Liner, Listening & Album Notes:

Liner notes from the back album cover:

Even if you’re convinced the jungle is only a nice place to visit, but not to live, you know the following scene is a daily event.

The night is bright. The air is warm. The dancers and revelers gather around the cleared-out area. Sounds of strange birds leap from towering brunches. Blissful bees buzz at buzzards. Animals nestle closer to the cracker barrels. The campfire spark. its own tempo. Suddenly a huge, handsome man strolls across the open space. A pace behind him is a dark, hairy animal. Our hero stops in front of the tent at the edge of the clearing, He clear. his throat . . . and says: “Me Tarzan, you Jane. You mambo?”

Perhaps, if you haven’t visited the jungle., you believe it sounds fantasic. But you will believe, the sounds of “JUNGLE FANTASTIQUE” can make it possible the way the Bobby Montez Quintet beat out Afro Cuban rhythms  would put life in a brass monkey.

“JUNGLE FANTASTIQUE” combines modern and Latin music with Afro-Cuban tempos, to be danced to or listened to. Included here are original and standard melodies.

On Side 1. the Bobby Montez Quintet play themes with jungle motifs:

AFRICAN FANTASY — A fast Mambo rhythm combined with a short, strange African sound.

JUNGLE SUNSET — A Bolero tempo slowly nets • picture of the setting of the sun.

KON-TIKI — This Mambo has a sound II. ancient Peruvian Indian ritual music (Kon•tiki is a Peruvian god.) On Samoa and islands nearby. where traditions of old are practices drumming sessions like this still go on. The Islander., by theoretical proof. are believed to be direct descendants of the Permian., who migrated years and years ago.

CHANGO — The tempo is called Santo. Change, is an ancient god worshipped by natives in the We.t Indies. The song ha. the sound of the ritual music heard there.

Except for the touch of Bach in the introduction of ‘Summertime: side II continues the combining of modern sound with Afro-Cuban rhythm.

The BOBBY MONTEZ QUINTET. for the past few year.. has been one of the best of the Latin•tempo group. on the West Coast. They have played at the Crescendo. Melody Doom. Interlude and Latin Quarter. ‘Swinging At The M’ is their theme song at the “M’ Club. where, for three years now, they have been the house band.

Bobby Montez plays vibes and piano here. He is also a fine piano player and string bassist. The arrangement in “Jungle Fantastique” are his, Carlos Ortega Avelar plays piano and vibes. He fronted his own 18-piece orchestra for a time on the West Coast. Jimmy Baiz, the bassist, recently began to play modern Latin music. Before now. he was heard only in the concert field. Miguel Gutierrez plays timbales. In Europe, he is well known for his timbal and trapeze act. Louis, Miranda. on conga, is one of the best Congeros in the country. He was with Machito in New York for 9 years.

Whether your invitation to dance starts out as “Me Tarzan, you Jane” or “Me Jane, you Tarzan.” you’ll find the Afro-Cuban rhythms in “JUNGLE FANTASTIQUE” as authentic as the Victorian Falls in the heart of the dark continent, the rum in Jamaica or the Andes in Peru. There’s no need at all to get too involved about the merits of jungle living. But there is joy its the jungle – jumping jungle joy. The BOBBY MONTEZ QUINTET makes it all sound as though it is truly “JUNGLE FANTASTIQUE.”

. . . notes by MORT GOODE