Jazz has a long history of interpreting music from the American songbook. Latin America has just as lofty a collection; many of these compositions were written by the tremendous Mexican composer Armando Manzanero.

Manzanero s legacy is well established. He has received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award for his work as a singer and composer. Born in Mexico in 1935, Manzanero found success in music early on, from the first song he wrote, at age 15, Nunca en el Mundo, which remains a standard. His career blossomed and his wonderful compositions have been performed by a broad array of artists, including Elvis Presley, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra and Christina Aguilera.

For his latest recording, Paquito & Manzanero, the great woodwind master Paquito D Rivera illuminates the incredible work of Manzanero in Paquito s favored idiom, Latin jazz. Along with his fantastic ensemble, featuring members like trumpeter Diego Urcola, drummer Antonio Sanchez and Manzanero himself, on vocals. D Rivera shows why Manzanero has been celebrated across the globe.

D Rivera is no stranger to the many diverse styles of Latin music and is happy to incorporate many of them in his projects. Manzanero s beloved compositions lend themselves well to these new formats, in beautiful arrangments by Alex Brown and Diego Urcola. From tango to Venezuelan waltz to straight bebop, the music on Paquito & Manzanero highlights the adaptability of these fantastic melodies to any musical style. Bill Evans even performed his own arrangement of Esta Tarde Vi Llover, which he called Yesterday I Heard The Rain, here rearranged by Alex Brown.

The recording is a special collaboration. Even more so, as Manzanero was on hand to supervise the arrangements and lend his vocals.

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