PAQUITO D’RIVERA Explosion (Columbia)

Paquito’s the Cuban saxophonist who left the musical confines of his homeland for New York and the freedom to play jazz— and does he ever. This time out, he stretches the concept of Latin jazz past Bird to Benny Goodman and forward into the future with unorthodox instrumentation (harmonica and trombone) and strong performances all around. He uses acoustic orchestration instead of synths and gets away with it easily, as he wields his alto like a sensuous machete, cutting through the curtain of strings. Hot and varied. M.D.