Mireya Ramos was an unexpected musical treat because our borders, with very few exceptions, have been long closed to all but Kiwi returnees (and most recently Australian tourists). Ramos is from New York. Very few international musicians have managed to cross the border, and only if they obtained an exemption and subjected themselves to a strict quarantine. 

With the Australian Bubble just opened I assumed that Ramos must have come from Australia, but in fact, she arrived here with her acclaimed Flor de Toloache all-female Mariachi styled band to perform at WOMAD 2020. Within days of arrival, the borders had closed behind her. For many pre-lockdown international visitors, the border closure proved to be a silver lining as visas were extended and they could avoid the horrors unfolding elsewhere in the world.  

Mireya Ramos is a multi Grammy-nominated (and winning) artist and although the rest of her all-female mariachi band members returned home, she and her partner Andy Averbuch did what creatives do best, they got busy. During the year she has recorded and toured the country and her gigs have attracted enthusiastic audiences everywhere. Her CJC gig featured a variety of Latin and Central American styles with the addition of popular standards.   

Her music draws on many genres, but all coloured by a stylistic uniqueness. She is both a vocalist and a violinist and that appealed as well. The violin is not unknown in improvised music, but sadly it is still uncommon. I am fond of the violin in Jazz and Jazz fusion styles and particularly so with Argentinean music. 

Listening Jazz audiences are always eager to hear traditional and blended South American music. A good example was the version of ‘Fever’ which morphed into an Afro-Cuban groove. Of all the tunes, that appealed to me the most. It is not often that we get to hear the many and varied Latin styles and whenever we do, we are left wanting more.   

Guitarist Andy Averbuch and Bass player Alex Griffith had opportunities to stretch out during solos and they made the most of that, but when Dr Mark Baynes and Lance Bentley locked into a Clave, the magic happened. Ramos has been received enthusiastically in New Zealand and after the pandemic recedes, I am sure that she will be encouraged to return. The band: Mireya Ramos (vocals @ violin), Andy Averbuch (guitar), Dr Mark Baynes (piano, keys), Alex Griffith (bass), Lance Bently (drums).

JazzLocal32.com was rated as one of the 50 best Jazz Blogs in the world by Feedspot. The author is a professional member of the Jazz Journalists Association, poet & writer. Some of these posts appear on related sites.