Viva! Montez

Vibraphonist and band leader Bobby Montez (born in Sonora, Arizona in 1934; he died in Chico, California in 2003) is considered a pioneer of Latin jazz on the West Coast in the late 1950s and early 1960s, stylistically close to the sound of Cal Tjader. Montez came from a musical family and learned to play several instruments, among them piano, double bass, and vibraphone. He worked as an accountant in Los Angeles, where he formed his own band and performed in clubs such as the Crescendo, Melody Room, and the Latin Quarter. In the late 1950s, he signed a record deal with Jubilee Records and released his debut album Jungle Fantastique (1958). Some of his better-known albums include Hollywood Themes in Cha Cha Cha, Gigi and My Fair Lady in Latin, Pachanga y Cha Cha Cha, The Music of Lerner and Loewe in Latin, and Viva!, presented here in entirety. Montez performed in local clubs until the end of the 1960s, then retiring from professional playing and working as a landscape planner.