Veteran vibraphonist Mike Freeman, together with his latest musical project ZonaVibe, makes waves in the jazz world once again with their latest release: “Circles in a Yellow Room.” Blending swing, blues, and Freeman’s signature Latin-jazz sound, this ten-track album feels both fresh and familiar to enjoyers of his previous works.
What makes Circles in a Yellow Room immediately striking is its clarity of texture. Jim Gailloreto (tenor sax), Guido González (trumpet), Rubén Rodriguez (bass),
Roberto Quintero (congas), and Joel Mateo (drums) have great synergy, knowing when to add layers and when to step back and give the soloist space.
https://mikefreeman.bandcamp.com/album/circles-in-a-yellow-room
The album opens with the light and buoyant “Valentine,” a nearly 7-minute number where each instrument gets its chance to shine, with Freeman’s Vibraphone solo being the standout performance. The follow-up, “Funky chai-cha,” is a more vibrant and playful horn-driven track with a distinct Cuban rhythm being set up by the percussion.
Things switch up yet again when we get to the titular track “Circles” is driven by melodies that seem to go around in circles until the lead passes over to a new instrument. The trumpets and bass clarinet make appearances here, adding to the overall variety of the album.
One of the standouts on this album was “River watch,” an ethereal and soothing journey that captures the often-ignored gentler side of Latin music. The album closes with the more upbeat “The Trek,” which brings back the energy characteristic of the album and gives the setlist a narrative coherence.
Circles in a Yellow Room is proof that restraint can be as powerful as excess. Freeman and ZonaVibe don’t flood the canvas with sound, and let the rhythms do the talking instead. The result is an album that feels timeless, rooted in the Latin-jazz lineage yet distinctly Freeman’s own.