Latin Music Review: Mark Weinstein’s “Todo Corazon”

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“Todo Corazon: The Tango Album” is a cozy and simplistic tango album where Mark Weinstein introduces jazz elements in 9 beautiful “tango” melodies.

When the maestro Eddie Palmieri started his own band La Perfecta in 1961, Mark Weinstein formed a part of most innovative brass sections in Latin music at the time, by joining forces with Barry Rogers to form the essence of the Palmieri sound, always with a jazz influence. Since then, Mark Weinstein has participated in numerous Latin music recordings, influencing Salsa music and Latin jazz with his trombone, flute, and arrangements.

Mark Weinstein "Todo Corazon" album covert art.
“Todo Corazon: The Tango Album” is Mark Weinstein 15th album.

“Todo Corazon: The Tango Album” is Mark’s 15th album as a solo artist (per my count) and obviously not counting all the other Latin music recordings in which he as participated (that would be a looooong list). The musical arrangements were done my Mark, and Grammy nominees Pablo Aslan and Raurena. The personnel lineup for this album is:

• Marc Weinstein – Flutes
• Abel Rogantini – Piano
• Raul Jaurena – Bandoneón
• Francisco Navarro – Guitar
• Pablo Aslan – Bass

“Todo Corazon” was released in February 2013 under the Jazzheads record label.

What I Liked About “Todo Corazon”

Mark Weinstein with flute
Mark Weinstein previous album was “El Cumbanchero” (2011)

• Feels original – Tango was originally developed with portable instruments (flute, guitar, violins, and bandaneon — the bandaneon being a particular type of accordion.) A player piano, which soon gave way to the piano was incorporated a bit later, with other combinations including the double-bass. “Todo Corazon” stays very close to the original instruments of Tango, with a small group of musicians that play these instruments even though not all instruments are included in all songs.

• Great song selection – I liked that the songs included sound fresh and warm. Mark skipped over played songs like “El Dia Que Me Quieras” prefering some songs that bring out the true flavor of Tango.

• Good improvisations – true to good jazz, the solo improvisations taken by the several instuments throughout the album are majestical. Mark Weinstein’s flute, along with Raul Jaurena’s bandoneon steal the show here. Raul’s arrangements and technique bring true Tango credibility to “Todo Corazon”.

Suggestions for Mark Weinstein on “Todo Corazon”

• Wow…suggestions about this album? To be honest I can’t come up with anything. I really tried to be picky can come up with something that maybe someone might not like, but I can’t find any flaws in this album. Geez, I even like the cover art! This album is well conceptualized from top to bottom.

In my Latin music blogs reviews I try to keep an objective hear by commenting in both; things that I liked and things I either didn’t like or thought someone might not like, or thought could have been done differently. I rarely come out blank on this!

My Recommendation of “Todo Corazon”

Mark Weinstein’s “Todo Corazon: A Tango Album” captures the original essence of “tango”.

I found “Todo Corazon: The Tango Album” to be a really nice “tango” album by Mark Weinstein. The album has a very simple line up, and yet achieves a truly Argentinean flavor.

Excellent album to play when enjoying a nice cup of wine or relaxing at home or on the road back from work. It’s an easy album to listen, which is probably why I didn’t find anything I didn’t like about it. Well done Mark!

 

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