Miguel del Aguila: “I just finished listening to my Silence from your new Havana Moon CD; and both my friend and I were in tears by the beginning of the coda. Your interpretation is so beautifully moving, lyrical, refined, deep and most of all the feelings and expression of the music sound so sincere. … as if you two are alone seating somewhere in the dark, improvising absentmindedly whatever comes to mind… my favorite type of performances. Bravo Evelyn Ulex and Mariam Adam, you’ve got a hit!Nocturne sounds beautiful, very lyrical and introspective. Tango Trio sounds fun and dramatic as you captured so well all the passion, melodrama and sultriness…

Clarinettist Mariam Adam and pianist Evelyn Ulex are concert soloists and also director-performers of their own chamber group, TransAtlantic Ensemble, championing contemporary composers and so called ‘crossover’ works. They have just released Havana Moon exploring Latin chamber music from three living composers, Paquito D’Rivera, Miguel del Águila, Juan Pablo Jofre and compositions by the late, great Heitor Villa-Lobos, who died in 1959. Joining them on Havana Moon is Juan Pablo Jofre on bandoneón and violinist Liana Gourdija on selected tracks. The Havana theme is the prism of musical range, but the selections have shared musical threads in compelling, sometimes near stealth fusions of jazz and classical rhythms. Adam is also a founding member of…

STEINWAY & SONS  TRANSATLANTIC ENSEMBLE / Havana Moon If you can’t put your finger on what’s going on here the reason is because this sounds like some of your grandpa’s old Masterworks records that trended toward the exotic side. Fusing classical and Latin jazz in a most classical way, this piano/clarinet duo with some of their pals added for color find that sweet spot where jazz and classical collide in a most sprightly fashion without losing any seriousness along the way. Tackling contemporary as well as older stuff, this sounds like a recital with none of the high minded pretense. A lovely session that needed to be made, you have…