Born in Arizona, but Californian by adoption, Bobby Montez (1934-2003) was a wellrounded musician. Nobody could doubt his skills on piano and vibes, but he was also an excellent composer and arranger. For years, the Bobby Montez Quintet was one of the best Latin Jazz groups on the West Coast. A short time after the quintet was formed in 1956, they became the house band of the tiny “M” Club in East Los Angeles. Their success awoke the interest of such popular L.A. venues as the Crescendo, Melody Room, Interlude, and Latin Quarter, where they eventually made the delight of their Latin jazz audience in the late 50s and early 60s, and spurred the Sunday night dance sessions at the famous Palladium ballroom.

Montez believed his music represented “our best interpretations of Mambo and Cha-Cha-Cha to date.” For the leader, his chief aim from the beginning was to find a modern approach to Latin music. In his own words, “this, and the full utilization of vocal sounds combined with the instrumentation, has been and still is of great importance to me and my music.”

—Jordi Pujol (From the inside liner notes of BMCD 904)