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Music is the most intimate journey there is. And when music is good, it brings listeners together, fans are pleased and hearts are contented. Drummer and composer Alex García has made this belief the cornerstone of "This Side of Mestizaje" the latest recording of his iconic band AfroMantra. Described by many as "a gorgeous suite of intelligent details." AfroMantra is one of the most refined, sophisticated bands in New York's Latin jazz scene. It is, as one critic described it, "a lab of rhythms crisscrossing the Americas." Indeed, the band is the brainchild of Chilean-born, New York-based drummer Alex García, a composer who also believes that sounds celebrate many identities, not one, cultural experiences and artistic heights. "This Side of Mestizaje" was recorded by soprano sax Ole Mathisen, pianist Mike Eckroth, bassist Ariel de la Portilla and Alex García on drums, arrangements and compositions. AfroMantra has been recording and performing for more than 13 years. Its third CD, "Uplifting Spirit-Espíritu Optimista," garnered the attention of numerous jazz critics and radio stations around the world. The latest "This Side of Mestizaje" reaches new levels of interaction and beauty through a program of songs that celebrate the art of polyrhythms. Each is a small suite in a suite-like, larger canvas that pays tribute to many sounds of the Americas. This is what AfroMantra does best: to ride the different American sounds in an effortless way. Born in Santiago, Chile, raised first in Lima, Perú and then Havana, Cuba, Alex García hails from a family of artists and musicians: his father, Fernando García Arancibia, is a prestigious contemporary composer and his mother, Hilda Riveros Wainstein, was an accomplished choreographer and dancer. "Music was not something I decided to follow," says García; I believe music was always part of my DNA, part of who I am. I would say that music has been the passion that pushes me to live and create."

Track Listing

Press Quotes

Garcia, is so hot, that it burns the delights of all senses. From beginning to end, Alex Garcia and all the members of AFROMANTRA, demostrate once again, that this a very serious group to pay attention to.

     —Ivan Acosta, Latin Jazz USA

The album is AfroMantra's latest recording. And it is the band's most brilliant. To peg the word jazz to it would be simply an understatement. True, these songs are springboards from which García and company work at once subtle and complex improvisations, but they also form a strong narrative that claims space in the chamber music hall. Songs with big musical statement.

     —Eliseo Cardona, BlueMonk Moods

This is a nice solid date that any world jazz fan will want to make the trek to find and enjoy as they sink into that armchair. Well done.

     —Chris Spector, Midwest Record

Dazzling and complex, intellectually inebriating and moist and magisterial in its melodic and harmonic intent.

     —Raul da Gama, Latin Jazz Network