All About Jazz by Jack Bowers
“Do not let the word “Latin” in front of the Socrates Garcia Jazz Orchestra’s name sway you. Shadows of Tomorrow is bright and spirited contemporary jazz albeit with a southerly twist. The salute to Latin America is for the most part rhythmic; everything else leans resolutely toward el norte, and the orchestra (which is actually based in Colorado, where Garcia teaches at the University of Northern Colorado) lends its considerable weight and savvy to every one of the leader’s half-dozen fiery compositions and arrangements.”
“Messages aside, it is the music that must carry the day, and neither Garcia nor the orchestra is less than superb in that area.”
Do not let the word “Latin” in front of the Socrates Garcia Jazz Orchestra’s name sway you. Shadows of Tomorrow is bright and spirited contemporary jazz albeit with a southerly twist. The salute to Latin America is for the most part rhythmic; everything else leans resolutely toward el norte, and the orchestra (which is actually based in Colorado, where Garcia teaches at the University of Northern Colorado) lends its considerable weight and savvy to every one of the leader’s half-dozen fiery compositions and arrangements.
Those works include a three-part suite, “Illusions, Delusions…A Glimmer of Hope,” which consumes nearly half of the album’s hour-plus playing time. Preceding the suite are a brace of barn-burners (“AG’s Resting Face…Scary!!!,” written for Garcia’s lively teen-age daughter, and the adventurous “Sultry Villa Mella Twilights”) along with “Brad’s Dreamy Samana Night,” a colorful showpiece for the orchestra’s stellar lead trumpeter, Brad Goode. The suite’s movements are “The Wizard’s Wicked Charm,” “Liars and Fools” and “The Mold Breaker (Bringer of Joy”).
Although Garcia names no names, those who can read between the musical lines should have little doubt about who Movement 1’s “Wizard” is: “A conjurer in a red tie whispers half-truths and weaves illusions. With sleight of tongue and a stage of screens, he builds a world in his image, a theater of ego, a cult of mirrors.” Sound familiar? Hint: this isn’t about Oz. As to “Liars and Fools,” Garcia writes that “every false prophet needs a chorus,” which is what Garcia provides: “a dance of hollow drums, blind applause, smoke and mirrors, and truth silenced beneath a smiling mask.” All to an irresistible Latin beat.
Even so, there is hope, as embodied in Movement 3’s “Bringer of Joy,” a “new figure” who steps forward “and speaks not to deceive, but to awaken.” The rhythm here, Garcia writes, “is hope reborn, not naïve but earned.” Messages aside, it is the music that must carry the day, and neither Garcia nor the orchestra is less than superb in that area. The ensemble sprints from the starting gate on “AG” and keeps its collective foot on the accelerator through the last shout chorus of “The Mold-Breaker.” Soloists? There are plenty of standouts from which to choose. Besides Goode (who is far better than his name suggests), they include alto saxophonist Wil Swindler, tenor Don Aliquo, baritone Eduardo Moncada, trumpeters Clay Jenkins and Jeff Jarvis, trombonists Jonathan Bumpus and Paul McKee, guitarist Alfredo Balcacer and pianist Dana Landry.
As rhythm plays an outsize role on every number, Garcia has placed those duties in the capable hands of Balcacer, pianists Landry and Manuel Tejada (on “The Wizard’s Wicked Charm”), bassist Erik Applegate and drummer Ivanna Cuesta Gonzalez, reinforced by percussionists Pablito Peña, Felix Garcia, Daniel Berroa and timbalist Miguel Montas (on “The Wizard”). Whatever the label, jazz recognizes few musical boundaries, geographic or otherwise, and Shadows of Tomorrow provides a textbook example of that truism. Latin jazz? Call it what you will, but when music swings like this, whatever name it bears is entirely irrelevant and immaterial.
JW Vibe by Jonathan Widran
“Shadows of Tomorrow offers a colorful, high spirited mélange of Latin music styles via expansive, full-bodied, alternately muscular and sensitive arrangements performed by his powerhouse 24-piece jazz orchestra. Garcia offers a master class/full-scale immersion into a full range of vibes from his native country.”
Compositionally inspired by everything and everyone from his daughter’s humorously “scary” resting face and a starry evening in the beautiful beach town of Samaná to the troubling violence and frightening ongoing political zeitgeist of the U.S., veteran Dominican born bandleader Socrates Garcia’s third album Shadows of Tomorrow offers a colorful, high spirited mélange of Latin music styles via expansive, full-bodied, alternately muscular and sensitive arrangements performed by his powerhouse 24-piece jazz orchestra.
From the explosive percussive opening of the aggressive, heavy metal meets Latin jazz jam “AG’s Resting Face…Scary!” through the fascinating, multi-faceted three movement incisive and pointed socio-political suite “Illusions, Delusions…and A Glimmer of Hope,” Garcia, a prominent music technology educator at the University of Northern Colorado, offers a master class/full-scale immersion into a full range of vibes from his native country.
These include the folkloric Dominicana palos weaved into the boisterous jazz energy of “Sultry Villa Mella Twilights,” bachata and salsa on the sultry and sassy first movement of the suite “The Wizard’s Wicked Charm,” the coolly soulful, then chaos-filled meringue/jazz mash of the infectiously hypnotic “Liars and Fools” (the second movement) and the artful swirl of bachata, merengue and jazz on the decidedly hopeful third movement of the suite “The Mold Breaker (Bringer of Joy).” Along the way, listeners should attune their ears to spectacular soloing by saxophonists Wil Swindler (alto) and Don Aquilo (tenor), trumpeters Jeff Jarvis and Clay Jenkins and trombonist Jonathan Bumpus.
Listeners can certainly enjoy Shadows of Tomorrow without thinking much about the political aesthetic, but it should be mentioned that Garcia composed the Suite during 45’s first regime, never anticipating they’d be even more relevant in 2025 – and sadly poignant, since he wrote “The Mold Breaker (Bringer of Joy)” imagining a woman stepping up to lead with compassion.
Musical Memoirs by Dee Dee McNeil
“A musical meeting place. Socrates Garcia offers it to the public where the soul of Dominican culture and Afro-Caribbean music meet. It’s a mixture of cultures, creativity and some contemporary jazz, arranged for a Latin orchestra. Garcia arranges the horns with tight harmonics and punchy, memorable brass lines. Every tune is well-written, danceable, and stuffed with Latin culture.”
SOCRATES GARCIA LATIN JAZZ ORCHESTRA – “SHADOWS OF TOMORROW” – Summit Records
Socrates Garcia, composer/arranger/conductor; RHYTHM SECTION: Dana Landry & Manuel Tejada, piano; Erik Applegate, bass; Alfredo Balcacer, guitar; Wanna Cuesta, trap drums. PERCUSSION: Pablito ‘drums’ Peña, Felix ‘Abuelo’ Garcia, Daniel Berroa, & Miguel Montas (timbales). WOODWINDS: Wil Swindler, alto & soprano saxophones; Andrew Janak, alto saxophone; Don Aliquo & David Bernot, tenor saxophone; Eduardo Moncada, baritone saxophone/clarinet; Drew Zaremba, flutes; Javier Vinasco Guzman, clarinets. TRUMPETS/FLUGELHORNS: Brad Goode, Miles Roth, Shawn Williams, Jeff Jarvis & Clay Jenkins; TROMBONES: Jonathan Bumpus, Zach Rich, Tom Call, & Gary Mayne on bass trombone. GUEST TROMBONE SOLOIST: Paul McKee.
This album is a musical meeting place. Socrates Garcia offers it to the public as a space where the soul of Dominican culture and Afro-Caribbean music meet. It’s a mixture of cultures, creativity and some contemporary jazz, arranged for a Latin orchestra. Garcia has composed and arranged every song. These compositions reflect his personal landscape, including tradition, current-day politics and life memories.
They open with “AG’s Resting Face …Scary!” that is a medium-tempo, percussive driven arrangement. The song is dedicated lovingly to Garcia’s daughter and her playful, sharp-edged stare that can look at you in such a way that it interrupts your peace. The solo of Wil Swindler on alto saxophone is outstanding. When Clay Jenkins enters on trumpet, he plays tenderly at first, before the percussion kicks in and then his trumpet dances along with energy.
On a tune called “Sultry Villa Mella Twilights” Socrates Garcia celebrates the spirit and joy found in the Dominican. This is more jazz than contemporary, soaked in percussion rhythms that breathe ritual and culture. This is a twilight prayer for the ancestral voices that echo in the trees and the drums that play a big part in this arrangement. They speak to me.
An original composition called “Brad’s Dreamy Samana Night” was written when Garcia found himself under the stars in the Dominican Republic town of Samaná. For some reason it reminds me of horseback riding down the beach. Garcia was inspired by the trumpet of Brad Goode, who pulled out his horn and filled the quiet night with a flurry of notes.
A song titled “Illusions, Delusions … A Glimmer of Hope” begins in a very bluesy way. This is actually a suite. The first part of the suite is called: “Mov I: The Wizard’s Wicked Charm” and features the rich sound of Eduardo Moncado’s baritone saxophone. The moods change in this arrangement, like the tempos.
On “Mov II. Liars and Fools” the trombone solo of Paul McKee is dynamic and beautiful.
Throughout this album, the percussionists and drummer, Wanna Cuesta, keep the tempos and rhythms locked tightly. Garcia arranges the horns with tight harmonics and punchy, memorable brass lines. Every tune is well-written, danceable, and stuffed with Latin culture.
Socrates Garcia is an arranger, producer, recording engineer, guitarist, keyboardist, and educator. He has a bachelor’s degree in Theory and Composition from Luther College, a Master of Arts degree in Jazz Studies (composition) from Middle Tennessee State University, and a Doctor of Arts degree in Jazz Studies (Composition) from the University of Northern Colorado. He has been their Director of Music Technology for the last fifteen years.