Album can't quite recreate live feeling

Conga Jazz
Almost There
Conga Drum Productions The Indy Jazz Fest featured a variety of acts from straight ahead, bop-oriented jazz to smooth jazz, blues and even more modern sounding sub-genres. But one of my favorite bands happened to be the Latin, Afro-Cuban rhythms of Conga Jazz. Almost There, a live recording, is a good example of their sound. Conga Jazz borrows a lot from Latin dance styles and with two percussionists does so quite well. Their smooth sound is very groove oriented with plenty of cool syncopations. And the solos are exciting enough to keep things interesting. Dr. Virginia Jefferson is the main reason for this. The harder she pounds the keys, the better the tone quality. Bill Moss's basslines are the main driving force and keep things interesting by varying his patterns just enough to stay memorable without becoming too repetitive. Larry Calland, the leader of the band employs a variety of percussion, congas, timbales and bongos to color the sectional changes; while Ivan Benson, another percussionist, provides a rhythmic counterpoint. However, on this disc the interplay between Benson and Calland isn't as distinct as the live performance I saw, and the absence of guitarist Sandy Williams (who later joined the band) on all but two tracks leaves only one major soloist. Williams and Jefferson compliment each other excellently in live performance and allow for better contrasts between sections and with dynamics in general. The biggest problem, sadly, is not with the performers but with the recording itself. Even for a live recording, some of the mix sounds unbalanced and on occasion a soloist will be almost swallowed by the rest of the band. These problems could have been solved by better mixing. This recording has some very clean, elegant soloing but Williams's subdued role detracts a little from the overall intensity. There are plenty of good tracks on this disc, like the Santana cover "Flor D' Luna," the minor groove of "Tales of Kilamanjaro" and the graceful piano work of "She Never Has a Window." This is a very good disc but it falls short of the band's live intensity and their obvious potential.