Luis Gasca - 1976 - Collage

Luis Gasca 

1976

Collage

01. Collage 5:11
02. The Way I Feel Sometimes 5:17
03. Patrice 4:40
04. Kathy 4:08
05. Sara 4:29
06. Night People 6:29
07. Invitation To Love 5:02
08. Visions 3:56

Flute, English Horn, Bass Clarinet, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Don Menza
Flute, Tenor Saxophone – Hadley Caliman, Frederick Seykora
Congas, Bongos, Percussion – Victor Pantoja 
Drums – Harvey Mason
Electric Bass – Darrell Clayborn 
Electric Piano – Joachim Young, Patrice Rushen
Guitar – Ralph Walsh

Piano – Joe Gallardo
Synthesizer, Piano – Richard Kermode 
Trombone, Horns [Baritone] – Frank Rosolino 
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Luis Gasca
Tuba – Ray Draper 
Vibraphone – Bobby Hutcherson
Viola – Allan Harshman, David Schwartz

Violin – Gerald Vinci, Marvin Limonick, Robert Sushel, Stanley Plummer 

This is the first time this 1976 release has entered the market as a digital product, and BGP (Ace Records/EU) has done an admirable job presenting it.

The packaging reproduces the cover art and adds an insightful essay that places the album in its context within the San Francisco music scene of the 1970s. My only gripe with the graphics is that I need a magnifying glass to read the musician credits that appear on the panel that originally was the back cover of the LP jacket. A necessary but painful concession to the CD format.

But what a lineup! Fellow latin funk-soulsters Joachim Young, Victor Pantoja & Richard Kermode alongside jazz stalwarts Harvey Mason, Bobby Hutcherson, Frank Rosolino & Patrice Rushen. The chance to hear Don Menza doing charts outside of his standard big band bag is, on its own, worth the price of the disc. Bonus - a "Pat O'Hearn" appears as well!

I remember thinking back in the day that the LP sounded a bit too dry for my ears. Well, my more "mature" ear no longer considers this a fault, and the remastering does a nice job of preserving the LP sound. Dry, yes, but immediate, nicely detailed and well-balanced.

Gasca's playing is fluent and lucid throughout. No vocals to get in the way of the music.

I can't compare this album to others in his career, but this one has always been a favorite of mine. It should appeal to fans of Azteca, Malo, Santana, and the city of San Francisco in the 1970s. Get it before its gone!