April 12 - Show #81

Theme: Louie Ramírez
Song-Artist-Album-Lael

Tropical breeze – Mongo Santamaría – Instant Party – Concord Records

I’m on my way – Cándido – Compilation A Gozar! – Blue Note

La descarga del Bobo – Willie Bobo – Juicy – Polygram

Sax con ritmo – Jack Costanzo – Compilation Masters At Work present Latin Sounds – Verve

McCanna – Les McCann – Compilation Masters At Work present Latin Sounds – Verve

Latin bit – The Jazz Crusaders – Compilation Masters At Work present Latin Sounds – Verve

Rhapsody in Blue – Chucho Valdés – Briyumba Palo Congo – Blue Note

Los pingaleros – Jerry González & The Fort Apache Band – Moliendo Café – Sunny Side Music

Q.T.P. – Raynald Colom – #Sketches of Groove# – Fresh Sound New Talent

I say a little prayer – Sexteto Electrónico Moderno – Sounds from the Elegant World -groovy night club music from Uruguay 1968-71 – Vampisoul

Llegando a la capital – Jaime Delgado Aparicio – Original Motion Picture Sondtrack ‘El Embajador y Yo’ – Vampisoul

Un poco más – Charlie Sepúlveda – The New Arrival – Antilles

In case you missed it – Marlon Simón and the Nagual Spirits – In Case You Missed It – Jazzheads

Barcelona – Bill O’Connell – Latin Jazz Fantasy – Random Chance Records

Somewhere over the rainbow – Peter MacDonough – The Wizard of Oz -A Latin Jazz Suite for Soprano Saxophone – Self-produced album: www.petermacdonough.com

Spain – Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra & Quintet – Jazz Flamenco – RCA/BMG

Tangos del fuego – Chano Domínguez – New Flamenco Sound – Verve

El llanto de la lluvia – Diego Amador – Piano Jondo – Milestone Records

Alfonsina y el mar – Diego El Cigala – Cigala & Tango – WEA


Highlights of the show:

Tonight´s Latin Soul brought a tune from the jazz flamenco fussion pioneer Lionel Hampton to the airwaves of North East Texas and the Internet... In a set dedicated to a crossover overview of flamenco and jazz, the tune “Spain” was a truly hightlight of the show.



Lionel Hampton and His Orchestra & Quintet recorded in RCA studios in Madrid, Spain this jewel entitled “Jazz Flamenco”. It was the year 1956 and it was probably the first attempt to put these two musical genres together. Lionel Hampton has been one of the main figures of jazz, starting his career in the 30's, playing the vibraphone for Louis Armstrong and later becoming part of the Benny Goodman Orchestra. Starting as vibraphonist, his abilities include piano playing, percussion, writer and producer. By the decade of the 1940's, he started his own group, the Lionel Hampton Orchestra. His recordings and performances has been large and almost never ending until his death in 2002.

Hampton´s orchestra was one of the first, if not the first, jazz bands to tour Spain after the country devastating civil war in years 1936-39 and extremely poor times in the postwar period in the decade of 1940's. Apart from dictatorship strict political times, the late 50's showed some slight economical recovery at least in big cities like Madrid and Barcelona. It was in these cities that Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra toured around, and falled for the spell of the flamenco music.

In Madrid, Mr. Hampton had the chance to see the perfomance of a flamenco band, and the charm of María Angélica, who didn´t pass as a star of flamenco, made him to have a recording in Spain where she would be guest and both musical styles would came together. The result is a smooth album of vibraphone cool bop jazz with castanets introduction and codas to the tunes. Some of the tunes were written for the occasion, making references to the experience in the title: “Lovely nights in Spain”, “The bullfighter from Madrid”, “Hamp´s jazz flamenco”, “Spain”, “Hot club of Madrid serenade”, “Toledo blade”, or “Flamenco soul”. Had the songs had a presence of Spanish guitar in them, the outcome would have achieved a higher grade of compenetration of sytles. Only castanets, doesn´t add that much to the flamenco part, however. This is a cool jazz album, with a devotion feeling for flamenco in it. A nice attempt to fussion both styles, being the flamenco a bit faded in the overall picture. Recomendable, nonethless, to know what musical exploration gets to, and to enjoy Lionel Hampton good work. It´s worth to point the presence of Tete Montoliú at the piano, who toured with Hampton in Spain and France that year of 1956, and helped to launch internationally the most acclaimed Spanish jazz piano player.