I’m a huge fan of Duende Libre’s 2017 self-titled debut album, and the Seattle trio’s 2018 follow-up Drift so of course I’m all over their latest, Invocation. It’s a superb album of Latin influenced modern piano trio jazz.
Duende Libre’s core members — composer, bandleader and pianist Alex Chadsey, bassist Farko Dosumov, and drummer Jeff Busch — have been making music together for quite a few years now, and it shows in the tightness and easy flow of this set of eight originals rooted in the traditions and rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, and West Africa.
There’s not a track that’s less than exciting on this record, but an early standout for me is “Invocation,” a swinging piece of Latin bop fusion that finds Chadsey playing up a veritable whirlwind on the acoustic piano and the bass and drums pushing a relentless groove; Farko takes a nice lead solo early on as well.
I enjoy electric piano too, and Chadsey doesn’t disappoint on that front. Of particular note is “Chick,” which I assume is a tribute to Chick Corea — on this one he trades off between electric and acoustic style keyboards, and it’s uplifting all the way through; part of the album’s invocation of the long line of mentors and influences the band pays homage to.
The album opens with the slow, lush groove of “Song For Seales,” Chadsey on acoustic piano backed by a straight ahead four-beat rhythm with a touch of funk, thanks to that rhythm section. Track 2 “Ahmadish” drives hard in a fast 2/4 with tropical and disco flourishes, and smooth Rhodes sound from Alex.
Another driven bop with Cuban influence, “Stibro” gives way to the closer, the uplifting but pensive “Eulogy,” which I take as an acknowledgement of all we have lost over the past five years of pandemic and its shock waves that still reverberate through society worldwide. Chadsely notes that the album and its music were born in and incubated during that time and reflect its effects.
“Rather than a curse, our vulnerability paradoxically makes us stronger by activating another quality that defines our shared human experience: resilience. These qualities, in turn, bind us to our ancestors, teachers, and all those who have touched our lives with the legacy they leave behind. Invocation seeks to acknowledge, to invoke, the spirit of my own mentors, some living and others departed, without whom I would not be the person I am today.”
(Duende Libre, 2025)
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