Soul Sauce

Q (1/95, p.262) - 3 Stars - Good - "...'60s soul-jazz always went on about food in their titles...just to emphasize that in this kind of music the fundamental things apply....Tjader was one of the few who showed the way in Latin jazz..."

Soul Sauce is one of the highlights from Tjaders catalog with its appealing mixture of mambo, samba, bolero, and boogaloo styles. Tjaders core band -- long-time piano player Lonnie Hewitt, drummer Johnny Rae and percussionists Willie Bobo and Armanda Peraza -- starts things off with a cooled down version of Dizzy Gillespie and Chano Pozos Latin jazz classic Guachi Guaro (Soul Sauce). With the help of guitarist Kenny Burrell, trumpeter Donald Byrd, and tenor saxophonist Jimmy Heath they offer up a lively version of Mongo Santamarias Afro Blue. Sticking to his musics Mambo Without a Migraine reputation, though, Tjaders musicians keep things fairly calm, especially on Latinized ballads such as Billy Mays Somewhere In the Night and on midtempo swingers like Tanya. On Soul Sauce, Tjader had perfected a middle ground between the brisk, collegiate mambo of his early Fantasy records and the mood-heavy sound of Asian themed albums like Breeze From the East. In the process, he dodged the Latin lounge label with an album full of smart arrangements, subtly provocative vibe solos, and intricate percussion backing. ~ Stephen Cook