Sal Salvador Quintet & Quartet/Kenton Presents Sal Salvador by Sal Salvador

29 Jun

Written by Lee Prosser
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One of the best things about Blue Note's 10-inch reissue series is that it has exposed to modern ears some of the more obscure, but not less talented, jazz musicians of the fifties. The Sal Salvador CD, comprising Blue Note and Capitol 10-inch albums from 1953 and 1954, is a prime example. Salvador, a smooth swinger in the Charlie Christian mode with a gorgeous tone and a marvelously clean attack, performs flawlessly throughout, generating single-string excitement on up-tempo tunes and mellow thoughtfulness on ballads. The Capitol sessions, produced by Salvador's former employer Stan Kenton, also benefit from arrangements by Manny Albam and the great Bill Holman, and the piano and vibes of another sadly neglected talent, Eddie Costa. Fans of jazz guitar shouldn't miss this eminently satisfying CD.