Buscano La Vida was born from two very different events – a fire that destroyed master drummer, composer, and arranger Henry Cole’s NYC apartment and an unexpected New Jazz Works grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation once he had relocated to his native Puerto Rico. With both the loss and the gain occurring during the pandemic, Cole began to do much of the writing for the album and released some singles along the way with his band. He comments as follows,” “Death became the word of the day – the death of humans, work, faith, plans, bank accounts and so much more. In the middle of so much death, I decided to look for life.” This album is his grand way of starting over – an eight-piece tour de force, one of which features Metropole Orkest, another with MC Negro Gonzalez, and one with Antibalas frontman Duke Amayo. Cole’s own group, Villa Locura, boasts 13 musicians and four backup vocalists that sing on just the closing track.
The cinematic opening “No Estamos Solo” (“We Are Not Alone”) is a colorful showcase for the Metropole Orkest, infused by Cole’s urgent drumming and carries a sweeping, triumphant tone celebrating the notion that we, as a people, are not alone. “Y en Sueños te Persigo” (“And in Dreams I Chase You”) is a personal thought that at least for this writer, is very relatable. One has an idea and gets so obsessed with it that he/she relentlessly pursues it in dreams. The use of two electric guitars and synths make for some ominous sounds before guitar lines and furious drumming ensue.
“Dime Donde Estas” (Tell Me Where You Are), and “H.C.S.” are dedicated to Cole’s estranged father, Henry Cole Simon. The former is spirited and rhythmic with a rather indelible constant refrain while the latter is subdued interlude.
“De Frente” (Head On), a genre-mashup featuring the rapper Negro Gonzalez, is a recitation on confronting and taking responsibility for one’s life, absorbing the bad with the good. The musical motif is like “Dime Donde Estas” with Cole’s pounding drums very much in the forefront as well. while “Azul Turquesa” (Blue Turquoise) is a reflective love song featuring a spiritual tenor sax intro from Jonathan Acevedo before the band joins to build on the theme. As this music unfolds, Cole’s cross-cultural style reveals traces of African, indigenous, and European influences but sounds ultra- contemporary by employing synths and 21st-century rhythms that draw on hip-hop and R&B.
“Shinobi (He Who Hides)” is dedicated to the figure of the ninja – a figure of inspiration for Cole that again features sax in the lead over a background that sounds like chanting even though there are no vocalists present. The vibrant closer “Vueltas” (Turns) pays homage to the community that created the Delta Blues and its relation to the Puerto Rican Jibaro. This one has Duke Amayo in the lead with the four background vocalists, and the music has West African strains, which, as we know, led to the Delta Blues in the states.
This is highly spirited music that ranges from highly danceable to deep, trance-like with Cole’s percolating rhythms infusing all of it – creating a huge uplift in feeling. When you’ve reached the end of “Vueltas” the instinct is to just repeat from the beginning, only to find the opener bathed in strings from Metropole Orkest, as Cole says, taking this multi-cultural music to yet a different place.
