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“Bongo Conga and Flute” takes a couple songs from Mann’s “Flautista”, and adds three more songs from a recording a year later with the unifying factor being somewhat similar instrumental lineups. All five songs on here feature Mann with vibraphone, bass, drums and a Latin percussion ensemble, plus a four man trumpet section on three of the cuts. The music on here is good Latin Jazz with Mann’s inevitable influence, but possibly due to its slapped together nature, is not one of the more striking albums in the Herbie Mann discography.
“Cuban Potato Chips” opens with Herbie’s trademark beatnik raga groove with an Afro-Cuban slant and features relaxed long line solos from Mann, vibraphonist Johnny Rae and the percussion section. In typical Mann style, the percussion driven groove stays intact throughout. The standard “I’ll Remember April” is played Afro-Cuban big band style and then switches to a furiously fast paced swing ride, the energy runs high on this one.
Side two features an odd original instrumental called “Come on Mule” with a slow loping beat similar to Grofe’s donkey ride in “The Grand Canyon Suite”. Interesting how the donkey’s lope similarly affects both pieces. “Come on Mule” is an interesting bit of exotica that channels jazz’s earliest days and features humorous lazy interplay between Rae’s vibraphone and Herbie on bass clarinet, instead of flute, for a change. The album closes with a relaxed and exotic Afro-Cuban big band version of “You Stepped out of a Dream” with Herbie stretching out the melody with one of his nicest flute rides on the album. This one has a classic late night romantic vibe to it. All around, this album makes a good addition to the Herbie Mann collection, but you may be able to find all of these tunes on other albums.
