Violin Latino Volume 3 Los Soñadores 'The Dreamers' is one of these productions. If it were evaluated only on the musical merits, it would be considered a high mark, one of the most virtuosic and approachable latin jazz albums of recent years. Paired with it's forward-thinking message on immigration, Huebner has crafted a meditation that explores not just harmonic changes but changing our political conversation so that we find more harmony with each other. These days there is considerable enmity and xenophobia in the U.S. and elsewhere, directed towards immigrants and those who look and think differently. In particular, 'Dreamers' the young Americans who were brought to the US as children have been caught in the midst of this heated political debate. Having worked closely with Dreamers on arts related projects, I know them to be hard-working, intelligent-minded, country-loving individuals. It's time that we see them not just as 'Dreamers' but as Americans. And that's why Huebner's album is so important. He has created a soundtrack for the 'Dreamer' movement and ultimately reveals more about their humanity. When we grow more familiar with someone, we don't fear them as much. We can even become friends and family. Huebner thought carefully about the repertoire for the project and how to give this cause a musical voice. His album begins with Equinox, which is a through-and-through groove tune, arranged in a Cuban style, the famous John Coltrane number. It's an opening salvo for how we can listen and learn from each other. The piece quickly opens into a solo section in which Huebner's violin does the proverbial talking, cascading colorful lines and double-stopped notes into the more enigmatic piano feature performed by Klaus Mueller.