Blue Note, 1975
A high-water mark of Bobby Hutcherson’s remarkably creative and diverse 1970s Blue Note output, Montara is a feel-good album that found the great vibraphonist conjuring up an intoxicating hybrid of Latin jazz and fusion grooves. Recorded in Hutcherson’s hometown of Los Angeles, the album featured a talented cast of musicians including Willie Bobo, Blue Mitchell, Bobby Matos, Ernie Watts, Harvey Mason, Plas Johnson, Fred Jackson, Larry Nash, and Chuck Domanico. Hutcherson’s stunning virtuosity and nuanced musicality is on full display across this set that moves between the percolating rhythms of “La Malanga,” “Yuyo,” and “Oye Como Va” and the rich harmonies and alluring textures of “Montara,” “Love Song,” and “Little Angel.”
Tracklist
Side A
Side B
This stereo Tone Poet Vinyl Edition was produced by Joe Harley, mastered by Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) from the original analog master tapes, pressed on 180g vinyl at Record Technology Inc. (RTI), and packaged in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket.
