Adrian Iaies is a pianist, composer and arranger born in Buenos Aires in 1960. The combination of his unique approach to tango and other forms of Argentinean music and his prolific output establishes him as an important force not only in Argentina but outside as well.

Following a stint in the 80s as the leader of an electric fusion group modeled after Chick Corea’s Return to Forever, Iaies switched his attention to a more personal style of tango and jazz.

With regard to the other two performers, bassist Ezequiel Dutil was educated in Buenos Aires, where he studied with double-bass player Hernan Merlo, while percussionist Jose (Pepi) Taveira was born in Buenos Aires in 1960. Taveira is a percussionist and composer with a long history as a performer and teacher. He attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he graduated with honors. He has a strong interest in African music. During the concert, he played several solos and this to me was percussion at its best.

Admitting that he could never be mistaken for an English language teacher, Iaies nonetheless offered relevant historical tid-bits in a humorous way as he introduced each piece.

“For me, jazz is not a style of music but a toolbox. It can be used to make your own music,” the 48-year-old musician contends. I wonder if Bill Evans said the same thing when he transcribed “Sketches of Spain” for Miles Davis, an incredible fusion of jazz and Spanish guitar music.

He continued by saying: “My main heroes are classic jazz musicians Bill Evans, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell and John Lewis from the Modern Jazz Quartet.

Iaies skillfully blended tango and jazz in this performance, with tango master Astor Piazzolla’s work evident in several pieces.

“Crecimiento Exponencial de la Locura is a conversation, between John Lewis and Herbie Nichols, talking about the strange methods of Thelonious Monk,” the pianist said. “Herbie Nichols was crazy, not only Monk. And John Lewis was crazy. So I’m making a conversation between two crazy piano players talking about a third crazy piano player, and this is the result.” And the result was his spirited rendition of Bud Powell’s “Hallucinations.”

Thanks to the music of Iaies, Dutil and Taveira, we continue to see a blending of the world’s regional musical styles to the globalization of jazz.