V.S.O.P #29  Interlude  SHELLY MANNE: HOT SKINS 

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Lovers of Latin polyrhythms as applied to jazz, will no doubt be fascinated with the unorthodox instrumentation of this album.  Shelly Manne contributes a fine tight beat that holds the rhythm section together, thus allowing the bongos and congas complete freedom to weave their magic patterns of sound.  Mixed rhythms are prevalent.  You will hear Afro-Cuban, mambo, four-four, six-eight, guaracha and many changes of pace with excting tempos.  This set-up has the earthy Latin feel but still swings.  Besides anchor man Shelly Manne, Mike Pacheco and Carlos Vidal turn in outstanding performances.  Pacheco was with Perez Prado five years and has set in with Billy May, Peggy Lee and Sonny Burke.  Vidal was with Stan Kenton, Charlie Parker and Cugat before migrating to the West Coast.

"Nightingale", one of the standards recorded, starts with a conga solo introduction playing a Latin type riff.  The bass comes in and repeats the first bar to get the jazz feel, after which the ensemble comes in and the first eight bars are repeated.  After the chorus, the piano takes an adlib chorus followed by the guitar.  The conga then takes a chorus with piano and guitar playing behind him so as not to make it a complete wild solo.  This is representative of the unusual scoring of the tunes herein.

At the controls was Val Valentin, one of the few engineers around who knows how to mix jazz.  The album was recorded in three separate sessions utilizing the fine equipment of Radio Recorders in Hollywood.

PHIL JONES, 1955

This release is comprised of two Tampa albums, Tampa 21 Bongo Session which was released under Mike Pacheco's leadership in 1955, and  Tampa 32 Conga Drums released under Carlos Vidal's leadership in 1956.  The primary difference between the two albums is that the bassist on Tampa 21 is Tony Reyes, while the bassist on Tampa 32 is Julio Ayala.  Material from both albums was included on Interlude 513 Hot Skins, although not all of the selections from either session. 

While the Interlude release is under Shelly Manne's name, it is really a latin percussion album which showcases bongos and congas.  Shelly Manne, Mike Pacheco, Carlos Vidal, and Frank Guerrero, each of whom is noteworthy in his own right, could have been cast as leader.  These albums could also just as easily have been credited to Roberto Gil who composed or arranged the selections and performs on piano, if he enjoyed the reputation that his abilities deserved.

Roberto Gil  grew up in Boyle Heights, with Paul Lopez.   He played in the Sal Cervantes Orchestra as early as the late 1930s while still a teenager.  Apart from this recording and  albums by bongo player Jack Burger, he also appears on the Maxwell Davis Crown Members of Perez Prado album.  The last one heard of him was playing at the Doll House in Palm Springs during the early 1960's.

 Tony Rizzi performs on guitar, and his role is no less significant than any of the others.   All tracks from both albums are included and all extant alternate takes, as well. 

TAMPA RECORDS

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