El Chico / The Further Adventures Of El Chico

This set combines two Chico Hamilton LPs from Impulse Records, El Chico and Further Adventure of El Chico, both issued in 1966 separately. The 18 tracks include pleasant arrangements of the standards “The Shadow of Your Smile,” “My Romance,” “Stella by Starlight,” and pop songs of the era “Monday, Monday,” “Daydream,” and “People.” While the drummer’s choice of musicians on these sessions, including Clark Terry, Charlie Mariano, Gabor Szabo, and Jimmy Cheatham is impeccable, it’s the addition of Latin percussionists Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja that make these recordings stand out. – Al Campbell