El Hombre is the debut album by jazz guitarist Pat Martino. It was recorded in 1967 and released by Prestige Records[1]
| El Hombre | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1967 | |||
| Recorded | May 1, 1967 | |||
| Studio | Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey | |||
| Genre | Jazz | |||
| Length | 41:12 | |||
| Label | Prestige | |||
| Producer | Cal Lampley | |||
| Pat Martino chronology | ||||
| ||||
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
| The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings |  [3] |
Allmusic gave the album 4½ stars, stating, "Guitarist Pat Martino's debut as a leader finds the 22-year-old showing off his roots in soul-jazz organ groups while looking ahead at the same time...Martino primarily plays a straight-ahead set but already displays a fairly distinctive sound".[2]
The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings stated that, although El Hombre "depend[s] on blues-base formulas" and is "typical of the genre... Martino's maturing style... is good enough to transcend the settings."[3]
Writing for PopMatters, Will Layman commented: "El Hombre is an organ-drenched speedfest that shows off this Philly kid's ability to play soulfully, spinning out seemingly endless solos shot through with blue notes, flatted fifths, and thirty-second runs. It was Martino's calling card, and this was his party. And it is, appropriately, a good time... El Hombre deserves to be heard by new fans as well as old ones. Many a young guitarist today will be stunned and jealous, I'm sure, of how fresh this... music still sounds."[4]
In an article for All About Jazz, Ian Patterson wrote: "There are any number of truly great Martino solos throughout this swinging straight-ahead session... An auspicious debut that announced the arrival of a great talent and a distinctive voice."[5]
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Pat Martino except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Waltz for Geri" | 6:21 |
| 2. | "Once I Loved" (Ray Gilbert/Antônio Carlos Jobim/Vinicius de Moraes) | 5:42 |
| 3. | "El Hombre" | 5:57 |
| 4. | "Cisco" | 4:29 |
| 5. | "One for Rose" | 4:54 |
| 6. | "A Blues for Mickey-O" | 8:02 |
| 7. | "Just Friends" (John Klenner/Sam M. Lewis) | 5:47 |
Personnel edit
- Pat Martino – guitar
- Danny Turner – flute
- Trudy Pitts – Hammond organ
- Mitch Fine – drums
- Vance Anderson – bongos
- Abdu Johnson – congas
Production
- Cal Lampley – producer
- Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
References edit
- ^ Prestige Records discography accessed May 2, 2013
- ^ a b Yanow, S. Allmusic Review, accessed April 2, 2013
- ^ a b Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 957. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
- ^ Layman, Will (April 22, 2007). "Pat Martino: El Hombre". PopMatters. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ Patterson, Ian (December 27, 2021). "Pat Martino Top Ten Albums: More Than Meets The Eye". All About Jazz. Retrieved April 3, 2022.