Master vibraphonist Dave Pike released Peligroso in late 2000, his first full Latin-jazz album since Manhattan Latin way back in 1964. Grab a comfy chair, a strong drink, and your significant other, and chill to the man like Pike.
Dave Pike emerged in the late '50s as a primo vibraphonist. His name is etched onto albums next to the likes of Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Clark Terry, and Paul Bley. In the early '60s he joined Herbie Mann's band, a move which culminated in the now classic Family Of Mann full-length on Atlantic. In '64, Pike recorded Manhattan Latin for Decca. The record went largely unnoticed, and in the late '60s, disillusioned, Pike left the States for Europe, where he settled and formed the Dave Pike Set.
Then something strange happened (as is common in jazz circles). In the late '80s Pike's early work became popular again, especially with trendy West London jazz connoisseurs. Manhattan Latin was resurrected and given the attention it never received when first released. "Mathar," a track Pike recorded with the Dave Pike Set, became popular with London's underground dance fraternity, and was even covered by former Jam frontman and all round Brit-popper Paul Weller.
In the mid-'90s, San Francisco's forward-thinking Ubiquity label tracked down Pike and asked him to step back into the studio. In '98, after a 12-year hiatus he released Bophead. Then in late '00 he released Peligroso on Ubiquity's Latin-jazz sister imprint Cubop. Produced by Bobby Matos, Peligroso features a generous 12 tracks of enchanting music. "Sandunga," also featured on the seminal Manhattan Latin, is an uptempo jam with raw Latin appeal.
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