Sly5thAve, Roberto Verastegui – Agua de Jamaica (Vinyl 2LP)

Label: Tru Thoughts

Cat No: TRULP416

‘Agua de Jamaica’ is the first collaborative project between producer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and arranger Sylvester Uzoma Onyejiaka II AKA Sly5thAve and pianist and composer Roberto Verástegui. The pair originally met whilst studying Jazz in Texas and began piecing together the release on Sly5thAve’s first visit to Mexico, over a drink of Agua de Jamaica – a drink made with water, hibiscus flower and sugar. Recorded during lockdown in Mexico, the LP is built from a passionate and comprehensive understanding of Jazz, a love of Hip Hop and Mexico City’s ever-vibrant artistic culture, Latin flavours, and the African roots from which these sounds grew.

Epitomising this fusion of sounds and collaborative talents on introductory single “Tie Break”, Sly5thAve reworks a track originally written as a big band chart for the Orquesta Nacional de Jazz de Mexico by Roberto. Beginning with the original lead sheet, laced with nods to Funk and Hip Hop, the pair improvised a Jazz reworking before taking it home to layer synths, piano and beats. With a constant backbeat and harmonic pattern courtesy of Sly5thAve, Roberto’s Hammond organ takes the experimental Jazz centre stage.

CLICK TRACK TO LISTEN 

A1    Tie Break
A2    Past Thoughts
B1    Agua de Jamaica
B2    Interludio 3
B3    Ensencialmente
C1    Reflexion
C2    Poinciana
C3    Interludio 2
C4    La Tormenta
D1    Interludio 1
D2    El Momento
D3    Empeno (aka lil' bop)
D4    The Wanderer