The San Diego based Caballero-Verde Quintet were formed by Daniel Green (verde is of course Spanish for green) and Bill Caballero in February 2004. They both met already in June 2002, but like all good things, it took some time until they found the right musicians to accompany them on piano and trumpet. And what talented players they’ve what with Jeff “Sly” Simon (bass), Dylan Savage (drums) and Steve Haney (percussion).
With producing the album Past Due and writing six of the nine songs it looks like Daniel Green is the leader of the Quintet and he’s by the way busy with other projects like the 13-piece salsa band Trece de La Suerte.
“Of all the groups I play with, the Caballero-Verde Quintet has always been my favorite,” says Danny. “It’s a real treat for me to have such a great group of musicians play my compositions and arrangements, and I really feel that each one of them contributes a great deal to the material.”
And Danny really comes up with some splendid compostitions on the group’s debut album Past Due.
Take the energetic What Do You Call It for example, a percussion driven song that sums up what’s so great about Latin Jazz. Descarga #1 is another good example of a fast uplifting song that surely will see you moving your hips.
With Juan Melendez’s Karmenalia the Quintet gets more into improvisation and free jazz territory, the result is an instrumental tour de force and another fast paced winner. If you liked the Subaro double album by Speak In Tones last year than I’m sure you’ll like Karmenalia as well.
There’s also time for the quieter moments. The aptly titled Cool Down is a good example that Latin Jazz is not only about hard-hitting danceable grooves but also about ballads with beautiful melodies. The album’s title track Past Due slows down the tempo even more giving Danny and Bill a perfect vehicle to show their musical talent as pianist and trumpet player.
With nine exquisite songs on offer Past Due is a great instrumental album played by a tight band that every fan of Latin Jazz should own.
[edit: I’ve just come to know that Bill Caballero is no longer with the group and it’s simply named the Danny Green Quintet now.]
Tracklisting of Past Due: 1. What Do You Call It/ 2. Cool Down/ 3. Descarga #1/ 4. Drume Negrita/ 5. Obsesion/ 6. Karmenalia/ 7. Trouble On The Beach/ 8. The Nerve/ 9. Past Due | released 2006 by Daniel Green
For more infos visit dannygreen.net and cdbaby.com.
[If you want to discuss Caballero-Verde Quintet’s music, you can leave your comment below and also use the forum]
2006/23/5 at 20:49
Dear JNJ:
Thank you for the review of the CD where my husband, Bill Caballero, plays trumpet and flugelhorn. I feel another edit of the review by JNJ is *past due* …
Please note that Bill Caballero and Danny were co-leaders of Caballero-Verde Quintet (CVQ). Danny was never the sole leader. Bill hosts a weekly free jazz jam session where he came up with the Danny-Dylan-Steve combination. Danny brought Sly to CVQ. For the Past Due CD, Danny used his personal and family’s economic affluence to coerce the CD into existence, rather than put out a creative co-venture with Bill. The financial gain was all to be had by Danny, with no proceeds to Bill. This cultural appropriation and hijacking of Bill’s talent, not recognizing his mentoring of the inexperienced piano player Danny, is something that “simply” renaming the quintet does not cure.
Danny has quit the salsa band, Trece de la Suerte, while Bill still mentors and directs other young musicians. Interesting how Danny’s group Gente Fina translates to “Rich People.”
Bill Caballero and Danny were also partners in a booking agency which came to an end after questionable and unethical business practices by Danny.
So now Bill has his own company, Caballero Music. Among other groups, he leads the 18-piece Orquesta Binacional de Mambo (formed 1997), his Quinteto Caballero, and continues to play his heartfelt, warm, authentic music.
I would appreciate incorporating these corrections in your review. Thank you very much.
Teresa E. Caballero
2006/3/6 at 19:10
Hi Teresa,
Thanks for the additional infos…that’s what actually the comments are there for. To add more information about the music, other views etc.
So there’s really no need to change my review now :-)
2006/26/7 at 21:00
I would like to comment on Teresa’s review. It’s so far from the truth that it’s hardly worth getting upset about, but for any readers out there who are concerned or interested, I’d like to clear some things up.
Bill and I did start the group together just like Teresa said. When it came time to record the CD, we had agreed that I would pay everyone in the band including Bill a specific fee, and that I would retain the profits or take the losses. In addition to this, I offered the band members the opportunity to buy CDs from me at cost and sell them for whatever they wanted to. On the way to the third day of recording, Bill said that since we started the group together, he should be entitled to share in the profits. I disagreed for the following reasons: (a) I funded and produced the entire project, (b) I had composed and/or arranged all of the material on the CD, and (c) I assumed all financial risks in the project. For those reasons, I felt justified in my actions, and numerous people in and out of the band agreed with me. In the end, Bill was paid the same as the rest of the musicians as was originally agreed.
My favorite part of Teresa’s review is when she says, “This cultural appropriation and hijacking of Bill’s talent, not recognizing his mentoring of the inexperienced piano player Danny, is something that “simply” renaming the quintet does not cure.” First of all, calling what I did a cultural appropriation is ridiculous. What difference does my cultural background make to the music that I love, study and put out? Latin Jazz is all about fusions and the coming together of cultures through music, so if you want to think of it as a cultural appropriation, then Bill is just as guilty. I did not “hijack” Bill’s talent. He was paid for his work. Another thing I would like to point out is that renaming the group was simply done because Bill is no longer with the group. I don’t think that needs to be read into much further.
I quit the salsa band, Trece de la Suerte because I did not want to work at all with Bill anymore. I won’t go into all the reasons why, but I’ll just say that I don’t like playing music when there are personal tensions, so I saw quitting the band as my best option. I started a new group called Gente Fina with Dylan Savage and Israel Maldonado, which by the way translates to Fine People; not Rich People as Teresa incorrectly points out.
Teresa mentioned that I had a booking agency with Bill and that it came to an end after “questionable and unethical business practices by Danny.” That’s a blatant lie. It came to an end because I felt that I was doing almost all of the work and that I would be better off working on my own.
With all that said, I hope you can all look past the personal conflicts conveyed here, and enjoy the album for what it is.
Sincerely,
Danny Green
2006/17/8 at 11:34
great players. peace on earth