by Jonathan Widran
Watching lightning crackle and disappear from the sky is a good analogy for listening to this pianist's approach to the piano, at least on the funky jazz tunes. Camilo's ivory command is simply amazing, and his melodic, percussive treatment of even the simplest pieces is quite exciting to listen to, even though it gets frenetic after a while. Latin-tinged cookers like &Tropical Jam& and &Blacky& will rivet you with an improvisational energy you've never heard before, while the simple romance of &Remembrance& offers a tender counterpoint to all the friskiness. Camilo's approach to jazz is combining funk with improvisation, while never losing sight of the song itself. The way he integrates everything is superb and inspiring -- definitely a rendezvous worth meeting up with.