Patrones

Patrones, the new project led by Peruvian musician, DJ and producer Humberto Polar, debuts with four tracks in which the loose dynamics of jazz engage in a dialogue with the foundational rhythms of Afro-Peruvian music. Released by the Madrid-based labels Tenorio Cotobade and Sometimes Music, the album sets the instrumental improvisation of jazz ensembles over a tapestry of rhythms performed by Alfredo Valiente and Roberto and Chebo Ballumbrosio, members of one of the most representative musical families in Afro-Peruvian culture. These rhythms, recorded in Lima, are the four ‘patterns’ upon which almost the entire Afro-Peruvian musical tradition is built, and they give their names to the four pieces that make up the album: Son de los Diablos, Festejo, Yunza and Landó. Combining a variety of compositional strategies and stylistic approaches, and drawing on the intimate relationship between rhythm and improvisation, “Patrones” is an album that unites the traditions of Afro-Peruvian music with the creative possibilities of jazz, establishing a vital link between different temporal, territorial and aesthetic dimensions.