Caldera - Caldera (1976) [24bit FLAC]

AllMusic Review by Alex Henderson
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 LP, those ideas work magnificently.

Jorge Strunz - acoustic & electric guitars, percussion
Eduardo del Barrio - acoustic & electric pianos, synthesizers, percussion, clavinet, vocals
Steve Tavaglione - soprano saxophone, flute, bass, alto flute
Mike Azevedo "Baiano" - congas, percussion
Carlos Vega - drums, percussion
Dean Cortez - electric bass
with
Raul De Souza - bass, trombone
Roberto da Silva - percussion
Carolyn Dennis - vocals