Monique Hepburn, News Editor 
Puerto Rican master flautist and composer, Nestor Torres, performs an enchanting blend of Latin, Jazz and pop melodies at the 2006 Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in Montego Bay, St. James, on Thursday. – Claudine Housen Photo
WESTERN BUREAU:
IT WAS jazz and blues and in between Puerto Rican virtuoso and Latin Grammy Award winner Nestor Torres graced the stage of the Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival in Montego Bay on Thursday night.
The master flautist and composer created a combination of Latin, jazz and pop sounds that led patrons into a heady, albeit merry, encounter with his magical flute.
"It is my first time in Jamaica. I am very pleased and flattered by the reception that I got," Torres told The Sunday Gleaner after his performance.
He explained that the flute, while not a traditional jazz instrument, finds extensive cross-cultural appeal and, even more, it finds its way into an almost new age genre that is entirely its own.
UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENT
"The flute is a universal instrument, although not in traditional jazz. You may find, though, that many people have a relationship with the flute," said Torres. "They might know someone who plays it or have tried it themselves.
"It is an instrument that I love and I want to leave a legacy," he commented.
MYTHICAL PIED PIPER
Drawing on pieces from albums such as Sin Palabras, My Latin Soul and The Side of Paradise, Torres led patrons through an enchanting journey, much in the manner of the mythical Pied Piper, with adept improvisation.
In a real treat of Caribbean flavours, Torres served up a mellow delight of scintillating tropical rhythms and melodies, wrapped in meditation and romance.
A devout practitioner of Nichiren Buddhism, Torres says he appreciates the fact that his career is possible through the help of friends, family and fans. Indeed a survivor, he fell on bad times in 1989 after a boating accident that left him with 18 fractured ribs, two broken
clavicles and a collapsed lung. He went through a divorce and was being dropped by his record company. He was, however, able to save his home and restart his career after an outpouring of love from the South Florida community, of which he is a part.
