The aspect I like the least about this piece is the drum programming. Could you not get a drummer to play that groove? It does not sound anything like Chick Corea's Friends album
(texture wise it does but not groove wise though) because Steve Gadd is playing on that and that is like a rocket taking off the whole time but what you have is a flat drum groove which is also too far back in the mix. (Steve is
loud on Friends especially in
Samba Song) I can understand why you have not mixed the drums very loud because maybe they don't feel quite right.
It feels like it is not going anywhere for the whole tune groove wise. It is just sitting in one place groove wise. Mix is not great at times. Flute is a bit loud in places. Nice piano playing from you though but it would have sounded way better with a decent drummer. I feel even your piano playing is held back because of the groove.
It does not matter how interesting the music is if the groove is not happening and for me I feel it is not happening in this tune. BTW in the other latin jazz tune the drums sound a little better (programming too) although there is still some of this groove lacking going on there as well. Maybe the tempo is too slow not sure. The sax is a bit loud in the other tune and the drums are sitting a little far back as well. No piano chords under the sax sounds good. Listen to
Samba Song from
Friends on a small speaker and hear how well balanced everything is.
I am just being very critical of one aspect of these pieces. The tunes and harmony sound great. I am a pretty experienced drummer myself, my son is a very good drummer and drums and groove is just one area I am very very sensitive to. And besides I have been listening to a lot of Gadd lately and really after that not much measures up too well.