As an imaginative Latin-jazz bassist and highly original producer, Dorian Mendez’s reputation already precedes him; He has released dozens of albums with Bolivia’s best, including The Funky Tones, Camila Soruco, Laura Camacho, 3DPASO, Mayra Gonzales, Giuseppe, Carlos Fischer, Camerata Del Oriente, Maleja, Mila Magal, Vanessa Añez, and Everton Vidal.
Yet, at the concert of Bolivia’s largest orchestra, Dorian has topped himself: he composed the material for this huge production, musically directed it, and even added his other iconic band, The Funky Tones, into the mix.
The music presented deep and fast grooves, and reflective melodies that are gripping you as any good piece of music should, but dropping surprising hits just as soon as the time is right. In these nationally acclaimed productions, Mendez introduced an act with equal parts delicacy and weight about their creative expression, with subtle counterpoint and dreamy quietness.
Considering the impressive palate of bands and the most central venues he is producing music as the major music maker in the scene, with names like multiple Grammy Winners Take 6, the multiple Latin Grammy Winner Marcos Witt, Nito Mestre, Los Tajibos, Fexpocruz International Main Stage, Don Bosco Coliseum, Grammy Award winner drummer Dave Weckl, Latin Grammy Winner Vladimir Suarez, and the National Bank of Bolivia Main Hall, and you see why it’s good to keep Mendez in mind as the leading (and jarringly good) modern Latin/jazz music maker of our time in Bolivia. Give his music a lot of listening.