CD ‘Shango’s Dance’
Mark Lotz & Shango's Dance
The third release in Mark Lotz’s Yoruba Trilogy with his Cuban Roots Project, this album offers interpretations of Afro-Cuban Santería folklore music. Blending Euro-African sounds with ancient songs and dances honoring West African ancestors and deities, it was recorded in both the Netherlands and Cuba. The album features soloists from Conjunto Folklorico de Oriente, Conjunto Folklorico Nacional de Cuba, and Yoruba Andabo.
“With his latest CD, he delivered a small masterpiece.” (Gonzo Circus)
“Miles away from convivial Cuban dance music but hitting the essence of Origin.” (Rootstown Music, USA)
“This record is a bombe” (Descarga, USA)
Alexis Zayas Rosabal, Jazmin Saavedra, Ariel Bridon Romero, Jorge Martinez Galan, Estrella Acosta, Liesbeth Anker, Frenla (vocals)
José Pilar Suarez (vocals, batá)
Javier Campos Martinez (vocals, batá, congas)
Jorge Nuñez Menocal (vocals, batá)
Sjahin During (batá)
Jos De Haas (vocals, African Djembé)
Jens Kerkhoff (batá, congas, chekeré)
Arturo ‘Hueso’ Linares (bongos)
Mark Alban Lotz (flutes, vocals)
Maarten Ornstein (tenor sax, clarinet)
Marc van Roon/Stefan Schmid (piano)
Jos Machtel (trombone, acoustic bass)
Eric Surmenian (acoustic bass)
Liber Torrientes Mirabal /Stefan Kruger (drum set, percussion)
André Pet (trombone, bass trombone)
Sonic Squid Music
Catalogue number 2024.07
(Former LopLop Productions The Netherlands &, Random Chance Records NYC, USA)
Recorded april 1997 at ICAIC studios, Havana, Cuba and january-december 2002 at the Kwetterhof studios, Wormerveer, the Netherlands
Mixed and edited by Evert Woud
Latin Jazz Program, Jazzbuffalo, USA
“Combining smart and funky contempo jazz with Afro-Cuban ritual music is always a good idea but it doesn’t always work. No one is better at it then Mark Lotz! It’s a mix he’s gotten good at, like the person designated to make the fresh squeeze lemonade because they make it best.”
Draai Om Je Oren, the Netherlands 2008
Interview with Lotz on the CD
Gonzo Cirus
“With his latest CD, Cuban Fishes Make Good Dishes he delivered a small masterpiece.”
Jazz Hot, France
“Magical and remarkable: The Improvisations within the jazz domein always articulate without hurting the Yoruba tradition!”
Music feature by Jason Finkelman, The Hub – hubweekly.com, USA
“One of the best seven percussion driven releases of the year.”
Pleasure, The Netherlands
“An album full of mysticism.”
Editors Pick, Jazz Week, USA
“… if you just love to be adventurous, then this is one to get you by the winter blah’s. It is a wonderful mix of Afro-Cuban, religious folklore and jazz.”
Brabants Nieuwsblad, The Netherlands
“World music nowadays is as broad as a continent, but here you find a group who is heading definitely for a new direction. These fourteen tracks take you by surprise.”
Fluit, The Netherlands
“Glowing folkloric singing with spicy harmonies and contrasting rhythms.”
Jazz magazine – rated four stars, The Netherlands
“This project is full of energy and abundance.”
Cadence Jazz magazine, USA
“The ensemble jams Cuban, Jazz and raga elements into a sensuous mix.”
One Final Note, USA
“… effectively combining Afro-Cuban ethnic/religious music with jazz structures that often sound remarkably close to “third stream”.
Allmusic, USA
“This shouldn’t be missed.”
Descarga, USA
“This record is a bombe”
FLY Global Music Magazine, UK
“…. striking outing from the Netherlands. …veering between the campfires of enslaved Cuban worshippers and the smoke-filled clubs of New York.”
Rootstown Music, USA
“Miles away from convivial Cuban dance music but hitting the essence of Origin.”
Straight No Chaser, UK
“A stew of bata rhythms peppered with uplifting solos. Envigorating energy and a spiritual edge.”
