His most recent releases have centred on various aspects of Puerto Rican folklore, generally with some additional musicians. For this, his 10th album as leader, Miguel Zenón concentrates solely on the ingredients that make his own quartet, which has been together (though Cole replaced Antonio Sanchez in 2005) for virtually 11 years now, so unique. Zenón himself has one of the most instantly recognisable and distinctive sounds in jazz today (as witnessed in the SFJAZZ Collective), as has his group. One of the most interesting features of Tipico is the fact that he has put his own compositional talents to work on previous solos or originals by his colleagues with interesting results. Possibly the standout track is the title song, which is built around a descending harmonic cadence which is very common in Caribbean music and which links together music from so many different countries. The up-tempo opener, ‘Academia’, is one of the exercises he gives his pupils as an educator at the New England Conservatory. A really exciting piece harmonically and rhythmically, it shows the influence of Charlie Parker on Zenón's style. There's a dedication to his four-year-old daughter (‘Songre Di Me Seingre’) and two titles featuring Glawischnig's bass, followed by a wild, extremely free track featuring Perdomo (who in his youth used to listen to Bud Powell and Cecil Taylor records at the same time!) called ‘Amongst the Roots’. Zenón also shows us his avant-garde side here. The CD closes with a subtly difficult drum theme by Cole. An enthralling recording by a great group, which deserves much more live exposure in the UK.