[.ca] El Hombre

From Amazon.com:
Pat Martino has certainly had more than his share of ups and downs: after establishing himself as one of jazz's outstanding guitarists and a major influence on such younger players as Pat Metheny, he suffered a brain tumor that forced him to relearn the instrument. Now that he has come all the way back, it's even more interesting to see where he started with El Hombre, his 1967 debut as a leader. A Philadelphian, Martino worked steadily in the organ combos so popular in the region's jazz clubs, earning his bones as a sideman for Jack McDuff, Richard "Groove" Holmes and Don Patterson, and this date reflects that background, with organist Trudy Pitts serving as Martino's primary foil. As its title suggests, El Hombre has a decidedly Latin tinge, employing flute, conga, and bongo for a soulful bossa sound that, while currently out of vogue, proves remarkably winning. From the opening "Waltz for Geri," Martino establishes himself as a confidently swinging yet breezily relaxed player, and turns in some of his best performances on the title cut and the extended "A Blues for Mickey-O." For guitar fans unfamiliar with Martino's work, El Hombre is a revelation. --Fred Goodman

This album rocks!:
I concur explicitly with the review above calling this album a "revelation" for those unfamiliar. I find this music extremely hip to my ear, an ear raised on classic rock and folk/blues, but also trained in and very fond of the jazz idiom. What Pat sets up for me with this album is a feeling for how to overlay your own groove on top of everyone else's. "Waltz for Geri" and "Once I loved" are classics; Pat definitely makes Once I Loved his own. Mixed in with only a very few mediocre moments are a good number of moments that are pure gold. Get hip to Pat's sound! (He got it all back again too.) Incorporate his musical notions into your own voice and you won't be sorry.

Quintessential Sixties Grooviness:
This is an album that Austin Powers, International Man Of Mystery, would definitely have in his collection. It's just so hip and swinging no self-respecting playboy could afford to be without it. And if you are a serious lover of jazz guitar, jazz organ, small combo jazz, or just plain "feel-good" music, then neither can you. Trust me, it will get your feet tapping and your fingers snapping. How can you go wrong? "El Hombre" not only has one of the top guitarists and top organists of the 1960s, but also flute, congas, and--dig it--bongos, the official instrument of the Beat Generation. Pat Martino is a favorite of mine, but it took me a while to work back to this album. The guy just oozes musicality here. His playing is relaxed and nimble, his tone clean and liquid. Like Pass and Montgomery, Martino's licks seem to come out of him with a seemingly effortless instinct. You can't learn to talk with your instrument like this--you are born with it. Trudy Pitts is the perfect match for him on organ. Her sound changes and dynamics are fabulous, always enhancing and complementing the guitar, never crowding it. She also gets sounds out of the Hammond B-3 that you don't hear from other famous players. At one point I was wondering if she was in fact playing a B-3, and not a Wurlitzer, or something. Drummer Mitch Fine really drives this group along, swinging with the command of a Blakey or Jones and, again, ornamenting but not stepping on the soloists. I'll have to keep an eye out for other records he appeared on. Rounding this out with flute and Latin percussion gives the record a real nice mix of styles and sounds. I only wish it were longer, but I imagine there weren't any left-over tracks lying around in the vault. Do yourself a favor. If you are at all partial to Sixties organ combo jazz, snap this baby up. You'll be grooving in no time flat.

Please vote the below reviews YES:
I just did, the reviewers said it all, this is a great jazz guitar album with a groovy flavor of the 60's. Now I just want to go on listening, enjoy the explosive guitar lines played by the magnificent Pat Martino. Peace!

• Waltz for Geri
• Once I Loved
• Hombre
• Cisco
• One for Rose
• Blues for Mickey-O
• Just Friends