![]() The Latin Soul Brothers were at their best when they went for the hottest and funkiest grooves, as on their fine version of "Canteloupe Island," or eccentrically titled originals like "Soul Yamie" and "Vietnam Mambo." Once in a while, he even used engagingly raw soul vocals, as on the infectiously good-natured "Shuckin' and Jivin'," which could have been an R&B hit. This ensured a certain erratic flavor, but the groove was almost always on the money. Pucho wasn't afraid to mix up his material on his LPs, which placed originals by Brown and the Latin Soul Brothers next to covers of tunes by Herbie Hancock, the Temptations, the Beatles, Duke Ellington, and John Barry. On these he helped pioneer a style termed Latin boogaloo, which mixed jazz, New York-style Latin music, R&B/soul, and the sort of funk that was just emerging from James Brown and other performers. Pucho began recording in 1963, and really hit his stride between 19, when he cut over half a dozen albums for Prestige. One of the musicians that Santamaria lured away, in fact, was a young Chick Corea. Willie Bobo took several musicians from Pucho's band for his own group, as did Mongo Santamaria. Even before he'd cemented his reputation on record, Pucho's band attracted notice from top Latin jazzmen. When the group broke up in 1959, Pucho formed a band of his own, recruiting several alumni from Panama's outfit. In the late '50s, he served for several years in the band of pianist Joe Panama. As a Harlem teenager, he cultivated loves for jazz, rhythm & blues, and mambo. His accessibility, however, has by no means compromised the quality of his material or his Latin Soul Brothers bands, which have featured fine and versatile players.Ĭontrary to the assumptions of many listeners, Pucho himself is not Latino, but African-American. Fans of R&B, rock, and Latin music can immediately connect with him, especially as he's always made sure to play music that's hot and danceable. As a result, Pucho has a wider appeal than many straight jazz performers. What's a weakness in one circle's view, however, is a strength for other listeners. The timbales player and bandleader also may have been too eclectic, and too open to outside influences, to achieve much recognition within the jazz community. A somewhat forgotten figure until recently, Pucho never achieved the wide recognition of some other Latin jazz performers exploring similar territory, such as Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, and Cal Tjader. In the 1960s, no one combined more or less equal elements of jazz, Latin music, soul, and funk as well as Henry "Pucho" Brown (b. At its best, it's significantly more than that. ![]() Even at its slightest, this is decent mood music. Although not quite essential, Bacalao is a rewarding example of Davis' ability to thrive in an organ/tenor setting.Ī bit more jazz- and pop-oriented than some of his later sessions, with covers of "Yesterday," "The Shadow of Your Smile," "And I Love Her," "Walk On By," and "Goldfinger." However, when Pucho decides to pull out the funky grooves - as he does on "Cantaloupe Island," "Vietnam Mambo," and "Strange Thing Mambo" - he and the Latin Soul Brothers can smoke. ![]() Organ combo soul-jazz was still new and fresh in 1959, and Scott was helping Davis find new ways to interpret very familiar melodies. But Baraka also goes on to say that Davis and his colleagues revitalize the songs. In the liner notes that he wrote for Bacalao in 1959 or 1960, Amiri Baraka (formerly Leroi Jones) describes "Come Rain or Come Shine" and "That Old Black Magic" as "old beat-up tunes" even back then, those Harold Arlen standards were considered warhorses. ![]() The presence of Perez and Barretto gives the album some Afro-Cuban appeal, and both of them do well by Davis and Scott - who are in fine form whether they turn their attention to two James Moody items ("Last Train From Overbrook" and "Dobbin' With Redd Foxx") or well-known pop standards (which include "That Old Black Magic," "Sometimes I'm Happy," "When Your Lover Has Gone," and "Come Rain or Come Shine"). The two of them enjoyed an incredibly strong rapport in the late '50s and early '60s, and they are very much in sync on Bacalao (which unites them with bassist George Duvivier, drummer Arthur Edgehill, and two Latin percussion men: Luis Perez and salsa giant Ray Barretto). Recorded in Rudy Van Gelder's New Jersey studio in 1959, Bacalao is among the many solid hard bop/soul-jazz albums that resulted from Davis' association with Scott. One of the big-toned tenor men she worked with extensively was Stanley Turrentine, whom she married another was Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. When it came to tenor saxophonists, the late organist Shirley Scott had excellent taste. ![]()
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