1979: Vincent Montana, Jr. Lets loose his percussive roots and those of his rhythm section session mates on a production spotlighting African grooves & flavors.
He sets aside his main instrument, the Vibraharp and offers up a captivating solo on the Cuica, a friction drum originally used in Africa for lion hunting. As if the spellbinding groove’s not enough, Montana adds a bit of sugar on top and intensifies the track further with a touch of haunting strings & bells. The reaction of various record companies at the time suggests “it’s too far out”. 2006: Over two decades later, Montana extracts a 24 master simply labeled “The African Track” from his archives. The time has come for his far-fetched instrumental to be heard. As the 2nd release on the forthcoming “Revival Project” Album (PSW) the original version is “AS IS” apart from minor tweaks and a touch of additional percussion. Louis Benedetti takes the controls and delivers a set of remixes adding an effective Synth Stab and new Percussion Overdubs while still keeping its original flavor. There are two Bonus Beat Versions for maximum DJ work out. Considering the era in which the original recording was made,Vincent Montana, Jr. demonstrates once again that he was well ahead of his time. Together with the brilliance of Louis Benedetti “The African Track”slips right in with today’s trends and will surely prove to be a crowd pleaser on every dance floor.
Produced, Arranged and Conducted by Vincent Montana, Jr. Written by V. Montana, Jr. Published by Vincent Montana, Jr. Music (ASCAP) Remix & Additional Production by Louis Benedetti for SoulShine Recordings Synthesizers – Louis Benedetti Drums – Grant Mac Avoy Bass – Michael “Sugarbear” Foreman Congas, Timbales, Bongos – Larry Washington, Crusher Bennet, Peter “Choki” Quintero, Andy Gonzalez, Manny Oquendo, Roy Amando, Michael Gist Orchestra Bells, Additional Percussion & Cuica Solo – Vincent Montana, Jr. Violins – Igor Szwec, Rudolph Malizia, Americus Mungiole, Helen Kwalwasser, Diane Barnett, Orest Artymiw Violas – Davis Barnett & Peter Nocella Cello – Anthony Pirollo French Horn – Joseph De Angelis Trumpets – Jack Wilson, Louis Opalesky, Rocco Bene Trombones – Roger De Lillo, Richard Genovese, Fred Linge Recorded at Alpha International Studios, Philadelphia, PA Recording Engineer – Fred Galletti (1979) Edited & Mixed by Louis Benedetti @ SoulShine Studios, NYC For more info about Vincent Montana, Jr. and Philly Sound Works, www.phillysoundworks.com Manufactured & Distributed by Philly Sound Works P&C Philly Sound Works
