Bobo Mould

Recorded and released in 1967, Bobo Motion is one of percussionist Willie Bobo's best-known recordings of the 1960s. The album is best-known for its version of the Sonny Henry nugget "Evil Ways" that Carlos Santana and his band made their own a couple of years later, but there's more to it than that. Since Bobo signed with Verve in 1965, he'd been releasing wily blends of hot Latin tunes, and soul-jazz interpretations of pop tunes of the day. His five previous albums for the label had all been variations on this theme. On the earlier ones, safer pop and easy tunes played with Bobo's trademark hand drum grooves won out over original material. Indeed, 1965's Spanish Grease and 1966's Uno, Dos,Tres 1-2-3 had featured one tune apiece that featured the cooking Afro-Cuban flavored jams he'd become known for, and the rest were either soul-jazz arrangements of Latin standards or "with it" pop tunes of the day…

Willie Bobo's first record for Tico is arranged around his previous double-sided single, "Bobo! Do That Thing" b/w "Guajira." The former, which leads off the set, is a sub-Ray Charles shing-a-ling number, with frequent calls for Bobo to get to it. "Guajira" is much better, Bobo's first minor-key Latin processional (many were to come), with great ensemble brass and reeds leading the way. "Azulito" is a racing stomp, while "Grab Your Hat" and "Chickadee" are nice piano-led numbers…

A TRIPLE-CD of radio broadcast live recordings of Minneapolis' finest. Two of the discs feature Hüsker Dü live action, taped at a 1981 show in Portland and in Minneapolis 1985. Disc #3 features a fine 1989 performance, given by singer-guitarist Bob Mould (after the band split up) at a radio station in Germany.

Willie Bobo pulled an impressive lineup for his debut as a leader, due in part to a profile gained from his work with Cal Tjader and Herbie Mann. Leading the brass section in this midsized group is trumpeter Clark Terry, who lends the necessary grit and fire, while Joe Farrell's burring tenor gives the record dynamic range. Though Bobo's percussion kit is displayed on the front, it's occasionally difficult to appreciate his playing on the record; he sounds bored and in the background during a trio of Brazilian crossover numbers (this was the year of Jazz Samba, after all), leaving organist Frank Anderson to flare his way playfully through his own "Bossa Nova in Blue." Bobo does finally allow himself some solo space at the end of "Capers," after several minutes of brilliant interplay between brass and reeds. The highlight comes with the group's interpretation of Freddie Hubbard's "Crisis," a slow-burning hard bop number with Bobo's timbales shuffle framing more excellent sectioning, with Farrell's tenor and an unnamed trombone positioned in counterpoint to Terry's trumpet.