This New York based Puerto Rican tresero has a CV that includes work with Eddie Palmieri, Cachao, and Conjunto Libre, and also participation on 5 Grammy-winning recordings. But his most impressive credentials are contained in the crisply jangling melodies that ripple through these ten classy tracks. The tres is a 19th century Cuban remake of the guitar. Its widely spaced, paired strings facilitate highly percussive melodies. It can take the cycling ostinato role typically reserved for piano, or it can solo with fiery speed, precision, and eloquence. On the slowly loping title track here, Gonzalez does all of that. This set features an array of sensational New-York based Latin players and singers, but there's an intimate, small ensemble feel that lets the tres come forward. Some tracks, like "Santero de Buena Paz," reach back to the elegant sound of early son, but we get plenty of heat too, as on "Juaniquita," a svelte son montuna that shifts between a slow, deliberate vocal section rich with backing horns, and racing instrumental interludes. There's a freewheeling jam (descarga), organized around vocal chants, a romantic Puerto Rican bomba, and for the closer, an instrumental tres feature, "Tres Lindas Cubanas," that harks back to the late 19th century danzon. Gonzalez threads together diverse elements of Latin music history with grace and musical excellence throughout.

Contributed by: Banning Eyre