Rayuela

It isn t uncommon for musicians to use literature as inspiration for their compositions. The methods by which musicians approach this task differ not only from the artist s individual style but also that of the writer whose work they will aurally illustrate. On their new Sunnyside release, saxophonist Miguel Zen³n and pianist Laurent Coq challenge themselves to capture the breadth of character, form and perspective of Argentinean writer Julio Cort¡zar s masterwork, Rayuela.

Cort¡zar was one of the most influential writers of the 20th Century. A man at home both in Europe and South America, Cort¡zar s familiarity with the mid-20th century bohemian and ©migr© lifestyles shines through in his famous works of fiction.

Zen³n came across the author s broadest work, Rayuela (Hopscotch), in the late 90 s. He was struck by the novel, especially its form which allows the reader to choose how it should be read: straight through, following the map which Cort¡zar provides or picking your own order from the 155 chapters included in the book. Since then, Zen³n has returned to the book on numerous occasions.

Coq and Zen³n had been looking for a way to collaborate for some time before Zen³n proposed setting music to themes and characters from Rayuela, though Coq was not familiar with the novel. The immediate correlation between the collaborators and the text was the French and Latin American connection - the book uses Paris and Buenos Aires as settings; Coq hails from France and Zen³n from Puerto Rico. As an additional challenge, the two musicians reverse their natural inclination of writing for the closer cultural affiliation: Zen³n covers Part 1 (Paris) while Coq handles Part 2 (Buenos Aires - where he has never been).

The saxophonist and pianist enlist two unique musicians to round out their quartet. Eschewing the common bass and drums, the ensemble utilizes the tremendous cellist/trombonist Dana Leong and the masterful percussionist/tabla player Dan Weiss. This singular ensemble opens up many opportunities in the music, approaching the timbral space of a chamber group, while providing particular challenges to the composers who normally don t write for such an unusual combination of instruments.