Revisiting a Classic with Bobby Montez & his Quintet
For those of you that dig the
classics as I do, you are in for a treat with this reissue from
the legendary Bobby Montez and his Quintet. Bobby Montez, that
cool scholarly looking gentleman from Los Angeles, has been credited
with creating some of the most swinging Latin Jazz sounds in
the 1950's and 1960's. His albums are all highly sought after
collector's items. And for those of us who own these LPs, we
all know why.
Bobby Montez & his Quintet created a cool and hip sound
and had many followers. Their performances in and around Los
Angeles were many times sold-out and included stops at L.A.'s
most prestigious Jazz clubs. Performances at the Crescendo, Melody
Room, Interlude, The Latin Quarter, The "M" Club, Virginias
and at the Latin Holiday concerts hosted by the great Lionel
"Chico" Sesma at the Hollywood Palladium were some
of the most memorable and allowed Bobby the opportunity to showcase
his highly talented band to many fans.
Bobby's sound was based around the Vibes and was very similar
to what the late great Cal Tjader was doing at the time. According
to a very reliable source, Cal was even inspired after hearing
Bobby's style of play. On this reissue of Jungle Fantastique,
Bobby's very first recording from the late fifties,1958 to be
exact, you will see what a great technique and fine sound he
was able to create.
Bobby surrounded himself with all the top-talent from the
Los Angeles area and these guys had fun. On Timbales the steady
playing of Mike Gutierrez, who is still active today performing
with his daughter, singer Leslie Paula. On Congas the great Luis
Miranda who at this early stage of his career had already spent
9 years with the legendary Machito. Carlos Avelar is bands pianist
and plays exceptionally also sitting in on vibes when Bobby switches
to the bass or piano. Jimmy Baiz is the bassist and keeps the
sound solid. In later years, the Bobby Montez unit featured the
sound of Ruben Provencio on Bass.
Bobby's sound was such an exciting fresh sound that it was
a shame that he wasn't given more opportunities to record and
expose his potent style of Latin Jazz. Growing up I often heard
of the great Bobby Montez and what dynamite albums he recorded.
Poncho Sanchez once told me "I find his albums you got to
check him out he is bad!." It wasn't until years later rummaging
through at one of my favorite used records stores did I finally
find a copy of this, his first album and later on luckily, all
the rest. Little did I know at that time how precious those albums
were. This particular album was originally released on the small
Jubilee label out of New York and for whatever reason the quality
of the recording, not very good.
Thanks to the great folks at Cubop records we all have a chance
to experience the Bobby Montez phenomenal sound. For the most
part, the material here as in most of Bobby's albums, is original.
He does some excellent renditions of the classics as well. Check
out the sophisticated "Speak Low." This classic tune
moves along as a Bolero-Cha with a touch of brilliance in the
arrangement. "Summertime", the George Gershwin gem
that has often been recorded in a Latin Jazz vein, gets the full
Montez treatment and is actually 3 tunes in one. It starts off
real mellow as a mid-tempo Bolero then picks up as a Mambo and
then onto a Jazz Swing.
Tunes that will be familiar to any of you who had the great
fortune of hanging out at the "M" Club are the swinging
"African Fantasy", "Carioca", "Chango",
an interesting tune with some nice vocals and great melody. I
really dig "Cha Cha por Nueva York" which is a tasty
one with some creative bi-lingual lyrics. It is very reminiscent
of the style that was being played by pianist Rene Touzet around
the same period. The soft Bolero "Jungle Sunset" is
a beautiful piece that highlights Bobby's soft touch with the
mallets. "Kon Tiki" is a fun upbeat tune in the rhythm
of mambo and features the tasty Timbal work of Mike Gutierrez
on a tremendous solo.
Bobby is now enjoying his retirement years and lives in Northern
California. He is happy to know that he still has many fans that
dig his music. Thank you Bobby Montez for the Sabroso sounds!
Enjoy as I did this classic and historic recording.
By Erik Chico Manqueros
Host & Producer of The Latin
Style of Jazz and Contributing writer
Latin Style Magazine, LatinJazzClub.com
