Earth Rebirth (2023)
“The flutist Colette Michaan is utterly convincing in her gleaming gem of an album, (and) uncommonly high standard of musicianship.” — Raul Da Gama / Latin Jazz Net
Read full review here:
https://latinjazznet.com/reviews/albums/colette-michaan-earth-rebirth/
“Flutist COLETTE MICHAAN has always lived in the heart of New York City, where she was born and raised, but many cultures inform her adventurous, spirited, and melodic music. Throughout her extensive travels in Africa, Asia, South America, and the Caribbean, she has collaborated with musicians from around the globe.
On EARTH REBIRTH Colette is joined by four Grammy recipients and a thrilling rhythm section that includes pianist-keyboardist Leo Genovese, bassist John Benitez, timbalero Luisito Quintero, conguero Yusnier Sanchez Bustamente, and guest vocalist Mireya Ramos.
The colorful recording begins with “Earth Rebirth,” a group improvisation (descarga) that conveys the feeling of a new earth awakening.
“Campina” is an exhilarating version of Orlando’s “Maraca” Valle’s Cuban classic, and features vocalist Mireya Ramos, followed by Colette’s brilliant and easygoing interpretation of “El Raton,” a massive hit for Cheo Feliciano and Nick Jimenez.
“Ni Contigo Ni Sin Ti” celebratory sound and spirit features an intriguing “conversation” between Colette and pianist Leo Genovese.
The ensemble’s interpretation of Charles Mingus’ “Reincarnation of a Lovebird” and Abbey Lincoln’s “Throw it Away” is energized and elevated by Latin rhythms and Colette’s inventive approach to the classic jazz compositions.”
Exhilarating Sonic Journeys · Colette Michaan - Earth Rebirth
“Ah, what wonderful music to wake up to on a Great Northwest morning… you’ll become a believer in Colette’s exquisite talent as you listen to the exhilarating celebratory sonic journeys she and her players create for you. Colette’s YouTube channel has a live video of “Ni Contigo Ni Sin Ti”, which gives you close insight into the group’s performance magic together. Plenty more exciting videos await you when you subscribe to Colette’s YouTube channel. I subscribed right away.
In addition to her masterful flute work, you’ll also hear Leo Genovese on piano/keyboards, John Benitez playing bass, Luisito Quintero’s percussion, Yusnier Sanchez Bustamante doing percussion and Mireya Ramos performing vocals… of the six superb tunes offered up, I found the “conversations between flute and piano” to be most intriguing on the aforementioned “Ni Contigo Ni Sin Ti” – it’s definitely my favorite tune!
If you’re looking for music that will hold you spellbound as it gives you hope for the future, you’ll definitely want to [listen]. I give this a MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED rating, with an “EQ” (energy quotient) score of 4.99.”
— Dick Metcalf / Contemporary Fusion Reviews
“The title tune opens this production with Colette’s flute flying like a wild bird above the powerful rhythm section and leading the way. On the wings of this music, I am transported to a place of wild open spaces and indigenous people. Michaan’s flute inspires your senses to come alive.”
— Dee Dee McNeil / Musical Memoirs
“La flautista Colette Michaan presentó su mas reciente y quinto album Earth Rebirth. Tras sus fonogramas First Cause (2004), Querencia (2010), Incarnate (2014) y Cielo y Tierra (2017) la egipcia nacida en New York nos sigue sorprendiendo al enlazar mundos musicales que conectan con las sonoridades orientales, con ritmos Afrocubanos y el Jazz. Michaan propone algunas versiones de clasicos y escribio algunos de los numeros.
Earth Rebirth, pieza principal y que da título a la producción, abre el disco, con mucho misticismo, conjugando sonoridades orientales, propias de sus raíces, destacando su ejecución en la flauta, junto con John Benitez en el contrabajo y Leo Genovese en el teclado. Campiña, número original de Orlando “Maraca” Valle, pone de relieve una sofisticada ejecución de Genovese en el piano, antes de transformarse en una frenética Descarga Cubana, con la participación de la cubana Mireya Ramos en la parte vocal y el solo de Luisito Quintero en los timbales. La lectura que Michaan hace del clásico número El Ratón, de Cheo Feliciano, es épica. Ni Contigo, original del cantante y guitarrista flamenco Manzanita, adquiere nueva vida en esta bella y magistral versión de Michaan. La flautista nos deleita en el siguiente número Reincarnation of a Lovebird, a su ves, un tributo al gran Charles Mingus. En esta ocasión el arreglo se nos viene por los lados del Jazz Latino, con un toque de Son Montuno, donde Genovese ejecuta el solo de piano y Yusnier Sanchez Bustamante el de tumbadoras. Throw it Away, pieza escrita por Abbey Lincoln es tratado como un cadencioso Cha Cha Cha, el cual, además, sirve de epílogo de un álbum fascinante.”
“Colette Michaan's bamboo flute calls out over a looming drone as Earth Rebirth opens. Instruments emerge out of time to create a watery soundscape that becomes increasingly lush as John Benitez's bass brings in the tempo, Yusnier Sánchez Bustamante's percussion chattering behind Luisito Quintero's swirling cymbals and Leo Genovese's fluid piano. Michaan mapped the composition minimally. The flute is a suling she acquired in her travels in Indonesia, so she sketched out its scale and gave some harmonic context. She discussed major time changes with the band; no chart. The imagery she held in mind includes a descent through the darkness of a birth canal, releasing into a bright present. "Earth Rebirth," a six-minute collective improvisation, is the captivating result.
Michaan is a native New Yorker of Egyptian-Syrian descent, a self-described "traveler" who is "crosscultural in my origins, history, identity, relations, and resonances." She has played with rural musicians in northern Thailand, Minangkabau saluang flutists in Sumatra, Iban musicians in Borneo, Rajastani desert and classical players in India, suling flutists in Indonesia, mbalax bands in Senegal, Gnawa and Andalusian players in Morocco, calypso and soca musicians in the Caribbean, and son bands in Cuba.
Earth Rebirth, Michaan's fifth album as a leader, reveals her deep roots in jazz. At age twelve, it was Eric Dolphy's voice on flute that first called her to the instrument and the idiom. In the late 1970s, she waited tables at the venerated Village Vanguard. "My three and a half years at the Vanguard were a wonderful time for me," she affirms. "Working there was a great musical education, as night after night I heard music that inspired me." Later, in the mid-1980s, she fell in love with the Cuban charanga and son traditions with which she has since been associated. Her releases reflect her depth and breadth as a flutist in the Latin jazz field and on global stages. (The YouTube below provides a taste.)
The album's outstanding penultimate track, Charles Mingus' "Reincarnation of a Lovebird," harks back to her childhood fascination with Dolphy. Mingus recorded the piece numerous times, often quite fast. Here, Michaan and her ensemble take metronome markings equivalent to his first recording of it (The Clown, Atlantic, 1957), albeit with a very different vibe. After an exploratory group improvisation, they adopt a medium Latin jazz feel, slowing down for a languorous interlude, then returning to the initial tempo. Following an inventive solo by Genovese, a son montuno is introduced and the flute takes a commanding flight, leading to a wonderfully warbling (bird)call-and-response.
Earth Rebirth is a beautiful mixture of jazz and Latin pieces, with a composition by Irakere flutist Orlando "Maraca" Valle, a lovely John Benitez arrangement of "El Raton," and a Concha Buika-inspired take on José Manuel Ortega Heredia's "Ni Contigo Ni Sin Ti." Abbey Lincoln's "Throw it Away," which has become a jazz standard, is particularly striking. Michaan heard Lincoln many times at the Vanguard, and seems to sing the lyric through her flute. Highly recommended.
— Katharine Cartwright / All About Jazz
A native New Yorker of Egyptian–Syrian heritage, flutist Colette Michaan heard a flute solo by Eric Dolphy on the radio when she was 12 and was awe-struck. beginning in the ’70s, she embarked on a musical journey, studying the solos of famous Latin flute players and the flute traditions of many cultures and playing with musicians in Thailand, Sumatra, Borneo, India, Indonesia, Senegal, and Morocco. She may have a formidable range of cross-cultural influences, but her heart belongs to Latin music, especially Cuban son and charanga.
For Earth Rebirth, her fifth album as a leader, she assembled a remarkable group of musicians: Leo Genovese (piano/keyboard), John Benitez (bass), Luisito Quintero (timbales), Yusnier Sanchez Bustamante (congas/cajon) and, for two tracks, Mireya Ramons (vocals). Michaan plays flute and bamboo flute.
The opening title track is a group improvisation representing earth’s awakening. The listener feels transported to a rainforest teeming with life: humming insects, crickets, fluttering leaves, gushing wind, chirping birds and a lively stream. michaan’s adventurous playing rises above the rich instrumental tapestry, creating a unifying effect.
“Campiña” is a terrific take on the Cuban classic by Orlando “Maraca” Valle. Ramos’ voice soars above the rhythm section and alternates delightfully with Michaan’s flute. “Ni Contigo Ni Sin” (Jose Manuel Ortega Heredia) is sensual and joyful, enticing us to dance the habanera or danzón. There’s excellent chemistry here between the leader, pianist Genovese and the rhythm section. Two jazz classics, Charles Mingus’ “Reincarnation of a Lovebird” and Abbey Lincoln’s “Throw It Away”, are given surprising, fresh arrangements steeped in Latin rhythms, which make the listener feel like they are hearing these pieces for the first time.
Michaan’s work is, as she says, “always inspired by something traditional, something original and something new.” ‘Earth Rebirth’, her excellent new album, is proof of it.”
Heaven and Earth (2017)
Editor’s Pick · Featured Album · Heaven and Earth ~ Cielo y Tierra
"The intrepid musician has sculpted these ten pieces on this recording with masterful artistry. Subtlety is the pervasive quality that Colette Michaan brings to this disc of works by several well-known composers. The music doesn’t often raise its voice much above a seductive whisper, and even when it does, the narratives are skillfully crafted to maintain a very expressive decorum. Ms Michaan’s radiant flute enriches these melodies and alters the harmonies and structural elements of each piece already augmented with the addition of (often the two) trombones of Reut Regev and Rey David Alejandre. As a result the flutist is able to take the pieces in directions that surprise and captivate the ear enormously. Melvis Santa’s beautiful piece “La Flauta de Colette” is an outstanding example of this.
The ten pieces unfold in a series of ethereal gestures suffused with distinctive atmosphere, paying glorious tribute to the dance forms and rhythms that drive Afro-Cuban music. But each melody is also treated to a panoply of colours and harmonic implications. Always at the soft end of the spectrum is Ms Michaan’s dynamic range enabling the music to soar, unfettered into a rarefied realm. Her sonic palette is often stretched to impossible extremes. Her solo turn on “Awakening” is a spectacular reminder of just how much glory Ms Michaan brings to her instrument. But everywhere else too, the flutist creates a unique melodic magic all her own. She is, however, not alone in this endeavor.
Ms Michaan also ups the production ante here with the evocative voice of Melvis Santa, whose floating soprano adorns “La Flauta de Colette”, “Por si Acaso” and “Quimbara”. Also enabling the flutist to make this her most vivid album yet are pianist César Orozco, bassist Jorge Bringas and three great percussionists: Román Díaz, Luisito Quintero and Yusnier Sánchez Bustamante. Through it all, of course, it is Colette Michaan who is, justifiably, in the limelight as she performs with consummate artistry, blending superior control and tonal lucidity with a cohesive sense of line and motion. This music could hardly be better served."
— Raul de Gama / Latin Jazz Network
"Heaven and Earth es el cuarto disco de la flautista y compositora Colette Michaan. Luego de sus maravillosos First Cause (2004), Querencia (2010) e Incarnate (2014). De origen egipcio, Michaan nació en New York y ha desarrollado un discurso musical ecléctico y cautivador con un ensamble conformado con algunos de los mejores músicos de la actualidad en la escena del latin-jazz y la salsa.
El disco abre con el cadencioso corte Baila Mi Ritmo, una composicion de Jesus Lopez con el arreglo de Jorge Bringas y solos de Reut Regev y Yusnier Sanchez en el trombón y congas, respectivamente. La Flauta De Colette, vocalizada por la cubana Melvis Santa (Interactivo), es una maravillosa muestra de un tema con contenido y fogosidad pa´guarachar que culmina en una moña explosiva. Waraya, un numero místico es un 6/8, que destaca a la propia Colette en un tema con contenido positivo para el corazon. Por Si Acaso, un track dedicado a Yemaya, tiene una introducción de rumba con posterior transformación a una salsa y la destacada participación de Cesar Orozco en el solo de piano. El Jardinero Del Amor, un tema con la pachanga como ingrediente principal, coquetea con Cachita- El solo de Luisito Quintero en los timbales es una delicia. Souaressi destaca a Jorge Bringas en el bajo. La infaltable composición de Celia Cruz Quimbara, recibe nuevos aires en una descarga frenética con la flauta de Michaan como hilo conductor. El álbum cierra con una guajira cadenciosa."
Incarnate/Encarna (2014)
“The third solo album of Colette Michaan, Incarnate/Encarna—the second, since her amazing album Querencia—is a notable achievement on various levels. The team of pianist and arranger Pablo Vergara, the quintessential trombonist Ruet Regev, violinist Mireya Ramos, sensational harmonica player Grégoire Maret, bassist Jorge Bringas, percussionists Román Díaz, Luisito Quintero, Yusnier Sánchez Bustamante and drummer Harvey Wirht as well as Fernando Aponte, Akihiro Nishimura and Tim Marchiafava (engineers), photographer Erin O’Brien and graphic designer Andrea von Bujdoss have combined to produce an album of lasting beauty. The nine tracks are quite fascinating, the title track and “Wisdom” are two of the most brilliant leaving you with the distinct impression of impassioned, whimsical improvisations, while “Identidad,” featuring extraordinary work by Ms. Regev, is another one of those joyous songs that stick in the mind like a proverbial and welcome burr. The latter is boldly experimental with passages of prescient Colette Michaan.
It is true that not all of the music is as intriguing as “Intention” and “Obatalá,” but it is all, nevertheless one more beautiful than the other. Ms. Michaan’s flute playing is at times profound and haunting (as on “Wisdom”) and lively (as on “Obatalá” and “Rico Melao”). At times her mighty flights of fancy are lithe and quite extraordinary and she is full of surprises throughout the album. Her way with the music shows an overall sense of gentleness and soft-grained beauty. Everywhere her finger-work makes for gracious and rounded accounts of the music, especially on the slower, more contemplative music. On this music, especially in exchanges with Ms. Regev, there is a rhapsodic narrative at play. The skills of both players show more pronounced rhythmic verve, textural variety and dynamism. In other words the two women paint in bold, primary colours, whereas the pianist, Mr. Vergara favours pastels. Between the three of them, the tapered phrases of “Wisdom” appear beautifully amorphous and the pulse of the rhythm renders the piece’s dreamy subtext with utter beauty.
A strong case can be made for this being the finest album of Colette Michaan’s young career. Clearly the music and its exquisite arrangements are in very good hands here. The musicians assert their own ingenuity with great impact. This is especially true of Abbey Lincoln’s marvelous piece “Throw It Away”. Ms. Michaan in particular plays the melody with terrific panache and captures the music’s texturally intricate writing, (shared with considerable genius by the percussionists) allied to a sensitive awareness of the varied palette of the keyboard colour. She also conveys the music’s eloquent energy, which carries the ear convincingly through those passages that the composer felt could not be dispensed with. The last few tracks—not unlike the others, of course, but perhaps more emphatically so—are given a firm dramatic thrust and character by Ms. Michaan and Ms. Regev. Of these “Innocence” is spritely and played with heartfelt introspection. Throughout the album Colette Michaan’s sound is bold and exemplary and I can hardly wait to hear what she will do next with her ardent and dazzling virtuosity and heartfelt emotion."
— Raul De Gama/Latin Jazz Network
“The Colette Michaan Quintet graced the Madison Jazz Series with a swirling, revelatory performance culled from the realms of folklore, festival, street, and deep wells of universal spirituality. The generosity of spirit and joyful camaraderie within this band was lavishly contagious. Michaan repeatedly alluded to her mission to mine wisdom and peace from music, and that was manifested in prayerful meditations as well as volcanic torso-shakers. On many of the son numbers Michaan’s flute dabbed with the beneficent authority of a pointillist painter. A dab here, a dab there, coalesced into insistent statements that rode above the rhythm. Her flute served to lasso runaway congas and wayward piano lines, and corral them. There was mandate in her voicing.Whether in her whistling registers, breathy modes, or pugnacious pokes, a plain-spokenness summoned our attention.”
— Joe Major/Albany Jazz April 2016
“Flutist/composer Colette Michaan’s third release brings a refreshing take to the music industry.”
“Colette Michaan is one of a growing number of artists who are combining jazz with a variety of world genres to produce music of great freshness and broad appeal. It takes a skillful hand to pull it off, and Michaan has done just that, producing a recording of both panache and sensitivity. Michaan has taken the Cuban sensibilities and techniques possessed by these musicians and blended them with her unique voice on the flute to produce jazz with a tinge of both Latin rhythm and Eastern spices and perfumes. Michaan excels, contributing precise leads and solo work that shows off her sense of adventure with an appealing clarity of execution. Down Beat Magazine has a poll that includes the category Talent Deserving Wider Recognition. If anyone deserves wider recognition it is Colette Michaan.”
QUERENCIA (2010)
“La pasión por la música de Colette esta impregnada en esta producción la cual nos remonta a la época de la Charanga y nos hace recordar a grandes como Pacheco, Alfredo de la Fe, y Néstor Torres.”
"How about a change of pace? Enter Colette Michaan. In a genre dominated by pianos, saxophones and guitars, it’s refreshing to hear a flutist as leader. Michaan presents Incarnate Encarna."
“This gorgeous session is an exquisite blend of hard driving charanga, montuno, Latin jazz and Arabian influenced dance music. Colette Michaan, a first generation American of Egyptian descent, who was born and raised in New York City, has provided us with an unexpected gem for the New Year. Think Orchestra Rytmo Africa-Cubana (Alfredo de la Fe, Nestor Torres) meets Africando meets Rabih Abou-Khalil.”
— El Watusi
“Le son montuno de Cuba et le latin jazz de cette formation dirigée par la talentueuse Colette Michaan ont trouvé refuge en Afrique via les porte-étendards des différents segments du patrimoine musical Gnaoui pour enchanter un public éclectique.”
— L'opinion
"It’s clear this group knows what they are doing: experimenting with rhythms but keeping it danceable. It’s a win – win for all."
— Salsa Power