Album Review: Con Moto from DiCosimo and Pagán

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Album:  Con Moto
Artists:  Bill DiCosimo and Edgar Pagán
Label:  SubCat Records
Website:  https://www.edgarpagan.com

Latin flavors compliment R&B/soul driven melodies on songwriter/organist Bill DiCosimo and songwriter/bass player/vocalist Edgar Pagán s latest endeavor Con Moto.  Produced by multi-Grammy winner Jimmy Haslip, the recording is powered by a unrelenting spirit to pursue happiness with a tendency to heighten audience's sensitivity to be open to joyful vibrations.

The reggae grooves piping “Show the World” is a prime sample of a universally uplifting melody that touches the masses, transcending human differences and man-made conflicts.  Featuring Ceili Rain's frontman Bob Halligan Jr on vocals, the cruising melody is motored by Jeff Lorber's poetic musings on the keyboards as the lyrics inspire peace, love, and unity among listeners.  Halligan prophesizes, "Come together people / Show your love somehow / So turn to each other / Just reach out your hand / To every woman, child, and man / Let's show the world / What can be done / Let's show the world / We can live as one."

The theme of peace, love, and unity arguably prompts joy.  It is joy that DiCosimo and Pagán radiate through the subsequent melodies. "So It Begins" showcases Pagán's pulsating Latin beats on the bass paired with DiCosimo's cache of R&B/soul vamps.  The duo kindle cool breezy embers that are pleasing to the senses.  Latin accents waft through "Samba Pagán" as Paulie Cerra's flute swirls and undulates with a graceful prance while encircled in clusters of soft quivering percussive shakers.  "Taino Spirit" continues the joyful spree with springy rhythmic beats and the lobbing notes of Lorber's keys, eliciting an uplifting mood.

The twenty year partnership of songwriter/organist Bill DiCosimo and songwriter/bass player/vocalist Edgar Pagán has paved the way for the uplifting recording Con Moto. Relating to movement in music, the term is translated to mean 'in a spirited manner," according to Merriam-Webster dictionary.  DiCosimo and Pagán certainly achieve a spirited vibe throughout the recording, heightening audience's sensitivity to joyful vibrations.

Musicians:
Bill DiCosimo - B3 organ
Edgar Pagán - vocals and bass
Jeff Lorber - keyboards and keyboard bass
Gary Novak - drums
Jeff Richman - guitar
Jose Varona - percussion
Paulie Cerra - horns
Jimmy Haslip - additional bass, synths, percussion, and background vocals


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