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"Charming" is the best word for this CD release of a 1978 vinyl session documenting, as the liner notes state, "an afternoon gathering of Salsa's 'inner circle.'" The material runs the gamut from traditional, folkloric tunes to more "uptown" material,
and is presented with a minimum of production effects. One gets the impression
that the engineer just let the tape roll and left it to the musicians to determine
ensemble and solo levels. The result is a pleasing performance by a stellar
cast of Latin musicians.
In "Son de la Loma," rendered in Cuban Son style, the charm manifests itself in the interplay of plucked and bowed violin sounds (Alfredo de la Fe), followed by Dick Meza's flute line. Listen closely for a hint of the Disney theme "We Whistle While We Work" (3:45), a friendly touch!
"Jo-Ca-Nic" is a Cha-Cha with an odd piano vamp underpinning percussion solos by Angel "Cachete" Maldonado, Eddie Montalvo, and Johnny Rodriguez, Jr.- the latter holding the groove on Vibra Slap, of all things! At various intervals, the ensemble stops and the piano vamp modulates upwards. Nicky Marrero's solo on timbale is exciting, and the tone of his LP instruments, especially the lower drum, is especially rich. The tune ends in a curious chromatic ascending phrase.
After a brief legato piano intro, the standard "April in Paris" gallops along as never before, becoming a forum for solos, especially Mario Rivera on sax. The sax periodically "trades fours" with what sounds like a guiro. It's hard to tell, the way this has been recorded. But either way, it is an exciting conversation between unlikely instruments. Jose Raul Santiago's bass is low in the mix, but the congas take up the slack and anchor the bottom end harmonically and rhythmically.
"Tune Up" is a Miles Davis composition taken at a brisk tempo, Salsa style. Again, the congas drive the piece, along with sax, trumpet, and cymbal bell. The tune ends on a vamp in what appears to be 3/2 Rumba Clave.
In the intro to the Latin jazz standard "Manteca," the baritone sax playfully hints at the "salt peanuts" theme made famous by co-composer Dizzy Gillespie. All the while, a variety of LP cowbells hold the groove. Nicky Marrero moves from shells to heads of the timbales for a solo, demonstrating the sort of delightfully bizarre phrasing that musicians exhibit when in the comfort of their peers.
A simple conga line, tuned to the melody, opens "Almendra," a Cha-Cha featuring bird-like flute lines and the cascading piano of Sonny Bravo. The percussionists face off with a line of solos; the winner is Nicky Marrero with an exciting timbale fill that leaps across bar lines.
And now it gets jazzy! "Konkoina" dances along on the trumpet theme, with acoustic piano and Fender Rhodes undercurrents. For a while, it seems to go nowhere, as if horn player Lopez were searching for something. Wisely, he yields to Rivera on baritone - just the instrument the song needs to get honking!
The album ends, as it began, in Son form, in "Apri?tala en el Rincon," with Felo Barrios covering vocals. Eccentric as ever on piano, Sonny Bravo lifts this song off the ground, knowing he can fall back on the solid guiro and conga pad. Few Sunday afternoon jams have ever come to such a rousing conclusion!
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