For those unaware, after producing over 50 albums for other artists in Puerto Rico, Colombia and the U.S., participating as pianist-arranger in more than 100 recordings and writing music for feature films, theater and television, as well as jingles and video games, Israel Tanenbaum is stepping out with something more profoundly personal on Impressions.

I’ve dedicated my entire professional life to writing for others and helping others become who they are or reach whatever it is that they’ve managed to reach, said the Bronx-born, Puerto Rican bred musician who spent ten productive years in Colombia as a producer-composer-arranger-player for Orquesta Guayacán, Checo Acosta and Alfredo de la Fe, among many others.

I’ve produced so much music for so many artists and that’s been fulfilling to me. And now at this stage of the game, I’ve decided, It’s about time you do something for yourself.

Leading a talented crew of players who hail from Cuba, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and New York City, Tanenbaum creates irresistible mambos, danzons and descargas that showcase his refined arrangements and typically uncommon choices while also revisiting his musical roots and rekindling some nostalgic memories along the way.

I’ve got all this stuff bottled up inside me, continues Tanenbaum, who has worked with such renowned salsa and Latin jazz artists as Pete El Conde Rodríguez, Juancito Torres, Marvin Santiago, Dave Valentin and Alfredo de la Fe and also played in popular groups like Batacumbele, Zaperoko, and Roberto Roena’s Apollo Sound, where he served as musical director for two years.

I know that one album isn’t going to resolve everything, but I would eventually like to put everything out there.

1. Strange Destiny
2. Hot Bridge
3. Prime Flight
4. Another Life (Piano Interlude)
5. Mambo Raro
6. Cuando Te Asomas
7. Prelude
8. Steamy Patricia
9. Vaya

This immaculately curated new recording opens with the enthusiastically beguiling guaracha Strange Destiny and the brusquely hued rhythms within Hot Bridge, and then comes the lavishly decorative melodies of Prime Flight, the tone then lowered for the sumptuous ballad Another Life (Piano Interlude).

Along next is the vibrant Mambo Raro which is itself backed seamlessly by the joyously-sculptured Cuandro Te Asomas, then comes the playfully simmering Prelude, the album rounding out with the low slung balladry within the captivating Steamy Patricia, closing on the upbeat and jubilantly engaging Vaya.

www.israeltanenbaum.com

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