Bobby Hutcherson - 1975 - Montara

Bobby Hutcherson

1975

Montara

01. Camel Rise 5:33

02. Montara 4:56

03. (Se Acabo) La Malanga 4:16

04. Love Song 5:36

05. Little Angel 3:54

06. Yuyo 6:41

07. Oye Como Va 5:08

Bass – Chuck Domanico (tracks: 1, 4, 5)

Bass – David Troncoso (tracks: 2, 3, 6, 7)

Electric Piano – Larry Nash

Flute – Ernie Watts (tracks: 2 to 7)

Percussion – Bobby Matos

Percussion – Johnny Paloma

Percussion – Ralph MacDonald (tracks: 1, 4, 5)

Percussion – Rudy Calzado (tracks: 2, 3, 6, 7)

Percussion – Victor Pantoja

Piano – Eddie Cano (tracks: 2, 3, 6, 7)

Soprano Saxophone – Plas Johnson (tracks: 4, 5)

Tenor Saxophone – Ernie Watts

Trumpet – Blue Mitchell (tracks: 2 to 7)

Trumpet – Oscar Brashear (tracks: 1 to 3, 6, 7)

Vibraphone, Marimba – Bobby Hutcherson

Recorded August 12 & 14, 1975.

With the possible exception of Grover Washington's Feels So Good, no other album captured the spirit of jazz in 1975 like Bobby Hutcherson's Montara. Recorded in his hometown of L.A., Montara is the very sound of groove jazz coming out of fusion, and Latin jazz's tough salsa rhythms coming home to roost in something more warm and effluvial that would meet the populace where it was changing and mellowing out rather than making it sit up and take notice. That said, Montara is, like the Washington record, a masterpiece of the genre even though it isn't celebrated in the same way. Featuring a stellar cast of musicians -- among them Willie Bobo, Blue Mitchell, Bobby Matos, Ernie Watts, Harvey Mason, Plas Johnson, Fred Jackson, Larry Nash, and Chuck Domanico -- Montara is a portrait of Hutcherson's complex gift of subtlety and virtuosity. Whether it's the funky Weather Report dance of "Camel Rise," with Nash's electric piano and the horns weaving around one another in a soulful samba melody, the sweet soulful groove of the title track, where Hutcherson's solo lilts to the point of actually singing, the killer Cuban salsa of "La Malanga," done in complete minor-key frenzy (all the while without losing the easy, slippery grace of soul-jazz), the shimmering echoplexed electric piano and vibes interplay on "Love Song," or the steaming, burning gasoline orgy of Hutcherson's read of Santana's "Oye Como Va," with a killer flute line by Watts winding its way through a knotty bassline and multi-part percussion, the effect is the same: blissed-out moving and grooving for a summer day. Hutcherson's chameleon-like ability to shape-shift is truly remarkable as a sideman and especially as a leader. He never overplays, his charts are tight, and he always creates a band vibe. Almost all of his solo recordings reflect the strengths of the ensemble rather than his strengths as a soloist. Montara is one of the great feel-good jazz albums of the 1970s, one of the great Latin jazz albums of the 1970s, and one of the great groove jazz records. Seek it out without hesitation.

Like many jazz musicians weaned on Bird and Diz, Hutcherson embraced Latin rhythms throughout his career, and this beautiful album, one of his best Blue Note offerings, is the session where he goes fully ‘south of the border’. A formidable percussion section featuring legendary congueros, Bobbby Matos and Victor Pantoja provides a steady moving carriage for the arrangements whose variety of themes, some short and stabbing, others long and winding, are well negotiated by a crack rhythm and horn section. A few of George Cables’ excellent tunes feature, but the masterstroke is a reprise of ‘Oye Como Va’. It has the power of Latin rock typified by the version by the iconic Santana band, which featured Pantoja, and the swing of the original by the equally great Tito Puente. There remains a lot of fine music to reissue from Hutcherson’s sprawling back catalogue, but this is a particularly wise choice.

One of our favorite Bobby Hutcherson albums ever – and a magical session filled with electric Latin vibes! The album's quite a different one for Bobby at the time – as it has him working with some larger arrangements, in a soulful west coast groove that's almost got the feel of a hip 70s soundtrack. Bobby's vibes are nicely set up against Fender Rhodes on most tracks – and the group's got some added Latin percussion that really opens up the rhythms. The whole thing's totally wonderful – brimming over with sun and soul, the kind of magic record that will never be made again!