Juan Marquez was already 40 when he left his native Cuba, and three years later he released this very interesting album while living in Spain. This is a case of another establishment figure getting hip and releasing a timeless album. Think Jean-Claude Vannier, William Sheller, and Sabicas.
Marquez starts off as a fairly typical Latin jazz classical guitar type album and moves slowly over to jazz funk. By A3 you're probably wondering what the big deal is. Then comes the beautiful A4 and we're off to the races. The money side is the flip and by the end you realize you're sitting on a monster psychedelic fuzz jazz funk album like none other. Marquez is the master of pacing. The music stops, then a groove appears followed by a fuzzy solo of organ, guitar, flute, etc.... Stop - groove - jam. Those who sample beats would have a field day with this album. And it appears that yes, old man Marquez is the one laying down some pretty heavy psychedelic solos.
I had started to hear this album online, but once I did, there was no way this could be left out of the collection. No reissues exist, so I plunked down some good money for an original. It's worth it.
Ownership: LP: 1972 UA Latino. Single sleeve. Recent online acquisition as noted above (2023). There are at least four pressings of this album, the other three in various parts of Latin America. This is the kind of album you might find in a thrift shop or a clueless record store for a couple of bucks. There's no indication whatsoever that a great album sits underneath the sleeve.
12/21/23 (new entry)
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