Pianist/Composer Emilio Solla and the “Tango Jazz Conspiracy” came to the Jazz Standard on a night in February, 2010, rejoicing in the release of their new CD, Bien Sur! It was a pretty packed house on a Tuesday night, as a lot of people enjoy Argentinean tango and jazz, along with good food from Blue Smoke Restaurant.

In the band were: Emilio Solla on piano; Victor Prieto on accordion; Chris Cheek on saxophones; Jorge Roeder, bass and Richie Barshay – drums and percussion. I was there for the second set of the evening, and they played a lot of tunes from the CD. Emilio started “Jigara” on solo piano with a haunting introduction, and the rhythm section entered one at a time, setting up a samba groove. Victor doubled the melody on accordion, and the pianist played in thirds, creating a great full sound. Excitement built when the tenor sax soloed over the top of this, and the drummer added all kinds of fills in double-time.

“Payos” was a tune where Chris played soprano sax in unison with the accordion, while Richie played hand percussion. This gave it a softer feeling, and Emilio played simple lines on the piano at first. Gradually their ideas developed into a more complicated, modern-sounding latin-jazz piece. Barshay played a fantastic solo, and behind him Solla played ascending chords in whole notes, adding to the exhilaration.

“Malena” was a darker ballad, and showed the soulful side of Emilio Solla. “Tonos Lejanos” featured vocalist Lucia Pulido from Colombia, and “Hartbeat” was a tune that Billy Hart composed (he played drums on that cut on the CD).