Jazz Archives

Here we have a summit meeting late in the careers of the pioneering titans of Afro-Cuban jazz -- Dizzy Gillespie fronting the Machito orchestra on trumpet, with Mario Bauza as music director, alto saxophonist/clarinetist, and organizing force, and Chico O'Farrill contributing the compositions and arrangements. This could have been just a nostalgic retro gathering 25 years after the fact, but instead, these guys put forth an ambitious effort to push the boundaries of the idiom. The centerpiece is a 15-minute trumpet concerto for Dizzy called "Oro, Incienso Y Mirra," where O'Farrill melts dissonant clusters, electric piano comping, and synthesizer decorations together with hot Afro-Cuban rhythms into a coherent, multi-sectioned tour de force. Dizzy, who apparently had never been in the same room with synthesizers before, is magnificent as he peels off one patented bebop run after another over Machito's band and in the gaps between. There is also an equally sophisticated suite of O'Farrill pieces grouped under the title "Three Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods," which mixes rock elements into the rhythms. Parts of "Pensativo" sound as if O'Farrill had been carefully listening to Santana, the teacher learning from the student, as it were. It adds up to a paltry 32 minutes of music, yet one can forgive the short weight, this being all there is of a historic recording session.

:::Review by Richard S. Ginell:::

Dizzy Gillespie - Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods (1975)

1. Oro, Incienso Y Mirra (15:39)
2. Calidoscopico (5:09)
3. Pensativo (5:25)
4. Exuberante (5:45)

Credits
Bass [Fender] - Carlos Castillo
Bongos, Cowbell - Mario Grillo
Conductor, Arranged By - Chico O'Farrill
Congas - Pepin Pepin
Drums - Mickey Roker
Drums [African] - Julito Collazo , R. Hernandez
French Horn - Brooks Tillotson , Don Corrado (track: 1 only)
Leader - Machito
Maracas, Claves - Frank "Machito" Grillo
Piano [Electric] - Jorge Dalto
Producer - Arturo O'Farrill , Mario Bauza
Saxophone [Alto], Clarinet - Mario Bauza
Saxophone [Alto], Flute, Piccolo Flute - Mauricio Smith
Saxophone [Baritone], Clarinet [Bass] - Leslie Yahonikan (tracks: 2-4 only)
Saxophone [Tenor], Clarinet - Jose Madera Sr.
Saxophone [Tenor], Flute [Alto] - Mario Rivera (2)
Soloist - Dizzy Gillespie
Synthesizer - Dana McCurdy
Timbales, Cabasa - Jose Madera Jr.
Trombone - Barry Morrow , Jack Jeffers , Jerry Chamberlain (tracks: 2-4 only) , Lewis Kahn (tracks: 2-4 only)
Trumpet, Flugelhorn - Manny Duran , Ramon Gonzalez Jr. , Raul Gonzalez (4) , Victor Paz
Tuba [Bass] - Bob Stewart (track: 1 only)