Eddie Palmieri & Cal Tjader - Guajira En Azul

Details

Description

Eddie Palmieri
El Sonido Nuevo: The New Soul Sound
CD (Verve/Poly. 519812), Released 1966; Re-Issued 1993
Produced by Creed Taylor
Arranged by Claus Ogerman & Eddie Palmieri
One of the best collaborative efforts on CD from two giants.
Check out the classic TP tune. 'Picadillo.'" (Joe Conzo with
special consultant Tito Puente 96/97 Catalog)
The selections from the original release
were with Eddie's guys.
The bonus tracks were with Cal's guys.
Arrangements were mostly by
Grammy winning keyboardist Claus Ogerman.
Congrats to prducer Creed Taylor...
he captured the sound and blend of the two idioms.
Mucho kudos to the co-leaders.
There is only one Eddie (thank God).
(Al Santiago 96/97 Catalog)
Song titles include:
Los Jibaros 2:44
Guajira En Azul 3:26
Ritmo Uni 3:51
Picadillo 7:04
Modesty 2:28
Unidos 4:34
On A Clear Day You Can See Forever 1:52
El Sonido Nuevo 5:02
Fuji 2:32
Black Orchid 3:10
Los Bandidos 7:16
Poinciana 3:25
Yellow Days 2:19
Along Comes Mary 3:20
Cal Tjader was a Swedish-American vibraphonist who led pioneering
Latin jazz bands from the 1950s until his death in 1982.
He was instrumental in bringing Latin music into the mainstream of jazz, creating a fluid, cool-toned vibraphone sound that perfectly embraced both musical styles.
His 1966 collaboration with Latin pianist Eddie Palmieri,
El Sonido Nuevo, is one of the most intense mixtures of hot salsa
and cool jazz ever recorded. For this session,
Tjader and his bassist Bobby Rodriguez joined forces with Palmieri
and his high-spirited band, La Perfecta, creating a new unit with a
new sound.
This new soul sound is showcased on the album's opening track,
"Los Jibaros." The song starts off with a slightly chunkier than usual
mambo theme, which Tjader
spices up with an Eastern-influenced vibes solo set against several bluesy
trombones that quickly digress into a caterwauling dialogue with one another. "Ritmo Uni" begins with the audaciously grooving bass of Bobby Rodriguez,
who is then joined by the feverish
rhythms of Palmieri's ever supportive percussion and brass sections, all of which combineto create a hypnotic, funky, and mildly psychedelic vibe that perfectly underpins Tjader's superb solo. The song prematurely fades out
after a scant three minutes of bliss.
Thankfully, the producers allowed the tape to run on "Picadillo," a hard-driving 7-minute exploration of Tito Puente's mambo classic. Palmieri reaches deep inside his Nuyorican soul to unleash a long, climactic piano solo filled with echoes of McCoy Tyner, Thelonious Monk, and Bud Powell.
The band moves in heated rhythmic discussion behind him, playing with just
the right amount of restraint, heightening the intensity of Palmieri's inspired solo. Tjader is given just the push he needs to take his playing one step
beyond, and trombonist Barry Rogers brings it all home with his swaggering solo.But the best is saved for last, and all the stops are pulled on the album's title cut, "El Sonido Nuevo." Loosely structured, atmospheric and jamming,
it is on this track that all of the talents of the assembled players coalesced, producing a blazing masterpiece of Latin-jazz improvisation. .
One can't help but wonder whether or not there were
any outtakes from the 1966 sessions left somewhere in the vaults.
The reissue could surely have added value if it at least included the full and unedited versions of the songs, without all those irritating
fade-outs.Nevertheless, the incandescent musical meeting of Tjader and Palmieri produced an invigoratingly new soul sound that was a hugely
influential precursor to salsa, Afro-Latin funk, and Latin-Rock.
El Sonido Nuevo is strongly intoxicating.
Musicians include:
* Cal Tjader -- Vibraphone
* Eddie Palmieri -- Piano
* Julian Priester -- Trombone
* George Castro -- Flute, Percussion
* Ismael Quintana -- Percussion
* Tommy Lopez -- Drums
* Manny Oquendo -- Drums
* Bobby Rodriguez -- Bass
* Barry Rogers -- Trombone, Conga
* Mark Weinstein -- Trombone
* José "Jochy" Rodríguez -- Trombone, Conga
All music or related performances remain the sole property
of their respective copyright holders. No video clips are for sale,
nor do they imply challenge to ownerships.
They are intended strictly for entertainment and educational only.