esta plena

Esta Plena Receives Latin Grammy Nomination!

Miguel ZenónMiguel Zenón’s most recent album, Esta Plena, has been nominated for a 2010 Latin Grammy in the category of Jazz!! To learn more about the Latin Grammy awards and to see the other nominees, please click here. To pick up your copy of Miguel’s album, please visit our store page. Congratulations, Miguel!

Miguel is on tour this fall, so be sure to check the Events page on MarsalisMusic.com to see if he will be coming to a town near you!!

Submitted by Ben on September 10th, 2010 — 01:03pm

Folk Art: On Esta Plena, saxophonist Miguel Zenón matches the proletarian plena music of his native Puerto Rico with modern-jazz ethos

Date: 11.01.2009
Publication: Jazz Times
Author: Fernando Gonzalez


Smart and tough, the music on saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s Esta Plena (Marsalis) often evokes the sounds of his neighborhood back in Puerto Rico. But Esta Plena is not about nostalgia- it’s about a certain wisdom.
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Submitted by Ben on November 1st, 2009 — 12:00am

Fine Plena Indeed: Esta Plena is notable for the quality of the jazz musicianship and the infectious rhythm of the panderos.

Date: 10.30.2009
Publication: World Music Central
Author: Angel Romero

If Marsalis Music signs you, it means you are above average in the world of American jazz. Puerto Rican saxophonist Miguel Zenón proved his worth at a young age. Last year Zenón was granted both a MacArthur and a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008 and he has already recorded four albums for the reputable Marsalis Music. The latest release is Esta Plena. As the name implies, this recording is dedicated to one of the great musical traditions of Puerto Rico, the plena, reinterpreted with the approach of 21st century jazz.
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Submitted by Ben on October 30th, 2009 — 12:00am

Exclusive First Listen: Miguel Zenón, 'Esta Plena'

Date: 10.14.2009
Publication: NPR.org
Author: Josh Jackson


Saxophonist Miguel Zenón’s career has taken a relentlessly upward trajectory over the past decade. He’s a 2008 winner of the prestigious Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships, as well as a founding member of the SF Jazz Collective. All the while, Zenón has investigated his Puerto Rican roots with a quiet resolve. On his new recording, Esta Plena, he’s distilled his musical history into a clear conception: a cultural exchange between jazz and the folkloric form known as plena.
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Submitted by Ben on October 14th, 2009 — 12:00am

Review: Miguel Zenón at Jazz Showcase "…this music deserves to be heard at full cry."

Date: 10.10.2009
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Author: Howard Reich


Since its inception, jazz has been an international music, drawing deeply on influences from the Caribbean, Africa and Europe.

But its global voice never has been more pronounced than in the past 20 years, thanks to the stylistic breakthroughs of Panamanian pianist Danilo Perez, Puerto Rican saxophonist David Sanchez, Chilean vocalist Claudia Acuña and many more.
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Submitted by Ben on October 10th, 2009 — 12:00am

Miguel Zenón: A jazz genius takes on Puerto Rico

Date: 10.09.2009
Publication: Chicago Tribune
Author: Howard Reich


The music of Puerto Rico has played in Miguel Zenón’s imagination since his childhood in San Juan, where he was born.

But it wasn’t until a few years ago that he began to examine his musical heritage in depth, with remarkable results (and we refer not only to the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship, or “genius grant,” he was awarded in 2008).
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Submitted by Ben on October 9th, 2009 — 12:00am

Album Review: Miguel Zenón's 'Esta Plena'

Date: 10.04.2009
Publication: About.com
Author: Jacob Teichroew


Miguel Zenón’s Esta Plena is a continuation of the saxophonist’s previous work, complete with exuberant melodies and voluble phrases that float above knotty rhythmic terrain. The core group, featuring pianist Luis Perdomo, bassist Hans Glawischnig, and drummer Henry Cole, is the same heard on Zenón’s last album, Awake, although Esta Plena is fitted around traditional Puerto Rican plena music.
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Submitted by Ben on October 4th, 2009 — 12:00am

Miguel Zenón Esta Plena Quintet @ The Jazz Showcase

Date: 09.14.2009
Publication: All About Jazz
Author: General Release


Saxophonist/Composer Miguel Zenón will be bringing his Esta Plena Quintet to the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, Ill. from October 8th thru 11th, 2009 in celebration of his new Marsalis Music release “Esta Plena.”

“This young musician and composer is at once reestablishing the artistic, cultural, and social tradition of jazz while creating an entirely new jazz language for the 21st century.”-MacArthur Foundation,2008.
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Submitted by Ben on September 14th, 2009 — 12:00am