T.P O.K Jazz

• Somo! [TMS, 1990] A-

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Somo! [TMS, 1990]
With the leader already too near death to fulfill his commitments, I checked out Franco's band sans Franco a few years ago, and while it wasn't as transcendent as Franco's band avec Franco, which I'd been lucky enough to catch a few years before that, I could barely drag myself away at 2:45 from a set that began around midnight. Honoring the gentle rumbas of the storied past, this seven-track, 55-minute feast doesn't peak like live or get hype like modern. But at its malest it's sweet, so sweet. A-