Bobby Hutcherson - Montara
Released - 1975
Recording and Session Information
The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA, August 12 or 14, 1975
Oscar Brashear, trumpet; Plas Johnson, flute; Ernie Watts, tenor sax; Fred Jackson, tenor sax, flute; Bobby Hutcherson, vibes, marimba; Larry Nash, electric piano; Dennis Budimir, guitar; Chuck Domanico, bass; Harvey Mason, drums; Ralph MacDonald, Bobby Matos, Johnny Paloma, Victor Pantoja, percussion; Dale Oehler, arranger.
16427 Camel Rise
Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Plas Johnson, soprano sax; Ernie Watts, tenor sax, flute; Bobby Hutcherson, vibes, marimba; Larry Nash, electric piano; Chuck Domanico, bass; Harvey Mason, drums; Willie Bobo, Ralph MacDonald, Bobby Matos, Johnny Paloma, Victor Pantoja, percussion; Dale Oehler, arranger.
16508 Little Angel
16509 Love Song
Oscar Brashear, Blue Mitchell, trumpet; Ernie Watts, tenor sax, flute; Bobby Hutcherson, vibes, marimba, arranger; Eddie Cano, piano; Larry Nash, electric piano; Dave Troncoso, electric bass; Rudy Calzado, Bobby Matos, Johnny Paloma, Victor Pantoja, percussion; Dale Oehler, arranger.
16559 Montara
16560 Yuyo
16429 (Se Acabo) La Malanga
16507 Oye Como Va
Track Listing
| Side One | ||
| Title | Author | Recording Date |
| Camel Rise | G. Cables | August 12 or 14 1975 |
| Montara | B. Hutcherson | August 12 or 14 1975 |
| (Se Acabo) La Malanga | R. Calzado | August 12 or 14 1975 |
| Love Song | G. Cables | August 12 or 14 1975 |
| Side Two | ||
| Little Angel | E. Martinez | August 12 or 14 1975 |
| Yuyo | B. Hutcherson | August 12 or 14 1975 |
| Oye Como Va | T. Puente | August 12 or 14 1975 |
Liner Notes
CD Reissue Liner Notes
"Camel Rise" was written by George Cables, someone whom Bobby Hutcherson admired as a composer and a creative pianist. Cables had been in on the planning stages for this recording, and Bobby obviously thought this was a great tune to jam on. From the hip bass figures, the "electro-soul" guitar licks, the Fender Rhodes piano sound, and its sinuous melody, the song just undulates along. Bobby solos magically on marimba, while the percussion section plays a jazzy boogaloo, breaking into a double-time run that snaps back into the original tempo just as the melody reasserts itself. Ernie Watts blows a short but sweet solo against the melodic figures. Can't you just picture the camels loping along in rhythm, coming over the horizon?
"Montara" is the title track and Bobby again solos majestically on a slow, haunting original composition. Flute and muted trumpets play a background figure. Bobby's mallets evoke icy crystals of great beauty.
"La Malanga" had been made famous by Eddie Palmieri, a genius of Latin dance music, but not yet well known outside of the Latin music fan base. So I was surprised that Bobby chose this tune. This showed me what "big ears" he had. Dale Oehler, the arranger for the date, had called me a couple of times while he was transcribing the melody from Palmieri's record, in order to double check some of the figures. I suggested he call Rudy Calzado, the composer, who was living in L.A. at the time leading his own Latin dance band), for a lead sheet. Rudy was happy to oblige and he also wound up playing guiro (gourd scraper) and small percussion on two of the sessions.
"Love Song," another Cables original, has a modern feel and a descending melody, in a slow "jazz cha" feel. Blue Mitchell on trumpet, Ernie Watts on flute and Plas Johnson on soprano sax add a chant-like quality in Dale Oehler's sensitive and moody arrangement.
"Little Angel," composed by Colombian-born New York pianist Eddie Martinez, had been introduced to the world by the great conguero and pace-setting Latin jazz bandleader, Mongo Santamaria. Mongo always did have an ear for tunes destined to become classics. Eddie played previously with Mongo and would later join Argentine saxophone icon, Gato Barbieri for many years.
"Yuyo" just steams along, a sweet little mambo jazz tune that all the musicians took to immediately. Bobby plays the melody twice on vibes, and Johnny Palomo gets to insert a few hot conga licks before El Maestro takes off flying on marimba. (He liked to switch to marimba for a lot of his solos, and I remember thinking of Tito Puente's love for that instrument also.) The rhythm section of Eddie Cano (piano), Dave Troncoso (bass), Palomo (congas), Victor Pantoja (bongo and bell), Larry Nash (electric piano), Rudy Calzado (guiro) and myself (timbales) was having a great time because this tune was such a serious groove. Nash solos on electric piano while Cano, the great Chicano Latin-jazz pioneer, locks a strong Montuno [obstinato, repeated rhythmic figure) on the grand piano. I was so gassed by this tune that I asked Bobby to give me a copy of the lead sheet.
"Oye Como Va," Tito Puente's masterpiece had been a Latin standard for years before Carlos Santana took it to pop heaven. Bands everywhere used to fake this tune all the time. I was more than a little surprised to find out we were going to fake it for a record date. The real surprise was that it worked so well. It's familiar but different. Blue Mitchell, whom I had admired for many years when he was playing with Horace Silver, shines on trumpet. The ensemble sounds tight and fresh partially because Rudy revised the chorus slightly but in a hip way. Bobby's inspired rendition of Tito Puente's signature tune is a fitting climax for his first Latin-jazz album.
— Bobby Matos
Los Angeles 2003
Bobby Matos is a Latin-jazz bandleader, Ubiquity-Cubop recording artist, percussionist, educator, composer and arranger.
Montara was (and is) a very special recording from vibes virtuoso and marimba maestro Bobby Hutcherson. It not only marked his ten-year anniversary as a Blue Note bandleader, it simultaneously paved the way for his entry into the world of Latin jazz. Though Hutcherson had previously recorded Latin-flavored tunes such as: "Haitian Lady" with Grassella Oliphant, and "Jungle Grass" with the Aquarians (not to mention the mesmerizing "Catta" from his 1965 Blue Note debut Dialogue), Montana would stand as Bobby's first full-blown Latin jazz excursion.
Recorded in sunny L.A., Hutcherson's hometown, in 1975, the album was an enticing blend of hard-driving Latin grooves, funky Fender fusion and lush, soulful ballads, all tinted with mid-70's style and flair (can you dig it?).
The session brought together seasoned jazzmen Blue Mitchell, Oscar Brashear, Ernie Watts, and Larry Nash alongside Latin heavyweights Willie Bobo, Victor Pantoja, Bobby Matos, Rudy Calzado, Johnny Palomo (mis-billed as Paloma) and piano titan Eddie Cano. This dynamic rhythm section played a pivotal role in the recording, maintaining a strong Afro-Cuban pulse amidst the complex, jazzy moods and heady arrangements. Timbalero/bandleader Bobby Matos was part of this impressive ensemble, and what follows is his breakdown of the tunes.
Though Hutcherson would later revisit the Latin stratosphere in 1980 with his Columbia recording Un Poco Loco, and again in 1989 with the more authentic Ambos Mundos (Landmark Records), Montana is still one of the vibemaster's most sought after gems. Enjoy!
— Miles Perlich
DJ/Compiler/Latin jazz fanatic
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