Requisites

Introducing The Afro Blues Quintet Plus One is a 1965 recording on the Mira label. The photograph and cover design was by George Whiteman, exemplifies a typical 1960s post-exotica style. Active as a photographer-designer during the Sixties, he produced covers for both jazz and blues artists, such as Jimmy Reed and B.B. King.

An obscure album from an obscure Los Angeles, California based jazz combo, the surprise is finding how much it swings. Possible reasons: the youthful exuberance of its then-22-year-old leader and vibraphonist Joe De Aguero, the clever arrangements of standards and pop tunes, and the live recording (though no date or location is given).

Some reasons why, on the other hand, it’s not as good as it could be: a sameness to the arrangements (similar chord changes and runs in both “Liberation” and “Together” really stand out), soloing that never stakes its claim, missed opportunities to really add the “Afro” (read: African percussion) that makes up half of its name. The main ingredient here is a gospel swing that infects “Jericho” as well as an inventive take on “Walk On By.”

Young compiles on this recording the following eight compositions: Moses, Liberation, The Monkey Time, Summertime, Jericho, Walk On By, Together, and The “In” Crowd.   Long out of print, this album is worth hunting down. #jazz #classic #collectible #music

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