Cuban-influenced dance band leader Eddie Gomez hailed from Puerto Rico and was active in the United States during the '50s. He is one of several performers with this name in Latin music, all of whom are overshadowed by the mighty presence of bassist Eddie Gomez -- a modern jazzman who, with more than 300 recordings to his credit, has naturally dipped into Latin jazz as well. But bassist Gomez was barely a teenager when the bandleader of the same name led Eddie Gomez & His Latin American Orchestra, the major documentation of which is a pair of LPs on the ultra-cheap Crown label, Cuban Mist and Caribbean Rendezvous.
Factors such as the shabby production quality of the Crown catalog and the general obscurity of this particular Eddie Gomez have managed to pull the wool over the Latin jazz public's ears in terms of this bandleader's qualities as a composer and arranger. Gomez tracks on updated exotica and lounge music compilations, including the proudly titled The Ultimate Bachelor's Pad Set, shed a fresh light on this music, since it holds up quite well alongside the strong competition of much better-known artists, including Xavier Cugat, Tito Puente, and Walter Wanderley. Gomez and Ray Gilbert -- the latter also one of Antonio Carlos Jobim's collaborators -- co-wrote a quite popular '50s novelty song known in English as "I See, I See" and internationally with many variations, including "Ah Si, Ah Si."
