This two-LP set is the definitive early
Cal Tjader album and one of the high points of his career. For a Monterey concert that was considered a preview concert for the 1959 Monterey Jazz Festival,
Tjader was teamed up with flutist and altoist
Paul Horn, pianist
Lonnie Hewitt, bassist
Al McKibbon,
Willie Bobo (on drums and timbales), and percussionist
Mongo Santamaria. Their renditions of Latinized jazz tunes along with a few Latin originals practically define the idiom. Highlights include "Doxy," one of the earliest versions of
Santamaria's "Afro Blue" (pre-dating
John Coltrane's famous rendition by four years), "Love Me or Leave Me," and "A Night in Tunisia." Essential music for everyone's Latin jazz collection. ~ Scott Yanow