- country:Netherlands
- region:Caribbean
- style(s):Jazz, Latin
- label:Pramisi Records
- artist posted by:Fra Fra Sound
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Roots United was founded by Michael Simon in the beginning of the new millennium, aiming towards the continuation of the evolution of the Latin jazz genre by performing original works. Herefore he chose the best Latin and Jazz musicians in Holland to join this band.
John Storm Roberts (author of The Latin Tinge) proved he had a point in that Latin-American music was the most important outside influence on U.S. popular music of the last 100 years. Therefore, the first of the fusions has earned its extensive status by evolving in different ramifications, thanks to its characteristic of the exploration of other traditions and moving across musical boundaries.
Roots United demostrates this by defining a distinct approach by the way Western compositional techniques are used to incorporate Afro-Caribbean and South-American rhythmical and interpretational traditions in a jazz idiom based context. This could only be achieved by gathering musicians that have followed this path and therefore are aquainted and experienced in both idioms (the roots). As it is for Andy Gonzalez (one of the mayor exponents of the genre), for us Latin jazz is about developing a jazz sensibility about the music, its structure, its swing, which implies that the musicians can spontaneously engage in a musical conversation with each other at a very high level and explore new grounds.
The music of Roots United relays a promising outlook for the sometimes under-investigated Latin jazz genre and has proved that it possesses a level of energy unlike any other music. There is something about the rhythms and the dramatic gestures that make audiences become intensely involved. It is a fresh approach promising both a delightfull listening experience and exciting intellectual stimulation. Besides, their rhythms move the music in a way that energizes and loosens up audiences, thanks to the fact that they contain the essence of dance, which was one of the main purposes for their creation.
Undeniable is the fact that the - 7 - members of this group have had the liberty to approach and interpret the music in their own way, this is why the group has obtained an original sound which was the original goal. Their music is dedicated to legendary latin and jazz masters such as: Miles Davis, Chucho Valdez, John Coltrane, Jerry & Andy Gonzales, Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, Eddie Palmieri, Afrocuba, Tito Puente, Dizzy Gillespie, and Cal Tjader.