El Hombre | Pat Martino

2014 vinyl LP reissue of the legendary six-string master Pat Martino's 1967 debut album, El Hombre. Here you find the then-22-year-old flashing his distinctive soul-jazz chops in first date as a leader. Accompanied by organist Trudy Pitts, flutist Danny Turner, drummer Mitch Fine, and both Abdu Johnson and Vance Anderson on percussion, Martino's runs alternating dance over Latin-tinged rhythms and groove in the pocket with classic, soulful flavor. Recorded May 1, 1967 by Rudy Van Gelder at the Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, El Hombre stands the test of time as an absolute best-of-genre, guitar soul-jazz workout. This vinyl reissue is one in a series of special 2014 releases commemorating the 65th anniversary of Prestige Records and the 90th birthday of legendary recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder.