photo by Nick Ruechel

"CRUCIAL SONIDOS: The Brian Lynch/ Eddie Palmieri Project's new album, "Simpático" (ArtistShare), is one of the best Latin jazz albums of the year. Featuring a who's who of local giants (including Conrad Herwig, Mario Rivera, Pedro Martínez, Giovanni Hidalgo, Little Johnny Rivero and Edsel Gómez, and a guest appearance by Lila Downs on vocals), it's a beautifully arranged explosion of swing and technical precision. ArtistShare's unique online component allows you to download sheet music, interviews, and miscellany connected to the project."
- Ed Morales, Newsday Staff Writer

"Brian Lynch has long been a fan of Latin music. He has collaborated with many of the Big Apple's Latin musicians on projects, and in 2005 released the Latin-based Conclave on Criss Cross Records. That release set the stage for Lynch's latest release: Simpatico on the Artist Share label, in which Lynch shares the stage with Latin master pianist Eddie Palmieri.

"Lynch and Palmieri have surrounded themselves with some of the best of New York's Latin talent, especially on the percussion side. You'll find Johnny Rivera on bongo, Giovanni Hidalgo on congas, and Marvin Diz on timbales, just to name a few. Not to be outdone the jazz community is well represented as well by the likes of Phil Woods, Conrad Herwig, Greg Tardy, and Donald Harrison.

"All arrangements and musical director duties are those of Lynch and his commanding clear warm tone on trumpet highlights the CD. Lynch includes 2 classic Palmieri compositions: Azucar and Paginas De Mujer, with the latter featuring vocals by Lila Downs. Downs also does vocal duties and co-composes Que Seria La Vida.

"Lynch and Palmieri symbolize the CD's title by co-composing Freehands, Tema Para Marissa (dedicated to Lynch's wife), Jazzucar and Slippery. Slippery features a beautiful solo by 75-year-old Phil Woods that is a knockout, as well as a workout on the piano's keyboard by Palmieri. An added feature on this tune is a string bass solo by Boris Koslov. Straight jazz fans are not ignored on Simpatico either as Lynch's Jazz Impromptu and Slippery do not disappoint the straight-ahead fan.

"Lynch turns 50 this year and has risen from being the trumpeter in the last version of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers to being Phil Woods' primary horn man for many years now. He is also a major contributor on the NYC Latin scene with Palmieri. The man who was tutored by the best of the jazz masters - Blakey and Woods - is also now a major player in the NYC Latin/salsa scene."
- Jeff Krow, Audiophile Audition

"GREAT LATIN JAZZ records are the ones whose sense of fun and energy is such that listeners really can't contain themselves. It's a vibrant form that hits the head and especially the feet like no other. Simpatico easily fits that bill, featuring established trumpeter Brian Lynch and his mentor Eddie Palmieri as well as guests like Phil Woods, singer Lila Downs, Donald Harrison and more than a dozen others. Lynch is at the wheel throughout, writing all the arrangements and most of the tunes (with help from Palmieri and others). His playing is lyrical and smoldering just as often as it is fiery, adding a broad range of emotions to these richly detailed tunes. Of course Palmieri is the master, but here he truly plays like he's one of the guys, urging on soloists and driving the rhythm section. Highlights include "The Palmieri Effect" and beboppish "Jazz Impromptu," but really Simpatico is good fun from beginning to end."
- Tad Hendrickson, JazzWeek

"Brian Lynch is a trumpet player that this blog has somehow omitted to mention up until now, which is curious since Lynch is probably one of the most illustrious players on the East Coast today. After early jazz education in San Diego, Lynch emerged on the New York bop scene in the 1980s, playing with a swathe of "name" bands, including Horace Silver and the last edition (1988) of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. "Lynch's style is classic postbop, and he is blessed with superb technique and a daunting set of compositional chops. For anyone wanting to hear a masterclass in modern acoustic jazz trumpet playing, I can heartily recommend his 2000 quartet album Tribute to the Trumpet Masters, on Sharp 9 records. "A consistent thread in Lynch's career, however, has been his involvement in Latin jazz, and perhaps his most well-known collaborator in this vein is pianist Eddie Palmieri. And their new album together Simpático is an absolute gem. "The entire disc is gorgeous. Post-bop lines thread deep into the clave on The Palmieri Effect. And you just melt when you first hear Lila Downs' luminous vocal on the Downs/Lynch composition Que Sería La Vida. And Palmieri is just as industrious and energetic, reminding everyone that the piano is a percussion instrument. "The front line includes Lynch (tp), Donald Harrison (as), Phil Woods (as) and Conrad Herwig (tb) and is somewhat familiar from earlier Palmieri forays into instrumental jazz, such as 1993 effort Palmas, available on Nonesuch Records. "To my mind, Simpático is the shiznit. It's the latin jazz album of the year. Buy this disc. If you don't like it, give it to your friend, fiancé, family or pharmacist. They will smile forever. Also worth noting - if you purchase this album via the ArtistShare site, you can sign up as a project participant and get a bunch of extra goodies like downloadable videos of the recording sessions, bonus mp3 tracks not on the CD, and leadsheets for some of the charts."
- etnobofin.com

"Two decades of working as a highly accomplished trumpeter in Eddie Palmieri's Latin jazz band has culminated for Brian Lynch with this completely ravishing recording alongside his musical mentor. While the name of the group might raise the question of "who's on first?", rest assured that this is an inspired collaboration with the less-celebrated Lynch firmly at the helm. Most of the tunes are his, and the versions of Palmieri's pieces are marked by Lynch's hand. In fact, this album marshals some playing from Palmieri, particularly on the tumbling "The Palmieri Effect," which opens the album with a roar from Palmieri's piano, that I've missed from some recent discs under Palmieri's leadership.

"While the program of Simpatico is clearly Latin jazz and Palmieri's salsified McCoy Tynerisms are resplendently prominent throughout, there are lovely selections that wouldn't be expected on a Palmieri album. One example is the Lynch original "Jazz Impromptu," which has a sound you'd expect from a hard-blowing Blue Note session from decades ago. The bop roots in Lynch's original compositions are even evident in a guajira-chacha like "Guajira Dubois," where guest alto saxophonist Phil Woods, hardly a supreme Latin jazzman, brings an interesting bop sensibility to the proceedings.

"The seventeen musicians (in addition to the superstar Palmieri) are all playing at the top of their game, bringing out an acute brilliance in Lynch's playing that I've never heard so thrillingly projected. But the biggest surprise among this crowd of talent is the Mexican-American diva Lila Downs. Her vocals have a dusky sensuality and subtle understatement that compels re-visioning just how extroverted a great Latin jazz vocalist need be. Lynch may have revolutionized the already rising career of Downs by showcasing her in a context so far removed from her own recordings, which are deeply rooted in traditional Mexican song.

"There's a move afoot in the jazz world to expand the parameters of Latin jazz, with Hilary Noble, Rebecca Cline and Dafnis Prieto among the prime instigators. In his own sweet way, in spite of being less radical conceptually in breaking out of a traditional Latin jazz style than those three musicians, Lynch is triumphantly pushing Latin jazz boundaries. This is a magnificent recording, whatever label you pin on it, and it makes you hope for more Lynch collaborations with his mentor in the near future."
- Norman Weinstein, All About Jazz

"NUEVA YORK - Veinte años después de conocer a Eddie Palmieri en la escena musical, el trompetista Brian Lynch lanza "Simpático", un proyecto con el legendario pianista de origen puertorriqueño que tenía en mente desde entonces.

"Creo que tenía la ambición de hacer algo con Eddie desde que comencé a tocar con él en los años 80", declaró el miércoles a la AP el jazzista estadounidense. "Recuerdo particularmente que en 1988, mientras tocaba con él en el Blue Note (de Nueva York), pensé que era el máximo toque en términos de libertad y sensaciones".

"Bajo el sello de ArtistShare, el primero que le permite a los aficionados seguir el proceso de producción del disco a través de videos, grabaciones e incluso discusiones con los autores, Lynch lanzó el álbum la semana pasada. El proceso, documentado en el sitio de Internet de la empresa, comenzó en enero del 2005 y el disco se grabó entre noviembre y diciembre.

"The Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project - Simpático" presenta nueve cortes, de los cuales cuatro fueron escritos por ambos músicos: "Slippery", "Jazzúcar" (una versión del clásico "Azúcar" de Palmieri), "Tema para Marissa" y "Freehands". Así como "The Palmieri Effect" (El efecto Palmieri) y el bolero "Qué sería la vida", de Lynch, interpretado por la cantante mexicana Lila Downs.

"El disco contó con la participación de figuras del jazz y el latin jazz como el saxofonista Phil Woods, los congueros Giovanni Hidalgo y Pedro Martínez, los percusionistas Pete Rodríguez, Little Johnny Rivero, el pianista/organista Edsel Gómez y el guitarrista Adam Rogers.

"Brian es un talento extraordinario", dijo Palmieri recientemente en un comunicado de prensa. "Es uno de los mejores trompetistas que he conocido".

"Lynch, por su parte, opina que Palmieri es "un músico majestuoso" que ha dejado una profunda marca en su carrera.

"Logra combinar la sensibilidad de la música afrocubana y el jazz con maestría", dijo el trompetista en entrevista telefónica. "Y tocando con él a través de los años realmente absorbí sus conceptos, que ahora son parte de mi concepción musical, sea lo que sea que componga".

"Lynch expresó haber quedado muy contento con el disco, cuyo lanzamiento coincidió con su 50° cumpleaños.

"Con la grabación del álbum mis expectativas se cumplieron. El haber logrado realizar esta increíble pieza musical ha expandido mis horizontes", concluyó."
- Sigal Ratner-Arias, Associated Press el Nuevo Herald.com

"Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri, Simpático (ArtistShare). Lynch, trumpeter for Eddie Palmieri, is the leader in this immensely satisfying album. He also works for Phil Woods and brings in both of his bosses as sidemen. At the piano, Palmieri ignites the proceedings spectacularly on Lynch's "The Palmieri Effect." Woods contributes stunning alto sax solos. Lynch plays throughout with fire, technical perfection and bebop harmonic understanding. Lila Downs brings emotional depth to vocals on two pieces, including Palmieri's classic "Páginas De Mujer." The bands range from six to thirteen musicians. This is Palmieri's most impressive jazz/Latin collaboration since his 1966 El Sonido Nuevo with Cal Tjader. It is a major achievement for Lynch, who wrote all the music, with input from Palmieri on one piece. Like Rollins, he is now in business for himself. The Simpático link above takes you to Lynch's web site. "
- Rifftides (Doug Ramsey blog)

"Get ready for the real deal, folks. Trumpeter Brian Lynch has moved up in the world, with the release of Simpatico by the Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri project, and yes, they're billed in that order. The line up is stellar, with virtually every notable name in New York Latin Jazz included. Robby Ameen, Edsel Gomez, Don Harrison, Conrad Herwig, Giovanni Hidalgo, Boris Koslov, Dafnis Prieto, and Yosvany Terry make for quite an ensemble. As could be expected, the arrangements are among the smartest and hippest around. Small wonder considering the bandleaders. Lynch and Palmieri are arguably each the most important latin jazz voices of their respective generations, thanks in no small part to their writing and arranging abilities. Recorded for the virtually unknown Artist Share label, the production is crisp and artful. Sonically, Simpatico is probably the finest work that Lynch has to his credit. The record sounds full and punchy, yet plenty warm and vibrant. There's a good deal of stylistic variety, which keeps the group out of the Latin jazz mambo-rut. The tunes breathe, and the exchanges between players are interesting, fresh and constant. Simpatico could easily be the most important record jazz Latino audiences experience this year."
- Evan C. Gutierrez, All Music Guide