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Compositionally inspired by everything and everyone from his daughter’s humorously “scary” resting face and a starry evening in the beautiful beach town of Samaná to the troubling violence and frightening ongoing political zeitgeist of the U.S., veteran Dominican born bandleader Socrates Garcia’s third album Shadows of Tomorrow offers a colorful, high spirited mélange of Latin music styles via expansive, full-bodied, alternately muscular and sensitive arrangements performed by his powerhouse 24-piece jazz orchestra.

From the explosive percussive opening of the aggressive, heavy metal meets Latin jazz jam “AG’s Resting Face…Scary!” through the fascinating, multi-faceted three movement incisive and pointed socio-political suite “Illusions, Delusions…and A Glimmer of Hope,” Garcia, a prominent music technology educator at the University of Northern Colorado, offers a master class/full-scale immersion into a full range of vibes from his native country.

These include the folkloric Dominicana palos weaved into the boisterous jazz energy of “Sultry Villa Mella Twilights,” bachata and salsa on the sultry and sassy first movement of the suite “The Wizard’s Wicked Charm,” the coolly soulful, then chaos-filled meringue/jazz mash of the infectiously hypnotic “Liars and Fools” (the second movement) and the artful swirl of bachata, merengue and jazz on the decidedly hopeful third movement of the suite “The Mold Breaker (Bringer of Joy).” Along the way, listeners should attune their ears to spectacular soloing by saxophonists Wil Swindler (alto) and Don Aquilo (tenor), trumpeters Jeff Jarvis and Clay Jenkins and trombonist Jonathan Bumpus.

Listeners can certainly enjoy Shadows of Tomorrow without thinking much about the political aesthetic, but it should be mentioned that Garcia composed the Suite during 45’s first regime, never anticipating they’d be even more relevant in 2025 – and sadly poignant, since he wrote “The Mold Breaker (Bringer of Joy)” imagining a woman stepping up to lead with compassion.

Review by Jonathan Widran