Craft Recordings is no respecter of persons concerning what vintage albums are “important” enough to put back into circulation on vinyl. These two recent gems are from artists that some of us may have forgotten about-use this chance to get re-acquainted.
Gilberto Miguel Calderon Cardona, better known as “Joe Cuba”, was part of the scene that mixed Afro Cuban jazz with R&B. This 1964 release has him with the smooth vocals of Jose (Cheo) Feliciano-just on the romantic “I Need You” in English while he chants in Spanish with a chorus on the sizzling “Oriza Oca” and croons on “Quires Volver”. The band jams with verve on “Ya Se Acabo” and “Oye Bien”, sweating hard like a night in steamy Havana. WHEW!
LA-based pianist Hampton Hawes was at his zenith in the late 1950s, with this album all the more important as it finds him in a rare quartet setting. Tenor saxist Harold Land joins in with drummer Frank Butler and the iconic bassist Scott La Faro, soon to join up with Bill Evans. Land and Hawes swing on a slick bopper “Crazeology” and glide through “Hip” like they’re cruising on PCH. Land’s own “For Real” and “Numbers Game” are impressive originals, and the feel is as clear as a summer night in Malibu. California sun.