What is the role of musicians in the face of oppression? Last year, I had the pleasure of reviewing »Un Hombre de Buenos Aires« by Jorge Lopez Ruiz. In 1978, the Argentinian jazz arranger sang the praises of his home – from exile. The military dictatorship seemed to make it necessary to affirm one’s origin, to persevere, to insist on the possibilities of a better life. Perhaps, Lopez Ruiz has found the courage to do so with »Coraje Buenos Aires«. Three years before the Junta instigated a coup, Lopez Ruiz and author José Tcherkaski denounced their crimes. Their indictment is dramatic. The texts are recited as if on a theater stage. Imitating antiquity, they are accompanied by a choir.
Lopez Ruiz uses it like an instrument, as he would come to do on »Un Hombre de Buenos Aires«. But here the sextet’s onomatopoeia attempts to create a scene, not an atmosphere. Sometimes it is playful, sometimes dissonant. This is accompanied by another six-piece instrumental ensemble. It offers a Bossa Nova, beguiles you with smooth jazz, only to turn into improvised freak-outs. »Coraje Buenos Aires« is constantly on the move, just like the eponymous city. The mix is similarly organic: dynamic, albeit very quiet. Lopez Ruiz never released the album. That Altercat is now releasing the long-lost tapes is a lucky find. For Jorge Lopez Ruiz’s commitment offers a ray of hope for anyone caught in spirals of escalation.
