Mongo's graduation from Columbia to Atlantic, and from Top 40 covers to funkier soul-jazz, could not have been more welcome.
At least half the credit for his new sound goes to Neal Creque, who wrote six of the ten tracks here.
Creque, one of the most interesting composers of the late '60s and early '70s, has a sound that recalls Brasilians Deodato and Donato, Herbie Hancock, and the greats of New Orleans piano.
The rest of the group (in the studio, at least) also is new for Mongo, although Marty Sheller returns as conductor.
Featuring heavy soul-jazz with crack Latin percussion, Mongo '70 is consistently dramatic and evocative, so much so that it could've easily been the score for a movie.
Nothing rates as filler, and the end is particularly strong.
The funky "Mo' Do'" is followed by "Grass Roots," which has everything: guitar, vibraslap, mournful horns; "Dedicated to Love" is nearly an update on "Peter Gunn." Jon Hart's bass may be mixed a little high, but heavy funk is the message here.
That and the fact that Neal Creque has arrived.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WindjammerNeal Creque | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 03:21 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Yesterday's TomorrowNeal Creque | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 03:33 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | March of the PantherSonny Henry | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Look AwayNeal Creque | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 04:07 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Night CrawlerCharles Williamson | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 04:27 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Mo' DoNeal Creque | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 03:56 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Grass RootsMarty Sheller | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 04:14 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Dedicated to LoveJon Hart | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | The Whistler | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Abodo Criollo | Mongo Santamaria | Play | 04:00 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 38 mins | 88 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Angel Allende | Percussion, Timbales |
| 2 | Alfred Brown | Viola |
| 3 | Selwart Clarke | Viola |
| 4 | Julio Collazo | Percussion |
| 5 | Neal Creque | Composer, Piano, Piano (Electric) |
| 6 | Palayo Diaz | Percussion |
| 7 | Joel Dorn | Producer |
| 8 | Eric Glae | Guitar |
| 9 | Roger Glenn | Flute, Vibraphone |
| 10 | Israel Gonzalez | Trumpet |
| 11 | Emanuel Green | Violin |
| 12 | Jon Hart | Bass (Electric), Composer |
| 13 | Sonny Henry | Composer, Guitar |
| 14 | Jimmy Johnson, Jr. | Drums |
| 15 | Trevor Lawrence | Sax (Baritone) |
| 16 | Harry Lookofsky | Violin |
| 17 | Joseph Malin | Violin |
| 18 | Osvaldo Martinez | Percussion |
| 19 | Kermit Moore | Cello |
| 20 | Gene Orloff | Violin |
| 21 | Grant Reed | Flute, Sax (Tenor) |
| 22 | George Ricci | Cello |
| 23 | Mongo Santamaria | Bongos, Congas, Primary Artist |
| 24 | Marty Sheller | Composer |
| 25 | Charles Williamson | Composer, Cornet |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |