Hadley Caliman

Santana sideman, saxophonist/flautist Hadley Caliman is one of the great players of West Coast jazz, despite being a relative unknown. A contemporary of Harold Land and Art Farmer, a denizen of the 1950s Central Avenue scene, he didn't make his debut as a leader until this beautiful album from 1971 was issued.

At this point Caliman had lost a decade to drugs but rediscovered his muse while he was a member of Gerald Wilson's big band in the latter 60s. He then became an in-demand session player, appearing on recordings by Bobby Hutcherson, Julian Priester and most famously on Santana's hit album Caravanserai.

His debut LP includes the regular group with whom he played live dates in San Francisco. It features six distinctive and reflective numbers which are the very height of early 70s acoustic jazz. Caliman did not record often but when he did he made it count. This is one of the lost gems!