Rockin' My Blues in Chicago

If pianist Lluís Coloma is not the only practitioner of a genre that might be called "Latin boogie-woogie," he must be the major one. He demonstrates what that means at the outset of his sixth album, Rockin' My Blues in Chicago, on "Vicksburg Blues," in which he introduces an unusually syncopated left-hand pattern, and he reminds listeners of his Spanish roots in his version of "St. Louis Blues" by employing a tango rhythm. Elsewhere on a solo piano album devoted to standards of ragtime, stride, boogie-woogie, and blues, he can be more traditional. His version of "How Long Blues," for instance, presents it as a conventional slow piano blues, and his "Shreveport Farewell" shows a mastery of form in its ragtime playing, while "Chicago Breakdown" uses a typical boogie-woogie rhythm, nothing fancy. But Coloma does introduce his own embellishments into "St. James Infirmary," playing some cascading runs in the right hand. And throughout, he always keeps his rhythm playing lively, focusing on movement rather than the beat. This album represents his treatments of the classics in his field, and he manages to put his own individual stamp on them.