1964 Hector Costita Sexteto “Impacto” on Fermata

Not to be confused with Charles Tolliver’s “Impact” or the Dub comp series Impact!) Man, this is such heavy, swinging modal bop in the pure mid-sixties Blue Note grail mode, but with the addition of several top bonuses, including a Bossa-ish vibe that isn’t really Bossa, more just a dynamic Samba filigree that’s not really Samba cuz it could easily be a lost Lee Morgan/John Gilmore set except for the other top bonus, which is Edison “The Machine” Machado playing killer (always) crossover drums, and for whom there is no American analogue, and Costita (Héctor Bisignani) the tenor of note but also composer and multi-instrumentalist. (Interestingly, the Argentinian Bisignani’s other nickname was “Don Junior”, probably unwise to bust out in mixed company these days.)

​We additionally get the brilliant Sebastião Neto on bass, and with a sudden Latinate Third Stream gear shift, we have flute, cello, violin and classically oriented meandering, leading into a real Bossa beat (BIG trombone of Benedito Pereira “Ditinho” dos Santos) and then back out again, and then really lovely runs from Luiz Mello on the celestina for some near-Ellingtonian vibes, and back to tuff bop with Costita channeling Exotica Ike Quebec. There’s so much to love on this record (including “Tokio” the slick sambissa version of Horace Silver’s “Tokyo Blues”) I could spin it forever. Hey, did you know Horace Silver started as a tenor player in various lineups before switching to piano because, hey, you try finding a place to practice tenor while Not White in 1950 America.) TOP and truly beautiful action. Plus KILLER art design!