Caldera (Caldera album)

Caldera is the debut album by the jazz fusion band Caldera that was released in 1976 by Capitol Records.[1] The album reached No. 33 on the Cashbox Top 40 Jazz Albums chart.[2]

Caldera
Studio album by
Released1976 (1976)
1992 (1992) (re-release)
RecordedDecember 1975 – January 1976
StudioHollywood Sound
GenreJazz fusion
Length38:42
LabelCapitol
ProducerWayne Henderson
Caldera chronology
Caldera
(1976)
Sky Islands
(1977)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [3]

Alex Henderson of AllMusic, where it received a 3.5 out of 5 star rating, wrote "With Wayne Henderson of Crusaders fame handling the production, Caldera showed a great deal of promise on its self-titled 1976 debut album. The Latin jazz-fusion unit isn't afraid to take chances on such imaginative pieces as Jorge Strunz's "El Juguete" and Eduardo del Barrio's "Exaltation" -- chances that pay off in a major way. Though one can tell that Caldera's members were well aware of such explorers as Return to Forever, Weather Report, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, it's also clear that they were major Earth, Wind & Fire fans and had absorbed a wide variety of Latin music. Strunz and del Barrio were hardly the only fusionists who incorporated Latin rhythms in the 1970s -- Chick Corea, George Duke, Wayne Shorter, Al Di Meola, and Joe Zawinul were all well aware of the musical innovations of Latinos, but Caldera was unique in the sense that the band represented a real melting pot of Latinos bringing different ideas to the table. And on this LP, those ideas work magnificently."[3]

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Guanacaste"Jorge Strunz, Eduardo del Barrio6:31
2."Exaltation"Eduardo del Barrio6:52
3."Synesthesia"Jorge Strunz7:45
4."Out of the Blue"Jorge Strunz, Eduardo del Barrio4:46
5."El Juguete"Jorge Strunz, H.Hamburg8:31

Personnel

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  • Jorge Strunz — acoustic guitar, electric guitar, percussion
  • Eduardo del Barrio — acoustic piano, electric piano, synthesizers, percussion, clavinet, vocals
  • Steve Tavaglione — soprano saxophone, flute, bass, alto flute
  • Mike Azeredo — congas, percussion
  • Carlos Vega — drums, percussion
  • Dean Cortez — electric bass
  • Raul De Souza — bass trombone, trombone
  • Roberto da Silva — percussion
  • Carolyn Dennis — vocals

References

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  1. ^ Caldera: Caldera. Capitol Records. 1976.
  2. ^ "Top 40 Jazz Albums". Cash Box. Vol. 28. December 11, 1976. p. 36.
  3. ^ a b Henderson, Alex. "Caldera – Caldera: Review". AllMusic. Retrieved August 22, 2023.