Havana Cafe
by Scott YanowThis excellent all-round session features Paquito D'Rivera on alto, clarinet, and soprano with his sextet, which is comprised of either Fareed Haque or Ed Cherry on guitar, the great pianist Danilo Perez, bassist David Finck, drummer Jorge Rossy, and percussionist Sammy Figueroa. The program has some strong group originals (such as "Havana Cafe," "Jean Pauline," "Who's Smoking?!," and "Bossa do Brooklyn"), and the result is an often-fiery set of modern Afro-Cuban jazz.