I didn’t expect this 45 by J.P. Company to be almost unknown, but it appears that way. “Gozar Asi” has many of the elements you might expect from early ’70s funky psych, including organ, wah wah rhythm, harmony vocals, a good guitar break and more. It’s a fine song, written by Jaymenoll Hernandez.
The flip is a more conventional ballad, “Fue” by Alfonso Ortiz.
Released on Orfeon 45-15056 in 1971, I thought this could have been a group from Mexico. I had a Los Locos del Ritmo single on the same Orfeon label with a Los Angeles address which turned out to be a reissue of two different sides originally issued in Mexico years before.
As it turns out, this J.P. Company release is an original Billy Cardenas Production out of Los Angeles. Cardenas was famous for his involvement with the ’60s Eastside Sound, including the Romancers, the Premiers, the Blendells, Cannibal & The Headhunters, Ronnie & The Pomona Casuals, Mark & The Escorts and many more. For Orfeon he would produce Jr. & the Preludes, La Tribu and others.
A December 23, 1972 notice in Billboard notes Orfeon General Manager Oswaldo Benzor would be recording J.P. Company bilingually. If it happened, I haven’t heard or seen it. From the quality of “Gozar Asi”, this is a group that deserves more attention.
