In Puerto Rico, where saxophonist Roy McGrath grew up, a menjunje is a homemade healing tonic or potent elixir, drunk when you are feeling puny or sickly. Like those folk remedies from grandmother’s cupboard, McGrath’s jazz music has the sweet and spicy flavors of sugar cane juice, ginger, lemon, honey, garlic, cayenne pepper and a few other unique ingredients. Roy McGrath's jazzy remedy has eight tracks ranging from 6 – 9 minutes each, and they not only make you feel better but they’ll entice your palate.

The mix of compositions and arrangements, written during the past six years, feature folkloric rhythms from Puerto Rico. Bomba is African-based music that is the Puerto Rican equivalent of Cuban rumba and that was incorporated into a salsa-type sound in the 1950s and 60s. Bomba includes sub-styles like Sicá, Yubá, Cuembé, and Holandé. Plena is the most Spanish, and melodious, variety of Puerto Rican salsa. Building on these foundations, Roy McGarth and his band have perfected a commercial, big band concept and eclectic style.   

Back in 2017, Chicago-based Roy McGrath was commissioned by the Segundo Ruiz Belvis Cultural Center to arrange and perform some works, with his sextet, of one of Puerto Rico’s most renowned Nova Trova singer-songwriters, Antonio Cabàn Vale (aka El Topo). Menjunje features tasty arrangements, bursting with emotion, of four of El Topo’s works, “Guamani,” “Loquito Por Ti,” “Antonia” and “Linda Morena.”  At a slower tempo, “Antonia” is El Topo’s ballad dedicated to a college student murdered by police during a 1970 demonstration.

The other four tracks are original compositions that were conceived in 2020 during the pandemic’s isolation, all delivered with stellar musicianship and elasticity in sections and tempos without losing sight of the overarching splendor of Afro-Caribbean music. Tossing around ideas with other musicians until they became concise and clear, McGrath was then ready to perform and record this music.

“Cuembé Na’ Má” and “Bolerito” create imaginative jazz that reflects what is in the performers’ hearts. Rhythmic dynamics incorporated into the arrangements allow the pieces to breathe, and that's a clear nod to the group’s percussionists and soloists. The bright, breezy “Groove #4” and wistful ballad “For Zee” provide a balancing juxtaposition of the yin and yang in McGrath’s music, arranged to capitalize on the strength and power of his band’s musicians.     

Demonstrating plenty of empathy and teamwork, the band plays with force, sincerity, confidence and drive. There was definitely something going on, a conviction and compassion that are hard to describe but leave us feeling elated. In addition to McGrath, the talented band included Constantine Alexander (trumpet), Eduardo Zayas (piano), Efraín Martínez (drums), Kitt Lyles (upright bass), Victor Junito González (conga, punteador, barril) Javier Quintana-Ocasio (barril, requinto, bongo, quinto, campana) and José A. Carrasquillo (cuatro).

Combining pleasant melodic interludes, eloquent horn solos, and an enchanting ambiance, McGrath’s Menjunje is lavish and expressive. Ultimately, what matters most is the emotional power of the music, and McGrath’s potent elixir heals and makes us feel better by expressing original feelings that stem from one’s own upbringing and experience. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)