Saturday, March 8th was an intriguing night of Jazz and Latin Jazz performed by the Tito Charneco Quintet for the 2025 Concert Series at Manhattan SDA Church, a free concert at 232 W. 11th Street in the West Village.
Seasoned Latino jazz musicians Tito Charneco (tenor sax and clarinet), Arturo O’Farrill (piano), Antonio Orta (alto sax), Raul Reyes Bueno (upright bass), and Joel Mateo (drums) formed a quintet to honor the writings of the Puerto Rican journalist and poet Julia de Burgos, in a program titled A Musical Trajectory to Julia De Burgos: Composed in the Genres of Jazz and Latin Jazz.
All 11 compositions performed were by Tito Charneco other than one (Un Verano en Nueva York, composed by Justi Barrento in 1975) and were prepared for his Doctor of Musical Arts, University of North Texas (spring ‘25).
These were 11 solid jazz and Latin jazz performances with the instrumentation of alto sax, clarinet, piano, upright bass, and drums performed in a large church.
The music aimed to evoke an emotional backdrop to Burgos’ poetry, the struggles she faced, her vision for Puerto Rico, and humanity as a whole. These compositions’ goal was to contribute to both the academic and artistic understanding of Burgos’ work.
A secondary goal was aimed to lead to an appreciation for Latin American literature and musical studies in both jazz and Latin jazz, while interacting with themes of equity, identity, and resilience.
The Works of Julia de Burgos
Julia de Burgos (1914-1953) has been a symbolic figure revered by many, both in Puerto Rico and around the world. Her story, well-documented, all but faintly reveals a glimmer of light into a life cut short, that still shines brightly. She lived her short life of thirty-nine years both in Puerto Rico and New York City.
“An artist’s biography is found in their work” she once said. She went on to state she did not believe words could express a life’s trajectory. “This is most visible in an artist’s works.”
A significant part of Burgos’ writings and life has been her ability to break the ties of societal conventions of her time. Spirited, autonomous, Burgos was the owner of her decisions and actions. Burgos wrote and spoke on issues impacting women and disenfranchisement from her native country. These were all considerably affected by the grip of oppression for far too long.
“Her journalism shows her political commitment to radical democracy, the struggle for immigrant and Puerto Rican rights and her advocacy of solidarity with Harlem’s African American community” explains Vanessa Perez Rosario. Julia related to both the Latino and African-American struggle, for she is both and more. Burgos was triguena (bronzed-skin) and was described by those who knew her as “…a woman in whom intermingles — as an accomplishment of racial blend — the three races captured in the humans of our islander women: Taino, African, and European.”
In Burgos’ short life, she witnessed much, lived abundantly, but suffered all too much more. Burgos experienced what W.E.B. Du Bois termed as “double- consciousness,” perhaps even triple.
DuBois explained, “This double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of the world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels a twoness — an American, a Negro, two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings, two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone is kept from being torn asunder.” Burgos was Taino, African, and European. Above all, she was Puerto Rican. No doubt, it was this eternal struggle that hastened her demise.
Much has been written about Burgos’ work and life but with a few exceptions, very little has been done in setting her poetry to music until now.
The Tito Charmeco Quintet’s Jazz and Latin Jazz Performance
The musical program, which lasted slightly longer than one hour, was quite relaxing and at times provocative with excellent musicianship. The church was quite packed and everyone enjoyed and appreciated the music.
Charneco’s ten compositions sought to weave together aspects of Burgos’ story and sections of her poems, setting them to music in the genres of jazz and Latin jazz. The task was fulfilled by retracing the places and spaces in both Puerto Rico and New York City where Burgos’ writings were conceived.
These same musical works by Charmeco were aimed to directly link the Afro-Puerto Rican culture, where Burgos’ legacy to this day remains vibrant, relevant, and valuable.
At the end of the concert, there were food, pastries, soft drinks and coffee served in the lower level of the church. Judging from their satisfied faces, the concert-goers enjoyed the free concert as well as the food.
Read this article on the Manhattan SDA Church jazz concert where I originally wrote it in The Village View:
Kaju Roberto is an accomplished musician, singer/ songwriter, journalist, and an award-winning producer. He is the artist Rad Jet on Spotify.