New Music Monday — 2024 Holiday Edition

The 21st Annual Holiday Edition of New Music Monday airs on Monday, December 1 at noon on Lunchtime with Arturo Gómez — debuting music from Donald Vega Trio, Romero Lubambo & Pamela Driggs, and Tower of Power. As we do every year, we’ll be taking our annual break from New Music Monday until mid-January.

Donald Vega Trio: “All is Merry and Bright”
The multi-Grammy® nominated pianist, composer, and educator, Donald Vega grew up in Nicaragua as a classical music child prodigy. He relocated to Los Angeles as a teenager and learned to play jazz from the great Billy Higgins and John Clayton while attending the Colburn School of Performing Arts. Upon graduating he moved to New York City to attend the prestigious Manhattan School of Music and The Julliard School. While playing gigs in NYC, he garnered the attention of Ron Carter who asked him to join his Golden Striker Trio bringing him to Denver to play Dazzle. Donald is now an adjunct professor at SUNY-Purchase and Julliard School. In 2023 he won a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Vega teams up with Clovis Nicolas-bass and Pete van Nostrand on drums for his first Christmas album. In addition to the usual standards, he included several lesser-known tunes that are seldom recorded.

Romero Lubambo & Pamela Driggs: “Christmastime in Rio”
It is refreshing to receive an all-Brazilian Christmas album as Brazil is underrepresented when it comes to holiday music despite its amazing influence in jazz. Guitarist Romero Lubambo who often performs and records with Denver’s own, Dianne Reeves. In fact, the dynamic duo will be headlining the First Annual Denver Jazz Festival in April at the Newman Center. The songbook reflects the variety of Brazilian music as it contains samba, bossa nova, cançâo, and waltzes. There is a fine cast of musicians on this recording as well, Peter Martin-piano, Joe Locke-vibraphones, and others. Due to being south of the equator, Christmas is in the summer in Brazil, this tropical session will surely warm you up even on a cold, white Christmas.

Tower of Power: “It’s Christmas”
For over fifty-five years Tower of Power has been playing East Bay funk and soul to enthusiastic audiences around the world. Known for having the best horn section in music, the band still features founding members, Emilio “Mimi” Castillo-sax/vocals and the funky doctor-Stephen Kupka on baritone saxophone. Most of the other members have been in the group for over twenty-five years. Continuing in their long line of fine soul and funk singers is new member Jordan John who is an ideal singer to take Tower into the future, ToP is still touring the US and Europe to sold-out audiences. When Tower of Power was founded in 1968, its model was James Brown and the leader Mimi decided that if James Brown recorded a successful Christmas album, they should too! We are glad they did.

Now in its 21st year of debuting the latest arrivals to the KUVO Jazz library, many of which are played ahead of their official release date. In addition to the music comments, I’ll provide a few tidbits about the artist when it’s a new or an up-and-coming artist. It all begins at Noon every Monday.

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