Jorge Lopez Ruiz - El Grito LP

NEW. SEALED.

Be With Records

Be With Records present a reissue of Jorge López Ruiz's El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz), eternal Argentinian magic released on CBS in 1967. One of the most sought-after South American jazz LPs. Living in Buenos Aires in the '60s, driven by creative impulse and rage Jorge López Ruiz used music as his platform to protest the Argentine military dictatorship. A young López Ruiz had appeared on a television panel alongside writer, politician and philosopher Arturo Jauretche, criticizing the Onganía dictatorship. Jauretche told López Ruiz "Now say it with music". This was the deep inhale that lead to El Grito, literally "The Scream". El Grito was banned not long after it was released and the majority of original copies were unceremoniously destroyed. A rare record for over 50 years, El Grito (Suite Para Orquesta De Jazz) is a showcase for Jorge López Ruiz's skills as a composer and arranger as he leads a virtuoso orchestra of the likes of Mario Cosentino (alto sax), Baby López Furst (piano), Pichi Mazzei (drums), Gustavo Bergalli (trumpet), Oscar López Ruiz (guitar), Arturo Schneider (flute), and Jorge López Ruiz himself plays double bass on the fourth and fifth movements. As the album's sub-title explains, the album is a jazz orchestra concept suite. Five movements, to be heard as a whole, that end where they begin. "El Grito" grabs you by the lapels and refuses to let go. Raw then controlled, it's by turns stabbing then soothing, with rage weaved in and out of the elegant styles. With a tense introduction and a patient build, in "M.A.B. Amor" a gentle sax sweeps in to lift everything up to meet the serene piano and soft drums. Elegantly paced, it moves back and forth between deep contemplation and a more urgent call and response between strings and horns. "Hasta El Cielo, Sin Nubes, Con Todas Las Estrellas (Up To The Sky, No Clouds, With All The Stars)" a relatively brief mid-tempo piece featuring López Ruiz's insistent bass notes high in the mix, and again blending the sublime with the emotive with its wild horns and tight rhythm section. It's followed by "Tendré El Mundo (I Will Have The World)" which also leads with hypnotic bass, but this time swifter, driven by crashing drums, rapid horn conversations and effortlessly cool piano flourishes. Rounding out the suite, "De Nuevo El Grito" is a stylish closer. Whilst López Ruiz's bass shifts the track along, the horns and piano are more restrained, yet no less stunning. Remastered from original audio, mastering by Simon Francis. Cut by Pete Norman.

A1. El Grito (6:12)
A2. M.A.B. Amor (7:45)
B1. Hasta El Cielo, Sin Nubes, Con Todas Las Estrellas (3:54)
B2. Tendré El Mundo (4:10)
B3. De Nuevo El Grito (7:45)