Caldera

by Alex Henderson
One of the most innovative and chance-taking jazz-fusion outfits of the late 1970s, Caldera was a Latin band that combined jazz, funk and rock with a wide variety of Latin music. 1970s fusion explorers like Return to Forever and Weather Report influenced Caldera, but its members were also influenced by everything from Earth, Wind & Fire's soul/funk to Afro-Cuban salsa, Brazilian samba and Andean/Peruvian music. Members of Caldera, which was led by keyboardist Eduardo del Barrio and guitarist Jorge Strunz, came from all over Latin America as well as parts of the U.S. While drummer Dean Cortez and saxophonist Steve Tavaglione were U.S.-born, other members were born in Costa Rica (Strunz), Argentina (del Barrio), Cuba (drummer Carlos Vega) and Brazil (percussionist Mike "Baiano" Azevedo). In 1976, Caldera signed with Capitol and recorded its self-titled debut album, which was followed by Sky Islands in 1977, Time and Chance in 1978 and Dreamer in 1979. In an ideal world, Caldera would have had a long life, but its four Capitol LPs (none of which were reissued on CD in the 1980s or 1990s) didn't sell--and the band called it quits in 1979. However, most of Caldera's members kept busy long after its breakup. Strunz, for example, went on to form the guitar duo Strunz & Farah with Iranian/Persian guitarist Ardeshir Farah, while the 1980s and 1990s found del Barrio working with everyone from Earth, Wind & Fire to Stan Getz and Dianne Reeves.