"Solar Heat" featured the vibraphonist and bandleader in a stellar group with conguero Ray Barretto, João Donato on organ, Michael Abene on harpsichord and Fender Rhodes, both McFarland (who arranged this recording) and Tjader on vibes, percussionist Orestes Vilató, and bassists Bobby Rodriguez and Chuck Rainey. It's a killer program of pop tunes like "La Bamba," and "Never My Love," as well as killer McFarland originals such as "Fried Bananas." Track list notwithstanding, this is one of Tjader's finest moments on record. His soloing and melodic invention is delightfully showcased as the logical center between Donato's brilliant organ playing and the crystalline arrangements.
Canned Heat is an American rock band that was formed in Los Angeles in 1965. The group has been noted for its interpretations of blues material and for its efforts to promote interest in this type of music and its original artists. It was launched by two blues enthusiasts, Alan Wilson and Bob Hite, who took the name from Tommy Johnson's 1928 "Canned Heat Blues", a song about an alcoholic who had desperately turned to drinking Sterno, generically called "canned heat", After appearances at the Monterey and Woodstock festivals at the end of the 1960s, the band acquired worldwide fame with a lineup consisting of Hite (vocals), Wilson (guitar, harmonica and vocals), Henry Vestine and later Harvey Mandel (lead guitar), Larry Taylor (bass), and Adolfo de la Parra (drums).