El Hombre is the debut album by jazz guitarist Pat Martino. It was recorded in 1967 and released by Prestige RecordsPrestige Records discography accessed May 2, 2013
Reception
Allmusic gave the album 4½ stars, stating, "Guitarist Pat Martino's debut as a leader finds the 22-year-old showing off his roots in soul-jazz organ groups while looking ahead at the same time...Martino primarily plays a straight-ahead set but already displays a fairly distinctive sound".Yanow, S. Allmusic Review, accessed April 2, 2013
The authors of the Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings stated that, although El Hombre "depend[s] on blues-base formulas" and is "typical of the genre... Martino's maturing style... is good enough to transcend the settings."
Writing for PopMatters, Will Layman commented: "El Hombre is an organ-drenched speedfest that shows off this Philly kid's ability to play soulfully, spinning out seemingly endless solos shot through with blue notes, flatted fifths, and thirty-second runs. It was Martino's calling card, and this was his party. And it is, appropriately, a good time... El Hombre deserves to be heard by new fans as well as old ones. Many a young guitarist today will be stunned and jealous, I'm sure, of how fresh this... music still sounds."
In an article for All About Jazz, Ian Patterson wrote: "There are any number of truly great Martino solos throughout this swinging straight-ahead session... An auspicious debut that announced the arrival of a great talent and a distinctive voice."
Track listing
Personnel Pat Martino – guitar Danny Turner – flute Trudy Pitts – Hammond organ Mitch Fine – drums Vance Anderson – bongos Abdu Johnson – congas
Production Cal Lampley – producer Rudy Van Gelder – engineer
References