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Caldera - Caldera (1976)(Old-school fusion)

One of the most innovative and chance-taking jazz-fusion outfits of the late 1970s, Caldera was a Latin band that combined jazz, funk and rock with a wide variety of Latin music. 1970s fusion explorers like Return to Forever and Weather Report influenced Caldera, but its members were also influenced by everything from Earth, Wind & Fire's soul/funk to Afro-Cuban salsa, Brazilian samba and Andean/Peruvian music. Members of Caldera, which was led by keyboardist Eduardo del Barrio and guitarist Jorge Strunz, came from all over Latin America as well as parts of the U.S. While drummer Dean Cortez and saxophonist Steve Tavaglione were U.S.-born, other members were born in Costa Rica (Strunz), Argentina (del Barrio), Cuba (drummer Carlos Vega) and Brazil (percussionist Mike "Baiano" Azevedo). In 1976, Caldera signed with Capitol and recorded its self-titled debut album, which was followed by Sky Islands in 1977, Time and Chance in 1978 and Dreamer in 1979. In an ideal world, Caldera would have had a long life, but its four Capitol LPs (none of which were reissued on CD in the 1980s or 1990s) didn't sell—and the band called it quits in 1979. However, most of Caldera's members kept busy long after its breakup. Strunz, for example, went on to form the guitar duo Strunz & Farah with Iranian/Persian guitarist Ardeshir Farah, while the 1980s and 1990s found del Barrio working with everyone from Earth, Wind & Fire to Stan Getz and Dianne Reeves.

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 DiMeola, 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 record, those ideas work magnificently. (source: allmusic.com review by Alex Henderson).

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

1. Guanacaste
2. Coastin'
3. Exaltation
4. Synesthesia
5. Out Of The Blue
6. El Juguete