I was a little bit familiar with Martino as his name has been bandied about when talking the kosmigroov genre, a style that I'm tangentially interested in. The one previous album I heard didn't leave much of a mark, though a relisten most certainly is in order. But this one did leave an impression. Immediately I was reminded of Gabor Szabo and Wes Montgomery, as Martino gently leads these jazz instrumental tracks with his fine lightly amplified guitar style. Complementing him on the album are a 5 piece including no less than three on drums and percussion. But the two members that put this one into the excellent category are organist Trudy Pitts (check out the cover of Introducing the Fabulous Trudy Pitts - my kind of woman!) and Danny Turner on flute. The latter is known more for his saxophone work, but the instrument is not to be found on El Hombre. Wonderful late evening listening, a superb chillout close to the night. This was Philadelphia native Pat Martino's debut, though as the original liner notes point out, he was a veteran by this point.
Ownership: LP: 1985 Prestige. Single sleeve. As mentioned in my last commodity update, I found a pretty good pile of rare jazz at a thrift shop late last week. Most of them were originals, which makes this reissue that much more curious. But the positive side of the situation is this album is in NM condition - both cover and vinyl. Off to a good start - hope to find more treasures like this in that batch.
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