7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vintage Tyner, January 4, 2002
This review is from: Sama Layuca (Audio CD)
For the record (no pun intended), it's "Sama Layuca," not "Laycuca." Perhaps the name has been forgotten because this release has been out of print for so long. Title misspellings aside, this is an important addition to the Tyner Milestone discography.
Recorded and released in 1974, "Sama Layuca" extends the track record Tyner built through the '70s for putting together releases that joined jazz rhythms to Latin, African and Middle Eastern sounds. It also featured a first-rate lineup of musicians, as did virtually every other Milestone release by the pianist.
As with other Tyner albums of the period, "Sama Layuca" offers a rich tapestry of sound. The title cut and "La Cubana" season the release with Latin flavorings. "Above the Rainbow" is a lovely duet with vibist Bobby Hutcherson, with whom Tyner has continued to collaborate. "Desert Cry" paints dark colors on a Middle Eastern soundscape. No Tyner album would be complete without an extended jam and "Paradox" fills that role on this album.
A key strength of "Sama Layuca" is that it shows Tyner had not stopped developing his own sound or the sound of his bands. Earlier Milestone albums "Song for My Lady" and "Sahara" had featured multi-instrumentalist Sonny Fortune in a quartet setting that had a hard, driving edge (although the sound was never repetitive). Tyner broadens the palette with this album. In addition to Hutcherson's vibes, there are three horns. Gary Bartz, another frequent collaborator, appears on alto sax and lends his usual distinctive voice, especially on "La Cubana" and "Paradox." Azar Lawrence replaces Fortune on soprano and tenor and John Stubblefield adds color with flute and oboe (used to great effect on "Desert Cry").
In addition to Billy Hart's drums, Mtume (Tootie Heath's son) and Guillermo Franco add congas and other percussion. The result is a richer sound, but one that also gives a sense of wide-open spaces.
This album provides a very interesting contrast to the aforementioned releases and to Tyner's two live albums of the period, "Enlightenment" and "Atlantis," both of which were essentially quartet albums (Franco added percussion on "Atlantis") of surging power. On "Sama Layuca," Tyner took a step back and let the music -- and the listener breathe. The result was one of his most refreshing albums.
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