Filin [CD]

Tenor saxophonist Melissa Aldana's third Blue Note album, Filin, is an exquisite ballads album that presents stunning new versions of songs drawn from the Filin music tradition of Cuba, a style of popular song from the 1940s-60s that was deeply influenced by American musicians such as Nat King Cole. The album title is a homophone with the word feelin' and the deeply felt performances find Aldana with a remarkable quartet featuring the Cuban pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba with Peter Washington on bass and Kush Abadey on drums, as well as special guest vocalist Cecile McLorin Salvant on two tracks. The band also interprets songs by Brazilian composers Hermeto Pascoal ("Little Church") and Cartola ("Las Rosas No Hablan").