The musical genius of Puerto Rico

Posted on Saturday, May 21

Miguel Zenón: The musical genius of Puerto Rico
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by Catalina Maria Johnson
Chicago-based radio host/producer and music writer.

“There´s a musical richness I have discovered in the rhythmic connection with Africa and other Latin American countries… I have a different concept now of what borders are, and  now have the idea that all music comes from one root, especially in the case of Latin America”, explains Grammy-nominated saxophonist Miguel Zenón.  It is a bit like a musical archaeology, he clarifies, digging a bit to see the hidden structures that can be revealed: “With folkloric music we think each country has its music and identify certain styles with certain countries, but the more I study genres and their development, the more I realize we share so many things. What we know as ‘bomba’ in Puerto Rico has a different name in Belize or Cuba or Haiti, but the roots are the same….You begin to see the connections between folkloric traditions that developed in each country, and what caused the differences.”

Speaking by phone, he is describing his investigation of Puerto Rican music that has recently come to the limelight as the result of a 2008 MacArthur Grant. Of the eight hundred individuals the MacArthur Foundation has awarded half a million dollars each since 1981 (the so-called “genius” grant), Zenón is the only Puerto Rican and only the second Latino awardee. He is also the only person ever to obtain the equally prestigious Guggenheim award that same year.

Zenón’s musical accomplishments, as celebrated by the Macarthur Grant, have been to create… “a complex yet accessible sound that is overflowing with feeling and passion and maintains the integrity of the island’s music.” It all started when he studied classical saxophone at the renowned Escuela Libre de Música, but began his first jobs as young professional musician playing dance music such as salsa and merengue. At that time, however, he wasn’t listening to the island’s popular music with the “ears of a musician”, he comments.

Despite excelling at music, Zenón actually loved mathematics and was considering a path in the sciences rather than the musical arts. Then he discovered jazz, being particularly impressed by Charlie Parker’s improvisational virtuosity. But it was only some time later that he made a conscious decision to study Puerto Rican music:  “I discovered myself as a composer and band leader, and what I had in my head in terms of concepts … several projects were born like “Jibaro” and “Esta Plena”. There’s an element that will always be there if you want to present yourself honestly, transparently. When I understood that, everything flowed.”

His latest and soon to be released sixth CD centers on these elements of his homeland’s traditions in a special way. Titled ‘Alma Adentro’, it highlights music written by five renowned Puerto Rican composers who created what Zenón describes as the island’s standards, much like Gershwin, Berlin and Porter created the musical bastions of North American music. The title track by Silvia Rexach, he adds, has the double meaning of describing a melancholic and passionate sense that is uniquely Puerto Rican.

It is what he has to do, says Zenón, in order to represent himself and his art with full honesty: “I don’t think about it too much, I try to be myself, I can’t do it any other way.  The more different ways I can get to a simple, honest way of what I want to say, the easier it is to take it to the music, and then, though music, communicate with others.“

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Miguel Zenón and his Quartet will perform at the Jazz Showcase May 26 to 29.