Tito Rodriguez: Perdido

The Tito Rodriguez band is not as well known as those of his compatriots Machito and Tito Puente, but cognoscenti will assure you that this band more than deserves a seat on the pantheon of Latin jazz orchestras known as "The Big Three." This album features standards arranged in the mambo style that made Rodriguez famous. The open form on "Perdido" allows for ample solo space, of which the guest performers avail themselves expertly. Of Brookmeyer, Cohn, Sims and Terry, it is the last whose offering succeeds most effectively in bridging the gap between the clave-based foundation set down by the rhythm section and the "straight-ahead" bebop phraseology in which they are more well-versed. Terry's attention to the placement and internal accents of his solo lines shows a true affinity for the Latin jazz aesthetic.