The Apogees were a drum and organ duo. The drummer was Bud Lee and the organist Izzy Navarrete. Izzy’s name is spelled differently each time I find it in print – Izzy Navarette and Izzy Navarrette for example.

Together they made one of the strangest EPs I’ve ever heard, echo-laden versions of Guantanamera, Sweet Caroline (“Sweet Adeline” on the label), Quiet Village (“Quite Village” on the label) and an almost-unrecognizable version of La Bamba. The Apogees release is on Stripe 99 Hollywood 10001A/B. It’s hard to date this, but I guess about 1970.

At one point Izzy was a member of the Spirals, a long-running group from Tulare, California, led by Ralph Alvarez and Manny Alvarez, whose members included Mary Murillo and Ed Torres and probably many others. At this time I don’t know if the Spirals ever recorded.

Photos of Tulare groups the Spirals and the Charades, along with some history the area’s music, can be found in the Tulare Advance-Register, July 5-6, 2003.

Izzy Navarette had a duo with Terry Wall that played often at the El Dorado restaurant on East Tulare Ave in the mid-1970s. The advertisements call it “Izzy Listening” music. There are notices for him appearing in lounges in Palm Springs into the 2000s.

Bud Lee’s name is too common to trace, so I can’t tell you anthing about “El Tomborro” (tamborro?).

Stripe 99 had one further release by the Sand Trackers, “Track of the Scarab” / “Big Bird Blues”, both by F. Stuart Wilson (Ford Stuart Wilson aka Fred Lile), and released as Stripe 99 SNN45-10002.

Drum and organ duos were an efficient combination, and more common than you might think, as I’ve profiled three others on this site.