tino contreras: la noche de los dioses
Francisco Espregueira
The legendary Mexican drummer Tino Contreras releases a new album entitled La Noche de los Dioses via Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood Recordings - following Musica Infinita that dropped thorugh Arc Records in the beginning of this year. This the second installment resulting of Peterson and Contreras connection, with the help of musician and collector Carlos Icaza, that was ignited in a fortunate meeting back in 2019. That led first to a fantastic reissue and, now, a new album on both of Peterson’s imprints.
Joined by a fantastic band in La Noche de los Dioses, Tino Contreras presents a sonic gift; a kaleidoscope of evolving and shifting spiritual rumination about life and humanity. The sounds, the rhythms, are expansive, hypnotic and mystical, containing a lot of sonic cues to ancient Mexican/Aztecan figures and rituals. Contreras’ new work features seven new recordings, contemporary jazz themes oscillating with 3/4 rhythms - written and recorded in Mexico City, 2020. Available in vinyl via Brownswood.
Musicians:
Tino Contreras: Drums
Valentino Contreras: Electric Bass
Jaime Reyes: Piano and Keyboards
Emmanuel Laboriel: Electric Guitar
Luis Calatayud: Soprano and Tenor Sax - Conch Shell and Ocarina Flutes
Eduardo Flores: Bongos
Carlos Icaza: Harmonic Arps and pre-Hispanic Percussion
Marco Gallegos: Acoustic Guitar
“This record is amazing! It represents his entire career in one. It captures the nightclubs of Mexico, the blues, the decadence… it’s a sassy subterranean cosmic sound…”