A raw early cooker from Mongo Santamaria – a real standout album from the Riverside years, thanks to a live performance that goes far beyond his studio work of the time! The set was caught live at the Village Gate – in a way that lets the
band open up and really jam on the tunes – an especially great thing, given that players include Pat Patrick, Marty Sheller, and Bobby Capers on horns, all of whom bring a lot of fire to the session. Mongo's great on congas, as you might expect – and the album's even got a cool little introduction of the group by Symphony Sid! Tracks include "Mongo's Groove", "The Jungle Bit", "
Fatback", and "Nothing For Nothing", a nice long track written by Patrick!
(Latin, Jazz) (Mono red label Battle pressing. Vinyl plays with some surface noise and faint crackle. Cover has ringwear, heavy edge wear, mostly split spine, splitting in the bottom seam, and some light stains along the top seam and opening.)