In the landscape of Latin American music, the bolero genre stands as a poignant symbol of romance, nostalgia and cultural pride.
“A lot of people in South America, even if you’re a young person, have heard these songs,” said jazz pianist Luis Perdomo, who released the Grammy Award-winning double album “El Arte Del Bolero” with saxophonist Miguel Zenón in 2021.
“People like this album because of the familiarity,” he said. “The album makes you feel relaxed.”
Perdomo and Zenón, who have collaborated for more than 20 years, will perform from “El Arte Del Bolero” five times at Spoleto Festival USA from June 6 to 8.
This connection to familiar tunes is a key aspect to their mission. “We are Latin American musicians, and we’re proud of that,” Zenón said. “At Spoleto, we have the responsibility of exposing this kind of music to folks who have never heard it before. We want to show that this music isn’t just important to us but also important to the canon of modern music.”
“El Arte Del Bolero” pays homage to bolero music, which originated in Cuba in the late 19th century. According to worldmusiccentral.org, Cuban bolero incorporates elements from Spanish music as well as African influences. It is distinguished by its slow tempo, guitar accompaniment and elegant, poetic, passionate lyrics.
Bolero is for everyone
With Perdomo being Venezuelan and Zenón hailing from Puerto Rico, it is clear that bolero long ago transcended national borders to become a mainstay of the popular music repertoire throughout Latin America and beyond.
“In the Caribbean, music genres sort of become interchangeable after a while,” Zenón said. “Even though bolero finds its original roots in Cuba, other countries will embrace it and develop it in their own way.”
The first recording session for “El Arte Del Bolero” occurred by accident. During the pandemic, Perdomo and Zenón just met up at a studio and played several songs together.
“We’ve always known bolero, so it wasn’t something that we needed to rehearse,” Perdomo said. “The preparation was very minimal. We just played and recorded, and Miguel was like, ‘Man, this sounds pretty good.’”
Zenón shared his partner’s surprise at how quickly the material came together. “A lot of the stuff that we usually do when we write our own music is pretty intricate and requires a lot of rehearsal,” he said. “Doing this album was basically the opposite. We didn’t have any written music. Everything was hand-arranged, which is rare and unusual.”
A relaxed bolero and jazz meet-up
“El Arte Del Bolero” is more than just a musical endeavor for Zenón and Perdomo; it’s a cultural declaration. Their commitment to conserving and reviving bolero testifies to a profound respect for tradition and a wish to keep this rich musical legacy alive.
“Luis and Miguel are combining their interpretations of popular jazz ballads,” said Larry Blumenfeld, music critic, lecturer and jazz curator for the Spoleto Festival. “There’s this rich tradition of bolero that is related to this rich tradition of love songs and standards in North America. In their case, they are using a jazz lens to reinterpret this repertoire of their native countries.”
By infusing their personal styles and improvisational skills, he said, Zenón and Perdomo extend the musical legacies of their native countries while contributing to the broader jazz tradition.
“In this case, you’ve got two really good jazz musicians who are combining their own personalized approaches to the songs and are having conversations about these songs as they improvise on them in the most intimate environment,” Blumenfeld said. “By doing that, they’re extending the legacies they grew up in and the legacies they stepped into when they pursued their careers as jazz musicians.”
One important component of this personalized approach, Perdomo says, is the ability to perform with an open mind, free from expectations of how it will be received.
“When I go to play this project, I try not to go with a preconceived idea of how the audience is going to react,” he said. “It makes me play differently, like I’m trying to impress somebody, and that’s not the vibe of this project. I just try to go with an open mind and play what I play.”
Jaden Wilson is a Magazine, News and Digital Journalism graduate student at Syracuse University.
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