{"title":"Tino Contreras","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTino Contreras (1924-2021) was a Mexican musician and composer known for his contributions to the genres of jazz, merengue, and Latin jazz. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, Contreras grew up in a musical family with his father being a drummer and director of the first Jazz band in Chihuahua. He began playing drums at an early age and formed his own band called the Youth Orchestra when he moved to Ciudad Juarez. In the 1940s, he made his debut as a director and soloist on XEJ radio station and performed at various nightclubs.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContreras later joined Caravans, organized by Paco Miller, where he played alongside popular artists like Pedro Infante and Tin Tán. He also played in Luis Arcaraz's orchestra and Juan García Esquivel's orchestra. Apart from his work in orchestras, Contreras had an important role in cinematography as both a drummer and composer for films during the Golden Age of national cinema.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 1953, Contreras recorded his first acetate titled *Tino Contreras: Volado por los Merengues*, introducing Tropical Jazz or Latin Jazz fusion with his own compositions. He became known as El Rey del Merengue in Mexico for forming the first orchestra dedicated to that genre. Throughout his career, Contreras toured internationally and brought attention to the rhythm of Merengue.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"la-noche-de-los-dioses","title":"La Noche De Los Dioses","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom Mexico’s most established and prolific jazz musician, Brownswood Recordings is proud to present the new album from Tino Contreras,\u003ci\u003e La Noche de los Dioses\u003c\/i\u003e. Here, Tino Contreras presents a sonic gift; a kaleidoscope of evolving and shifting spiritual rumination about life and humanity. His new work features seven new recordings, contemporary jazz themes liquiscing with 3\/4 rhythms, written and recorded in Mexico City, 2020.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis album is fresh - reinforcing the need to recognise, research and acknowledge the voices of the past as they still electrify us out of the numbing routine of the present, elegantly propelling us forward. Born in 1924 in Chihuahua, in Northwest Mexico, to a family of musicians, Contreras kicked off his fascination with the drum kit as a very young child. He was surrounded by music, raised by his father who led the OK Jazz Band orchestra, which inspired Tino to move to Ciudad Juárez where he formed his own orchestra. You could find Tino sharing stages with the likes of Dave Brubeck, Art Blakey, Louis Armonstrong and many more greats, experiences that have led Contreras to conjure up many a hypnotic track fuelled by an erudite, flawless rhythm section and unyielding brass and bass.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Brownswood Recordings","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50405609079115,"sku":"1102662","price":12.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50405608882507,"sku":"1102661","price":11.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/596efe3b-7439-4345-9be8-afdcc022bf40_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1726579924"},{"product_id":"musica-infinita","title":"Musica Infinita","description":"\u003cp\u003eGilles Peterson announces the launch of his new imprint Arc Records with a reissue of cult record \u003ci\u003eMusica Infinita\u003c\/i\u003e by Mexican drummer and composer Tino Contreras. A psychedelic, experimental jazz record, originally released in 1978, it marked a daring step forward by the Mexico City-based musician, and is now re-released for a chance to get the widespread dues it deserves. A limited private press, copies of the original are highly sought after, despite the drummer being much overlooked in both his home country as well as abroad, with a career that started in the 1950s, and which has seen him share stages with many of the greats – including Dave Brubeck, Cannonball Adderley and the Duke Ellington Orchestra.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe story behind Peterson re-releasing the record is serendipitous. Several years ago, he bought a copy before a gig in Japan, and it soon became one of his most cherished discoveries; he was awed by its otherworldly blend of jazz fusion and psychedelia. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe album is the product of a long, varied musical development for Contreras, and of his productive partnership with Estrella Newman, a scholar who championed pre-Columbian culture and Mexico’s experimental traditions, such as the micro-tonalism pioneered by musician and academic Julián Carrillo. On “Musica Infinita”, Contreras filtered these local traditions through an American-influenced jazz lense, his playing and compositions honed through formative experiences seeing the likes of Art Blakey and Shelly Manne, decades of touring internationally, and of being part of a series of orchestras and ensembles central to Mexico’s jazz history.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy the time he recorded “Musica Infinita”, Contreras had been a part of the Luis Arcaraz orchestra, had led a series of outfits to record albums for the Musart label, been part of recordings for the Polydor, Typic and Berta imprints, and had introduced Mexico to the Dominican Republic’s merengue rhythm, through his 1953 recording debut with an orchestra, the ‘Volado por los merengues’ 10”.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe group name adopted for the album, Quinto Sol, reflects the influence of the Aztec Calendar, a concept which Contreras and Newman were inspired to build their shared musical project around. It’s a concept based around an Aztec carved stone structure, known as the Sun Stone, discovered in the late eighteenth century, believed to outline five periods – or suns – which explain the transformations of the earth. Inspired by a nighttime visit to the Pyramid of the Sun, in the ancient city of Teotihuacan, Contreras decided to adopt a group name in reference to the fifth period of the Aztec Calendar. Thus, he picked Quinto Sol – or, “Fifth Sun”.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRe-issued for the first time, it’s a chance to get acquainted with an especially bright moment for an artist whose legacy is surely due for greater attention. Bridging strongly-felt Mexican tradition with a grounding in a primo jazz schooling, “Musica Infinita” channels grand concepts into a visceral musical experience.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Arc","offers":[{"title":"Black | LP","offer_id":50449231151435,"sku":"1081756","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/2345e2bb-937e-48c9-9004-dfc4615ab7a9_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727100484"},{"product_id":"jazz-tropical","title":"Jazz Tropical","description":"\u003cp\u003eDescribed by Matthew Garbutt on AllMusic as \"one of Mexico's national cultural treasures\", the award-winning drummer, composer, arranger, and bandleader Tino Contreras (1924-2021) recorded and performed internationally for more than 60 years. Blending Latin American music with jazz, he created his own original and adventurous sound.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Descarga","offers":[{"title":"Black LP","offer_id":50457211109707,"sku":"2224199","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/test_a27122a1_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727203897"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/collections\/test_43a52d96_thumbnail_4096_8a94e1dd-2750-4a5d-9583-33d630f156e7.jpg?v=1726579893","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/de\/collections\/tino-contreras.oembed","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}