Jerry Gonzalez - Rumba Para Monk (Sunnyside, 1989)

This post is by Scott and Dan

Jerry Gonzalez(tr, flhn, cga, chekere, bells, guiro); Carter Jefferson (ts); Larry Willis (p); Andy González(b); Steve Berrios (d, bata, tim, chekere, bells)

Recorded on October 26 - 27, 1988; February 16 and March 3, 1989

According to Brittanica, "In the 1980s the Fort Apache Band from New York City, led by percussionist and trumpeter Jerry González and his brother, bassist Andy González, offered listeners a return to Latin-bebop fusions with Latin jazz versions of the music of jazz pianist

and composer Thelonious Monk." Latin jazz | music | Britannica.

The successful fusion of Latin and jazz music is no better demonstrated than on Gonzalez's Rumba Para Monk. The band transforms eight familiar Monk compositions into a perfect blend of Monk and the Afro-Cuban tradition. The key to success is that the Fort Apache Band is first and foremost a jazz band. If ever they were to stray in the direction of Latin pop, pianist Larry Willis and tenorist Carter Jefferson would undoubtedly pull them back into jazz. Gonzalez's prowess as a trumpet player was recognized by his peers. He appeared on many conventional jazz dates led by the likes of McCoy Tyner, Abby Lincoln, Kirk Lightsey, Robin Eubanks, and many more. 

The band continued to include Monk material in their live and recorded performances. Fire Dance (Milestone, 1996), for example, closes a cooking live set with "Let's Call This" and "Ugly Beauty." With Willis, Joe Ford and John Stubblefield supporting the Latin percussion, Fire Dance could not possibly stray far from jazz.

Sadly, Jerry Gonzalez died at in 2018 at age 69 in a hotel fire in Spain.