Alfonso Soliano – Tiga Trombone

Alfonso Soliano – Tiga Trombone inaugurates Audible Beauty Records, the sister label of Habibi Funk, with a landmark archival collection dedicated to one of the foundational figures of Malaysian jazz. Composer, arranger and pianist Alfonso Soliano played a crucial role in shaping modern Malaysian music, developing a highly individual language in which jazz, Latin rhythms and traditional Malay musical forms could sit naturally alongside one another.

The eleven recordings gathered on Tiga Trombone were originally made for Radio Television Malaysia and pressed only in extremely small quantities for radio broadcast, making the music largely inaccessible outside its original context. This release brings those recordings into wider circulation and presents Soliano's work not simply as an archival curiosity, but as a vital body of music with its own unmistakable identity. His arrangements are sophisticated yet warm, balancing horn-led jazz writing with rhythmic ideas drawn from Southeast Asian and Latin traditions. The sessions also feature contributions from important Malaysian musicians and composers including Johari Salleh and Ahmad Nawab.

The album includes Masth Chantani, Ida, Surya Pagi, Salah Langkah, Rohana, Bukan Lalang Di Tiup Angin, Petaling Jaya, Rimba, Ku Kan Kembali, Kenangan Abadi and Kejujuran. Together they reveal a vibrant musical world that deserves to stand alongside the celebrated North African, Ethiopian and Middle Eastern jazz rediscoveries that have reached new audiences in recent years.

This carefully produced vinyl edition is fully licensed from the Soliano family and comes in a gatefold sleeve with an attached 12-page booklet, featuring extensive liner notes, archival photographs and historical material. For listeners drawn to spiritual jazz, global jazz, Latin-influenced orchestration and deep archival discoveries, Tiga Trombone is an important and beautifully presented release.