Miguel Zenón, the alto saxophonist, composer and bandleader, is also a genius.
That’s not just my opinion. He’s officially a “genius,” and has been since at least 2008, when he was the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation Fellows Program award, also known as a “genius grant.”
The soft-spoken Zenón laughs politely at the “genius” tag when asked about it, and points out that it has been especially helpful for his burgeoning career.
“I think it brought a lot more attention to what we (he and his band) were doing, and opened a lot of doors for us. Its gives a boost to your profile,” Zenón said in advance of his group’s two-night run at Dazzle Nov. 8-9. “It gave me a lot of freedom with my time to focus on the things that I really wanted to do. I realized I didn’t have to be on the road all of the time. I’m just really honored.”
Several years later, at the age of 37, he continues to engage in projects that open up new pathways for his creativity. Zenón’s latest CD, “Identities Are Changeable” (Miel Music, out Nov. 4) is inspired by interviews he conducted with fellow Puerto Rican-Americans, and their experiences integrating with the cultural climate of the United States. Several speech fragments from the interviews are included in the presentation of the rhythmically and harmonically complex music, which is accentuated by Zenón’s soaring and singular alto voice. “Identities” is an ambitious release, fleshed out by a big band whose arrangements add depth to the proceedings.
For the Dazzle shows, Zenón will bring along his longstanding, road-tested quartet. Economic realities make touring with a big band extremely difficult, but the saxophonist assures me that the music was initially written with his core band in mid.
When asked if his perceptions of the Puerto Rican experience in the United States have changed since he embarked upon this project, Zenón says, “I was aware of the Puerto Rican community, but I never sat down and talked to people. The first thing I realized was that it really varied. The idea of you belonging to a specific group of people, a “national identity”… that could be very relative. In the end, you make your own identity.”
(The Miguel Zenón 4tet, Nov. 8, 7 and 9 p.m.; and Nov. 9, 6 and 8 p.m., Dazzle Jazz, 930 Lincoln St. $27. 303-839-5100.)
Music notes: There’s a new jazz club, Nocturne, tentatively scheduled to open in Denver before the end of the year. Find out more about the establishment as well as its “community funding” program at ; CU Jazz presents “Moon Dreams” with Paul McKee, Dave Corbus, Jeff Jenkins and more at the Broomfield Auditorium on Nov. 5; vibraphonist Jason Marsalis (yes, of the same Marsalis family) plays Dazzle on Nov. 6; smooth keyboard pioneer Jeff Lorber brings his band to the Soiled Dove on Nov. 8.
Bret Saunders can be heard from 6 to 11 a.m. weekday mornings at KBCO 97.3 FM and . Contact him: bretsaunders@kbco.com.
