Latin Jazz, My Latest Homework Assignment

This starts in the middle of things, or rather, it gained momentum in the middle. I borrowed this from the library in Anacortes and loved it, so of course I had to get a copy. I knew nothing really about latin jazz (and still don't really), but I've explored Brazilian music and this was kinda in the ballpark.

Then a week or so ago, I borrowed "Psychedelic Blues" by Poncho Sanchez from the library after hearing the title track on NPR.

Well, there's really nothing 'psychedelic' about it as far as I can hear, but I did get to hear the fantastic "Willie Bobo Medley" which featured "I Don't Know", "Fried Neckbones and Some Homefries" and "Spanish Grease". "Fried Neckbones" was a bonus track on one of the remastered/reissued early Santana albums (it may have even been part of their Woodstock performance. Speaking of Woodstock, did I mention that the version of Santana's "Soul Sacrifice" -- the highlight of the film for me --- was actually an edited version. Eventually the full version was added to the reissue of the first Santana album -- if memory serves -- and it's like 2 minutes longer! But here's the catch -- the edited version is better! Just that much trimming of the boring parts of the drum solo elevated that track to genius! But back to our story...) Okay, so Santana is aware of Willie Bobo, and "Spanish Grease" really sounds like Santana's "No One to Depend On" with different words -- what's going on here?

So I dusted off this great Latin comp I'd forgotten about:

and it's full of some latin jazz stars that I'd heard mentioned in interviews with Carlos Santana. Hmmm, this is getting interesting... So I did what every library-type person would do:

I checked out a book. This one's by John Storm Roberts, who I'd heard about from his record label Original Music, which specializes in traditional music of the Caribbean and, you guessed it, Latin America.

Music geek that I am, this is my idea of heaven. I get to explore this fascinating genre of music with a book at my side giving me guidance and pointing out the connections between all these great artists. This will certainly keep me busy for a while, but I'll report back on my findings soon.