Telegraph Avenue

One of the scant Peruvian ensembles from the dawn of the 1970s whose recordings later surfaced again in the United States, Telegraph Avenue came together in 1970 once lead guitarist Bo Ichikawa returned from a half-year immersion in San Francisco’s hippie scene. Performing exclusively in English, the band delivered a capable yet unremarkable fusion of 1970-era rock influences that ranged from The Beatles to Californian psychedelia and soul-rock. Their sound leaned lighter and more pop-oriented than the heavier styles then dominant among Northern Hemisphere acts, a trait that may have stemmed from the relative seclusion of South American groups from prevailing international currents. Latin percussion surfaced now and then, yet the Peruvian or broader South American character remained subtle enough that casual listeners rarely guessed the music’s geographic roots. A debut album appeared in 1971, followed by the group’s second and last LP in 1975; decades afterward, Lazarus Audio Products reissued the catalog on CD in the States during the late 1990s.