But Carnival in San Juan is in another class altogether. With a backing band that consists of heavyweights like pianist Arturo O'Farrill, drummer Horacio "El Negro" Hernández, bassist John Benítez, and others, Vazquez merges Puerto Rican folk rhythms like bomba and plena with jazz and funk that's both aware of yet unbounded by tradition. His technical range -- he sounds as impressive on the heavy bomba funk opener, "Carnaval In San Juan," as he does swinging over Thelonious Monk's "Stuffy Turkey" -- is only part of the picture. On the album's centerpiece, the eleven-minute-plus "En La Cueva de Tan," he showcases a compositional vision that makes the album one of the better recorded examples of a modern Latin jazz sensibility.