Melissa Aldana, La Sentencia Review

The Expression of Beauty on Melissa Aldana’s Filin through La Sentencia

By Sylvannia Garutch

With Filin, Melissa Aldana shares a quieter register with jazz fans, one defined by beauty, tone, and emotional presence. Rooted in the Cuban filin song tradition of the mid-20th century, the album unfolds as a sustained meditation on ballad form. The result is a record that flows with a low-key beauty, inviting the listener to slow down and meet it on its own terms.

Filin, as a tradition, has always lived in the space between song and confession. These are melodies shaped by intimacy, often delivered in Spanish, where phrasing and tone carry as much meaning as harmony. Aldana draws a clear line from that lineage to the jazz ballad tradition, particularly the inward calm of John Coltrane’s Ballads album, without losing her voice or identity. Instead, she reframes them through the filling narrative. This is music that values emotional clarity and beauty with momentum.

The quartet surrounding Aldana shares that discipline. Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s piano playing is central to the album’s emotional architecture as he is empathetic, spacious, and deeply aware of touch. His role is about companionship, especially in moments where harmony is implied rather than stated. Peter Washington and Kush Abadey form a rhythm section that deepens the music, moving it forward with a big pocket and lush feel. Producer Don Was’ aesthetic oversight is felt most strongly in what’s left untouched; the sound remains warm, unhurried, and human.

Aldana sounds fully at ease in this environment. Her tenor saxophone carries a robust, warm tone, shaped with subtle vibrato and careful dynamic control. There’s a singer’s sensibility at work here with phrases like ” breathe, and notes bloom. Her embellishments appear only when the line calls for them. Rather than interrogating the harmony, Aldana defines it from within, expressing melody as a complete emotional language. The album’s pacing reinforces this, allowing each piece to unfold without urgency.

The lead single, “La Sentencia,” functions as an opening single and a thesis statement for the album. It begins with an intimate duet between Aldana and Rubalcaba, immediately establishing the core values of beauty and inner calm. When the bass and drums enter, the mood shifts, deepening the feel. Aldana’s solo flows with relaxed assurance, pushing the melodic framework forward while remaining anchored in lyricism and harmonic voice leading. The influence of Coltrane’s ballad approach is present not as a reference point but as a shared philosophy of finding the beautiful notes and allowing them to stand on their own.

What lingers after “La Sentencia” ends is Aldana’s tone itself: unforced, expressive, and quietly confident. It’s a sound that has a lyrical presence. As an entry point into Filin, the track prepares the listener for an album that rewards attention.

In the context of Aldana’s broader catalog, Filin is a moment of artistic recalibration. It’s a refinement to speak more softly, and in doing so, more directly. This is an album that conjures stillness and honors tradition without leaning on it. Filin arrives on February 13, 2026, via Blue Note Records, rewarding listeners willing to slow down and meet it in that same spirit.