True to Life    

 

Havana native Justo Saborit began his music studies in his Cuban homeland, studying and performing a wide range of classical, blues and jazz compositions. In welding those fantastical elements with his country's own native sounds, Saborit created a Latin jazz blend with a soul all his own. With native roots seamlessly and effortlessly woven in, the Latin/soul sound of Saborit is engaging – whether Saborit goes solo or with the Miami Rhythm unit backing him. It stands to reason that his latest offering True to Life follows suit.

Saborit does well peppering cuts like “Soulstice,” “Days Yet to Come,” “The Streets of Mariano” and a cover of Madonna’s “La Isla Bonita” with that Gipsy Kings joie de vivre and summery energy. Put simply, his playing style does a great deal to engage in a way that much “smooth jazz” simply aims to anesthetize. True to Life is far more engaging; lumping it into such a vanilla category does his playing a great disservice.

 

A lot of people have an aversion to the smooth jazz format of radio programming; for his part, Saborit uses his fancy fretwork to steer just shy of that nouveau elevator genre. Make no mistake, Saborit’s strength is found in more than his playing; compositionally, cuts like “Thinking of You,” the zesty “Jazmine” and a set closer called “Triguena” make him out to be more of a virtuoso than mood-music softie. This is music for your summer block party. A must-have.

From Cool Cleveland Managing Editor Peter Chakerian   peter@coolcleveland.com

 

 

Click to Sample and Buy True to Life!

 

Agua Y Fuego    

 



 

 

 

 

Review Coming Soon

 

Click to Sample and Buy Agua Y Fuego!