Name: The Latin Bit [RVG] [Remaster]
Brand: EMI Music & Marketing
SKU: 435492
Price: 14.91 USD
Availability: InStock

Performer Notes

Personnel: Grant Green (guitar); Ike Quebec (tenor saxophone); Johnny Acea (piano); Wendall Marshall (bass); Willie Bobo (drums); Carlos "Potato" Valdez (congas); Carvin Masseaux (chekere).
Producer: Alfred Lion.
Reissue producer: Michael Cuscuna.
Recorded at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on April 26 and September 8, 1962. Includes liner notes by Nat Hentoff.
Digitally remastered by Ron McMaster.
Personnel: Grant Green (guitar); Grant Green; Wendell Marshall (bass guitar); Garvin Masseaux (unknown instrument); Ike Quebec (tenor saxophone); John "Johnny" Adriano Acea, Sonny Clark (piano); Willie Bobo (drums); Carlos "Patato" Valdes (congas).
Audio Remasterer: Rudy Van Gelder.
Liner Note Authors: Nat Hentoff; Bob Blumenthal.
Recording information: The Van Gelde Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ (04/26/1961/09/07/1961).
Photographer: Francis Wolff.
Grant Green, being known mainly as a soul jazz guitarist, eventually gravitated into the popular boogaloo sound. The Latin Bit is the natural bridge to that next phase, though a bit premature for most in 1961-1963, even relative to the subsequent bossa nova craze. Pianist Johnny Acea, long an underrated jazzman, is the nucleus of this session, grounding it with witty chops, chordal comping, and rhythmic meat. The Latino rhythm section of drummer Willie Bobo and conga player Carlos "Patato" Valdes personify authentic, seasoned spice, while at times the chekere sound of Garvin Masseaux makes the soup too thick. At its collective best, the group presents a steady, serene, and steamy "Besame Mucho" and the patient, slow, slinky, sultry "Tico Tico." Just a small step below is a classy take on Charlie Parker's "My Little Suede Shoes," a premier jazz bebop (emphasis) tune with a Latin undertow and Green's tiniest staccato phrases, slightly marred by the overbearing constant chekere, but still classic. "Mama Inez" ranks high for its calypso-infused happy feeling and wry stop-start lines. The straight-ahead hard bopper "Brazil" and lone soul-jazz tune, "Blues for Juanita," display the single-note acumen that made Green's style instantly recognizable. This date always yielded mixed results for staunch fans of Green, but it remains a credible effort, even if slightly flawed in part. [Some reissues add two selections with pianist Sonny Clark and tenor saxophonist Ike Quebec, the latter of whom plays hip secondary harmonies on the bossa nova-flavored "Granada," but is in the complete background and a non-factor on the pop tune "Hey There."] ~ Michael G. Nastos

Professional Reviews

JazzTimes (11/96, p.88) - "...the guitarist's fat sound and unflappable technique...serve these tunes especially well....And, as it turns out, these tunes serve Green especially well, with melody lines as bright and uncluttered as his own solos..."

Album: The Latin Bit [RVG] [Remaster]
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Mambo Inn	More Info...	0:06
2)	Bésame Mucho	More Info...	0:07
3)	Mama Inez	More Info...	0:06
4)	Brazil	More Info...	0:05
5)	Tico Tico	More Info...	0:07
6)	My Little Suede Shoes	More Info...	0:06
7)	Blues for Juanita	More Info...	0:07
8)	Grenada	More Info...	0:06
9)	Hey There	More Info...	0:07

Album: The Latin Bit [RVG] [Remaster]
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Mambo Inn	More Info...	0:06
2)	Bésame Mucho	More Info...	0:07
3)	Mama Inez	More Info...	0:06
4)	Brazil	More Info...	0:05
5)	Tico Tico	More Info...	0:07
6)	My Little Suede Shoes	More Info...	0:06
7)	Blues for Juanita	More Info...	0:07
8)	Grenada	More Info...	0:06
9)	Hey There	More Info...	0:07