Vibes player Bobby Hutcherson recorded 22 albums for the Blue Note label between 1965 and 1977. His 13th, ‘Montara’ was released in 1975 and marked first full Latin Jazz album. One of his finest ever albums, containing seven great tracks and featuring a stellar cast of musicians, including Ernie Watts, Harvey Mason, Ralph McDonald, Blue Mitchell, Oscar Brashear, Larry Nash plus Latin stalwarts Eddie Cano, Bobby Matos, Willie Bobo and many others.
‘Camel Rise’ was written by George Cables – a lovely fusion song with a driving rhythm given a Latin makeover (Freddie Hubbard also recorded a great version around the same period). Cables also wrote ‘Love Song’, another lovely laid back tune with a haunting melody, on which Bobby plays beautifully.
‘Montara’ is an outstandingly beautiful laid back self-written song with a memorable hook often sampled by future generations.
‘Little Angel’ is another refreshing mid paced Latin song, written by keyboardist Eddie Martinez and previously recorded by Mongo Santamaria.
‘Yuyo’, another Hutcherson original, shuffles along nicely. Tito Puente’s ‘Oye Como Va’ and Eddie Palmieri’s ‘La Malanga’ are Latin standards given the Hutcherson treatment to sound different enough from the originals.
‘Montara’ is masterfully produced by Dale Oshler, and now remastered from the analogue tapes in Blue Note’s Tone Poet series.
Click on the product to hear samples from the album, and check out some of his other albums from the blue note catalogue, as well as his appearances as sideman – a career well worth a deep dive.
