Jean-Luc Ponty made a strong impression with his appearance at the 1967 Monterey Jazz Festival.
Just barely 26 at the time of this obscure but worthy album (his first to appear on an American label), Ponty is teamed with pianist George Gruntz, trumpeter Carmell Jones, altoist Leo Wright, drummer Daniel Humair and an unidentified bassist.
In addition to five originals by either Ponty or Gruntz, they perform a pair of pop songs (including Miriam Makeba's "Pata Pata") and the Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends." Already a very original player, Ponty's style at this early point was far beyond hard bop and looked a little toward both pop and John Coltrane.
Unfortunately, this fine effort will be difficult to find and has yet to be reissued on CD.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | With a Little Help from My FriendsJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 02:55 | 6 MB | 17 MB |
| 2 | 3 + 2 = 1George Gruntz, Jean-Luc Ponty | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 05:58 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 3 | CaliforniaGeorge Gruntz, Jean-Luc Ponty | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 05:51 | 13 MB | 36 MB |
| 4 | Gimme Little SignGeorge Gruntz, Jean-Luc Ponty | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 02:40 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 5 | Pata PataGeorge Gruntz, Miriam Makeba, Jean-Luc Ponty, Jerry Ragovoy | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 03:10 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 6 | Pebble Beach WalkJean-Luc Ponty | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | Pacific DroveGeorge Gruntz, Jean-Luc Ponty | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 06:00 | 13 MB | 35 MB |
| 8 | Fort Ord CanonGeorge Gruntz, Jean-Luc Ponty | Jean-Luc Ponty | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 35 mins | 81 MB | |||||
| 35 mins | 216 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | George Gruntz | Arranger, Composer, Piano |
| 2 | Daniel Humair | Drums |
| 3 | Carmell Jones | Trumpet |
| 4 | John Lennon | Composer |
| 5 | Sigfried Loch | Producer |
| 6 | Siggi Loch | Producer |
| 7 | Miriam Makeba | Composer |
| 8 | Paul McCartney | Composer |
| 9 | Jean-Luc Ponty | Composer, Primary Artist, Violin |
| 10 | Jerry Ragovoy | Composer |
| 11 | Leo Wright | Flute, Sax (Alto) |
| 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. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |