Pelin Music; September 2007
Local Latin jazz aficionado Luis Mu±oz has done it again. Following the critical success of 2006’s Vida (which garnered Mu±oz the title of 2006 Producer of the Year from Costa Rica’s ACAM), the multi-talented multi-instrumentalist’s Of Soul and Shadow picks up right where its predecessor left off. Chock full of culturally pervasive, compositionally articulate numbers that fluctuate between samba-infused swing (“La Verdad”) and harmonica-driven blues (“Al Silencio”), the album calls out to the sounds of Mu±oz’s Costa Rican home while still maintaining an approachableness that will resonate with both avid and casual jazz fans. And despite a roster of guest musicians that stretches the length of the record’s liner notes, the repeated twists and turns Mu±oz takes with Of Soul and Shadow are shockingly well fused and cohesive, leaving listeners feeling as though they’ve explored Latin America without ever leaving home.