The brainchild of saxophonist/percussionist Hilary Noble and pianist Rebecca Cline, Enclave updates the Latin/jazz fusion for the 21st century. Often described as fiery, refreshing, and forward-looking, the group’s music reflects diverse influences from both Afro-Latin traditions and the jazz canon. The quartet plays with a broad palette of free, fusion, and post-bop jazz colors, as well as a wide range of Latin rhythms from Brazil, Argentina, and Cuba. This is music for the heart as well as the head: “It’s fun and intellectually challenging, flawlessly performed yet marked by a spontaneous elan.” (allaboutjazz.com)

Enclave puts on a riveting live show. Powerhouse Hilary Noble leads the charge on tenor, soprano, and flute, and then cooks in the rhythm section on the congas. On piano, Cline mixes percussive energy with “harmonic and melodic lyricism...[and] a seemingly unstoppable flow of ideas.” (ejazznews)

The group’s first CD, Enclave, was released in October 2005 to widespread critical acclaim on ZOHO Records. Audiences from Boston, New York, and San Juan, Puerto Rico have thrilled to performances of material from the recording. Enclave has received airplay on WGBH (Boston), WEMU (Detroit), KUVO (Denver), and WSDS (San Diego), among numerous other stations nationally and internationally.

The creative partnership of Noble and Cline shows itself in the finishing of each other’s musical sentences as they jointly conceive, compose, and arrange the music. Their musical grammar derives from a variety of sources: Hilary has studied saxophone with Yusef Lateef in the U.S., and percussion with Maximino Duquesne in Cuba. Rebecca has studied piano with Joanne Brackeen in the U. S., and with Chucho Valdés in Cuba. Hilary and Rebecca have performed with some of the torchbearers of the music, including Giovanni Hidalgo, Bobby Sanabria and John Santos.

Bassist Fernando Huergo and drummer Steve Langone anchor the sound of the group, which has been evolving with unchanging personnel for three years. Fernando and Steve have played jointly with the Jinga Trio, Jinga Quintet, Nando Michelin, and have also performed separately with the likes of Luciana Souza, Danilo Perez, Jerry Bergonzi, Dave Samuels, Dave Kikoski, Paulo Braga, and many others.