Pianist/composer/educator Oscar Perez is part of a new generation of musicians busy erasing the old distinctions between straight-ahead and Latin jazz, forging new group concepts by blending Afro-Caribbean rhythms and postbop idioms. With his second album, Afropean Affair, Perez places himself firmly in the forefront of this rising movement. Featuring his stellar young band Nuevo Comienzo, the CD focuses on the pianist’s original music, which he wrote to showcase his group’s prowess. Balancing poise and…

By Jordan Richardson 

Oscar Perez, with his band Nuevo Comienzo, blurs genre lines with his Afropean Affair.  The album is the pianist’s second.
 

Perez throws a bit of everything into the basket with this recording, tossing post-bop with Afro-Caribbean and Latin jazz. This is an interesting distinction given the constant incidental blurring of the lines taking place in pop culture, a process that isn’t particularly helpful in preserving certain strands of art but can be benefitted from nonetheless.

Many…