Henry Mancini & His Orchestra Symphonic Soul (1975)

Laboriel first recorded with a rock’n’roll group, Los Traviesos, at the tender age of 10, before working as an actor and musician in Mexico. It was the influence of Henry Mancini that propelled him into the stratosphere, and so we begin with Symphonic Soul. On ‘Satin Soul’, a Barry White/Van McCoy-written piece given the big band treatment, Laboriel skips and funks underneath smooth strings; there are also glissandos and hints of slap in evidence. He then gets a chance to show his skills on the syncopated ‘Butterfly’, Herbie Hancock’s prowling and dramatic piece, in which Laboriel plays with octaves, ninths and jazzy flutters before heading up the neck for a fantastic solo that’s fast but never frantic. Laboriel’s pop-and-slap greatness is upfront in the splendid ‘Peter Gunn (New Version)’, including some fine chordal work and the sweetest major thirds known to man. Two minutes of amazing bass pass before that familiar riff takes it home.