Music Review: Pat Martino - El Hombre: Rudy Van Gelder Remasters Series

Guitar great Pat Martino is the subject of my third review (1, 2) from a series of albums released by Prestige (Concord) and based on the work of legendary sound engineer Rudy Van Gelder. Van Gelder originally mastered all the albums in the series, and he has now handled the modern remastering as well.

Martino originally recorded this album 40 years ago, as a young (22-year-old) jazz guitarist making a statement with his first album. It was, and is, a strong statement, especially with Van Gelder's modern update bringing the music crisply to life. Martino was backed by some outstanding accompanists including Trudy Pitts on the organ, Danny Turner on flute, and three different percussionists. Mitch Fine served as the regular drummer, while Abdu Johnson jumped in on congo drums, joined by Vance Anderson on bongos.

Performing in tandem with jazz organists was old hat to Martino by then. Even at his tender age, he'd already worked with the likes of Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff, and Jack McDuff. Although this was his first album as leader, he and Pitts blend effortlessly. However, from the very first cut, "Waltz For Geri", there's little doubt he's the one in the spotlight, as evidenced by a four-minute solo where he establishes his straight-ahead style.

Martino was the perfect guitarist for 1967, a time when jazz lovers were enjoying all kinds of sounds, variously labeled as hard bop, post-bop, soul-jazz, funk-fusion - pick your poison. His quick fingers leaned into the lower ranges more often than not, but he was completely at home in any musical arena as he showcased his virtuosity.

The next cut on the album, "Once I Loved", is a Jobim tune that slows down the pace a little but picks up on a Latin beat that's very infectious, with some nice work from Pitts on the organ and from the percussionists, too. There's also some gorgeous organ riffs on "Blues for Mickey-O", another song I enjoyed a lot and one written by Martino, who wrote most of the music on the album.

Article Author: Big Geez

The Big Geez is a retiree who takes time off from trimming his ear hair to write about music -- sometimes doing conventional reviews, but often just sharing his opinions about how something resonates with his memories and those of his generation. …

Visit Big Geez's author page — Big Geez's Blog