The Mambo Jambo, the Barcelona-based rock & roll and rhythm & blues band, was presenting its first record and asked us to design the cover.
After many proposals and feedback from the band, we were able to distil the identity that they wanted to convey by appealing to instrumental high-voltage music and their electrifying live performances.
We chose gambling and night-scene icons and presented the band as the “four aces” of the 50s. Although the assignment was aimed solely at the cover, the solidness of the narrative we achieved finally led to the band’s full identity: LP design, CD adaptation, poster and merchandising items.
In this single, The Mambo Jambo wanted to recover two versions of two songs destined to be forgotten: “The Sneak”, originally written and recorded by the Jimmy Oliver Orchestra, and “Stompin with Bill”, original by Bill Jennings, the Afro-American guitarist. Both songs have a lot in common with jambophonic sound, and the band really pays them homage, adding new and fantastic nuances.
Seeing that side A had been compiled in the renowned Las Vegas Grind compilations, we too wanted to pay tribute to those transgressive and mythical covers.
One of the most explosive alliances occurring lately in the world of rock & roll is this encounter between one of the greatest screamers, Barrence Whitfield, and The Mambo Jambo, one of the best instrumental bands on the planet. It was important to show in this single that their collaboration was on an equal basis. That is why we decided not to make a front and back cover, but two front covers, with an opening for the record on top. The result is two great covers for two great performers.
Dani Nel·lo alone
A sax solo
Dani Nel·lo, this time with a new lineup (Dani Baraldés and Mario Cobo - guitar, Anton Jarl - drums , and Santi Úrsul – bass guitar), continues to turn his tenor sax into his voice and to create his own language, after the tradition of the saxophonists that gave birth to rhythm & blues and rock & roll...
Great saxophonists from the past like King Curtis, Lee Allen or Sam Butera have definitely marked Nel·lo’s career and he follows up by bringing their driving growl to the 21st century.
Sax-O-Rama reflects “the intention of recovering the sax and underscoring its qualities as a medium and transmitter of emotions, without requiring anything more than melody and rhythm.” This is what we wanted to show on the cover: sax, movement and colour in the hands of the great Dani Nel·lo.
