Candido ”Thousand Finger Man”

Candido

”Thousand Finger Man”
( LP Solid State Records, 1969 )
Also on Blue Note Records
Catalog # SS-5226642

Tracklisting:
Jump Back
Come On Choo-Choo Train
Soul Limbo
Tony’s Theme (from the film Lady In Cement)
Hallelujah! I’m Comin’ Home
Thousand Finger Man

Personnel:
Candido Camero- congas, bongos on “Hallelujah! I’m Comin’ Home,” add bongos on “Thousand Finger Man;”
Pat Russo, Jimmy Sedlar- trumpet;
Alan Raph- trombone, bass trombone on “Thousand Finger Man;”
Joe Grimm- tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone on “Jump Back,” soprano saxophone on “Thousand Finger Man,” add soprano saxophone on “Hallelujah! I’m Comin’ Home,” add piccolo on “Tony’s Theme;”
Frank Anderson- organ, piano on “Hallelujah! I’m Comin’ Home;”
David Spinozza- guitar;
Gerry Jemmott, Chuck Rainey- electric bass;
Herbie Lovelle- drums.

Review by Patrick Jones ~~

Born in the El Cerro barrio of Cuba in 1921, Candido Camero began his musical career playing popular eastern Cuban “Son” (the foundation of what we now call “Salsa”) music on bass, guitar and mandolin at an early age. In this initial period, Candido worked with legendary percussionists Luciano “Chano” Pozo and a young Romon “Mongo” Santamaria. Later, Candido switched his attention to the bongo and conga and developed a trailblazing technique that added a new rhythmic dimension to the instruments. In essence, Candido would keep a steady rhythm with one hand while improvising with the other. He is also credited with playing two, and sometimes three, congas simultaneously for the first time. Both of these innovations quickly earned Candido the attention of other great jazz, latin and R&B players. As a result, from his arrival in the United States in 1946 through the present, Candido has recorded on over 100 albums with such legends as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Taylor, Erroll Garner, Stan Kenton, Duke Ellington Charles Mingus, Machito, Ray Charles, Tito Puente, and many others. Candido’s music blends traditional Cuban rhythms with various American musical styles.
On the Candido’s 1970 release, Thousand Finger Man, we find the famed percussionist mining popular dance music for an exuberently energetic album of funky soul-grooves. The sound is big and bawdy and the obvious point is to get people on their feet to shake a tail feather. On this level, the record is a tremendous success and should be of value to current DJs ever in pursuit of a new groove as well as rare groove, retro-connoisseurs. While Joe Cain’s arrangements, particularly on horns, are occasionally cheesy (in a similar way to Herbie Hancock’s Warner Brothers releases from the same era), conjuring images of late-’60s, early-’70s television shows or action films, Candido’s improvisation will leave even the stiffest jaws on the floor. On “Tony’s Theme,” “Soul Limbo,” Come On Choo-Choo Train,” and “Jump Back” he employs three congo drums at once with blistering skill. The title track includes a propulsive mix of bongos and congas and the gospel-influenced “Hallelujah! I’m Coming Home” features Candido on bongos for a clearer, yet no less frenetic, sound. This is not an album to think too hard about. It is an album to put on when you are feeling up, dancy or like having a party. Viva Candido! Play on!
More info here & here.

Pier's Note:
Nel 1986-'87 eravamo usi ad andare alla fonte, per cui in quel di Bologna andavamo alla Giucar Records, che altro non era che i magazzini del mitico Nannucci.
Rompevamo le scatole agli agenti, tutti amici e compagnoni, ma che dischi che abbiamo trovato là! Un giorno mi telefona il Trev (Trevisi): ''Pier, ho trovato un disco del 1970 mai visto con Candido, quello di ''Jingo'' che suona i bongos in copertina! Tremendo!".
Mi misi subito a caccia. E lo ''beccai'' nel 1989 a Londra, da Time Warp Records, ad un prezzo abbastanza buono (ma in Sterline...).
Poi lo vendetti poco prima di emigrare in terre tropicali, nel 1994, non mi ricordo bene a chi.
È fantastico, uno dei più begli LP che ho mai posseduto. Grazie a Celo (che ce l'ha) per le copertine e le labels.
Buon ascolto!

By Pier