Latin — In Stock — CDs  

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A great little set from salsa legend Sammy Ayala – an original member of the 50s born Cortijo Y Su Combo orchestra of Puerto Rico – singing warmly and wonderfully on this excellent self-titled set on the Candela label! An all star roster of modern producers and players indebted to... read more

A really special record from a really special group – one of two sublime 70s gems from Azteca – a wicked blend of jazz, funk, Latin, and soul – all put together by a young Coke Escovedo! Coke's ostensibly the leader of the group, but there's also a richly collaborative feel going... read more

Fantastic stuff from Ray Barretto – and one of his most sophisticated albums of the 70s! The album mixes together rootsy percussion and smoother jazzy arrangements – in a manner that keeps things fresh at all points, and which shifts the focus nicely from track to track –... read more

One of our favorite Ray Barretto albums of the 60s – a real gem from the pre-Latin Soul years! The album's a clear attempt to cash in on the cash in on the James Bond craze of the time – issued by United Artists, who were releasing the Bond films, but also had Ray under contract during... read more

Joe Bataan working in a pronounced dancefloor soul mode! While the legendary Bataan was no stranger to the fusion of Latin, soul and funk, this some of the most club soul oriented sounds from Joe we've ever heard – and the sessions are seeing official release for the first time ever! The... read more

A great live date from Batacumbele – a double-length album that really lets the group open up, stretch out, and do their thing! Given that Batacumbele's all about complicating the percussion patterns of their rhythms, the album's live, extended jams are perfect for demonstrating their best... read more

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A really top-shelf album from Justo Betancourt – a perfect illustration of the power of his vocals at their height! The set's got a really classic 70s salsa feel – a horn-heavy groove that almost effortlessly flows from a combo of strong players, topped by majestic vocals from Justo... read more

An amazing achievement for Ruben Blades – a full suite of tracks conceived and composed by Ruben as a "disco drama" on wax! The work isn't the disco-styled album you might think from this description – and is more of a mini-opera or concept album by Blades, one that features... read more

A really unique chapter in the career of percussionist Willie Bobo – a rare one-off album for Blue Note – done with a sweet Cali vibe all the way through! Bobo plays his usual percussion, but also sings a bit too – in this charming style that's never too overdone – a deeply... read more

Modern classics from Bongo-Logic – a group with a great flair for mixing the new and the old! There's plenty of jazz in this set – thanks to work from Art Webb on flute – but there's also a charanga groove going on too – with violin dancing strongly around the piano lines... read more

Smooth, chart R&B and new jack slow jams from one of the iconic groups of mid 90s urban radio in English and Spanish versions from the original album. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Dallas Austin, Babyface and the Darp Inc crew provide syrupy backing for the Boyz's sweet 90s soul harmonies. ... read more

An insanely wonderful bit of Latin funk! The groove is super heavy, and falls somewhere in between NuYorican soul and Chicano Power rock – with a sound that's pretty close to Black Sugar, but a little bit more psychedelic, due to the heavy guitars and keyboards in the grooves. Hard congas... read more

A key chapter in the rich long legacy of Candido on record – a set that pushes the percussion maestro strongly into the disco generation – with wonderful results that are still massively strong all these many years later! Candido had always been one of the funkiest conga players around... read more

A second helping of Latin Beat from Cesar's Salad – and a feverish, funky and tight set on Perfect Toy that's easily as strong its predecessor! Led by percussionist Cesar Granados – who really knocks us out on the congas – the group is a quartet with a raw approach and a live... read more

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Classic Chappottin tracks from the 60s – material done in a host of key Cuban modes – all with tight trumpet on the top, and great vocals from singers who include Miguelito Cuni, Cheo Marquetti, Rene Alvarez, and Gina Martin! The change in vocalists really keeps things fresh –... read more

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Classic work from Willie Colon – the "payoff" of his youthful hoodlum routine, and a hard-hitting batch of salsa tunes pulled from earlier records – all in a package that defines his groove of the 70s! Hector LaVoe's on vocals with Willie's group – and he's also... read more

Great stuff – and a very sharp album cut by Willie during the Latin soul era, featuring a bunch of tracks that veers more towards the boogaloo side of things than his later albums! The groove is nice and hard – stripped down with the youthful energy that Willie brought to the scene at... read more

A roots-oriented 70s classic from Willie Colon – one of his standout albums of the decade! Willie continues his "life of crime" approach for the early 70s – moving into an old west look on the cover, and matching that with a slightly rootsier sound on the album! The real... read more

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That's a pretty festive pig roast taking place on the cover of this one – and the band's got an equally festive groove to match! The set bristles with all the sharp energy we love from the early Cortijo albums – a tight, percussion-heavy approach to Latin grooves – one that's a... read more

Some hard-cooking salsa from the legendary Cortijo – a set that seems to be from later years, but which has all the sparkle of his classic early work! The horns are nice and tight, and inflected with some of the more modern touches crafted in 70s New York and Puerto Rico – and vocals... read more

A classic collection of grooves from the legendary Cortijo – most of which feature lead vocals from Ismael Rivera – mixed with a few other great tracks from later years too! Cortijo's combo was one of the leading lights of the pre-salsa scene – and his firey percussion really... read more

A classic collection of grooves from the legendary Cortijo – most of which feature lead vocals from Ismael Rivera – mixed with a few other great tracks from later years too! Cortijo's combo was one of the leading lights of the pre-salsa scene – and his firey percussion really... read more

Damn hard to go wrong with Cortijo at this point in his career – as records like this are razor-sharp, all the way through! The cooker features excellent vocals from a young Ismael Rivera – who's already got this transcendent quality that points towards larger Latin dimensions to come... read more

A great set of Latin-tinged jazz – and the first recording that Paquito D'Rivera and Arturo Sandoval had made together in many years! The set's got the angular groove of Paquito's best work of the early 80s – tight Latin jazz, with plenty of percussion at the bottom – played out... read more

An obscure but excellent session – recorded at the end of the 70s with some of the best players in the New York salsa underground! The music is extremely vibrant – and the styles of the tracks range from hard Afro-Cuban percussion grooving to tight Latin jazz in a classic mode –... read more

A soul jazz Latin classic – one that matches the searing tenor work of Eddie Lockjaw Davis with the hard-hitting conga of a young Ray Barretto! The core group of the set is a soul jazz one – with Lockjaw blowing over rhythm by Lloyd Mayers on piano, Larry Gales on bass, and Ben Riley... read more

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A drum-heavy spectacular! This is a recent recording by the folks at Soul Jazz, but it's got a rootsy sound that's timeless – heavy drums recorded in Haiti, voodoo-based and ritualistic, with no other accompaniment apart from the variety of percussion instruments used in the session. The... read more

A killer batch of work from Eastside Connection – one of the hippest soul groups on the LA scene of the 70s, and a key link to that city's older tradition of Latino soul! Eastside Connection have a sound that's a bit more smooth and aimed at the clubs than earlier LA groups of their type... read more

A stellar box set of live Fania All Stars – recorded around the world and spanning the decades – on 4CDs that organize sets recorded Live In NYC, Live From El Barrio To San Juan, Live Around The World and a bonus for 4th disc of Studio Recordings – Three Decades! Includes tracks... read more

By the mid 70s, the New York Latin scene was boomin' so large it could easily fill venues like Yankee Stadium – as you'll hear on this excellent live set from the Fania All-Stars, a monster record that easily ranks with the best live Latin sides of the time – like Eddie Palmieri at Sing... read more

A key 70s moment of pride for the New York Latin scene – and one of a number of crucial live sets cut by the legendary Fania All Stars! The group were invited to play a three day music festival in Zaire in 1974 – timed to coincide with the Rumble In The Jungle Ali/Foreman fight –... read more

A soulful 70s set from Cheo Feliciano – cut-above salsa done in close collaboration with songwriter C Curet Alonso, who wrote most of the songs on the set! Bobby Valentin handles arrangements – and the groove here has that joyous, upbeat style of his own work at the time – pushed... read more

A wicked dip into Colombian music – focused around the work of two true giants of the scene! CD1 features 21 massive tracks from Fruko – one of the hardest-hitting artists working in Colombia in the 70s – often in a sound that starts out in New York salsa, but takes all these... read more

A legendary record from one of the most unique Latin groups of their time! In an early 70s world where many Latin combos were going for class and poise, the Ghetto Brothers moved in another direction entirely – working here with a fair bit of electric guitar alongside more familiar Latin... read more

Fierce funky grooves from the legendary Nico Gomez – a set cooked up in Europe, but heavy with influences from the other side of the Atlantic – from Havana all the way up to New York! There's definitely a Latin groove to the record – one that's similar to other Gomez productions... read more

Fierce funky grooves from the legendary Nico Gomez – a set cooked up in Europe, but heavy with influences from the other side of the Atlantic – from Havana all the way up to New York! There's definitely a Latin groove to the record – one that's similar to other Gomez productions... read more

Fierce funky grooves from the legendary Nico Gomez – a set cooked up in Europe, but heavy with influences from the other side of the Atlantic – from Havana all the way up to New York! There's definitely a Latin groove to the record – one that's similar to other Gomez productions... read more

Way way more than just bossa nova – a mighty groover from the great Nico Gomez! Nico's known for his harder pounding tracks that have become favorites with the funky crowd, but this stellar album shows that Nico could also work in jazzier territory when he wanted to – as the album's a... read more

The coolest grooves we've ever heard from percussionist Henri Guedon – a really wonderful blend of Latin, Caribbean, and jazz-based influences – all filtered into a very special sound! There's plenty of percussion at the core, but there's also some sweet keyboards too – used... read more

A legendary bit of Latin from the New York scene of the 60s – recorded by a host of youthful players working under the direction of percussionist Montego Joe! The group's name is a contraction of "Harlem Youth" – a program in which all players participated, as part of an... read more

A legendary bit of Latin from the New York scene of the 60s – recorded by a host of youthful players working under the direction of percussionist Montego Joe! The group's name is a contraction of "Harlem Youth" – a program in which all players participated, as part of an... read more

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A tasty bit of salsa with a modern charanga twist – a groove that's a fair bit like Tipica 73 at times, but a bit less standard! La Sensual really have a playful sense to their music – one that lets the mix of violin, flute, and piano leap around creatively – sometimes following... read more

A killer set of percussion-heavy Latin jazz tracks – one that brings together two different generations of Latin Jazz, working here in a stripped-down groove that's totally wonderful! The album's a real stunner from the legendary late 70s run of the Latin Percussion label – the imprint... read more

A killer of a mid 70s album from Hector Lavoe – recording here as a solo act after his split from the Willie Colon group, but still with strong backings and musical supervision from Willie himself! The style here is very similar to the last few albums Lavoe recorded with Colon – a... read more

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A classic bit of 70s salsa gold from vocalist Hector Lavoe – a record done in close collaboration with Willie Colon, with whom Lavoe had worked on a great run of albums during the late 60s and early 70s! The set's got a slightly warmer and more straightforward feel than some of Willie's... read more

A classic bit of 70s salsa gold from vocalist Hector Lavoe – a record done in close collaboration with Willie Colon, with whom Lavoe had worked on a great run of albums during the late 60s and early 70s! The set's got a slightly warmer and more straightforward feel than some of Willie's... read more

A tribute to the famous romantic singer Felipe Pierela – once known as the Bolero Star Of The Americas! Given Hector LaVoe's warmth and charisma at the time, he was a perfect choice for such a project – and working here with producer Willie Colon, Hector steps into an older mode of... read more

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A really cool record from the late 60s Spanish rock scene – done with a pop-ready simplicity, but accented with some gritty, garage psych touches too! Contrabando features a newer line-up of the group, after Juan Pardo and Antonio "Junior" Morales left the group to for Juan Y... read more

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Beautiful brown-eyed soul from the Ohio scene of the 70s – just the sort of record you might have expected to hear from East LA or Spanish Harlem back in the day – but even more amazing to come from Cleveland! The group are a Latin combo at the core, but they've soaked up plenty of... read more

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Wonderful work from this New Orleans combo – a Latin act that feels like they'd be much more at home in the Spanish Harlem scene of the 60s, especially given the soulful undercurrents of this set! On previous releases, the group already showed a great talent for crafting just the right sort... read more

Funky fusion with plenty of Latin touches – a really compelling set from the Nicaraguan scene of the 70s! The album's got the same criss-crossing of influences you'd hear in some of the best Bay Area projects of this type – no surprise since Jose Chepito Areas is a key member of the... read more

A great follow-up to some of the Latin Percussion jam sessions of the late 70s – a recent recording, but one that really retains a classic vibe! The session takes the same approach as the older ones – pulling together a core batch of well-matched musicians, and letting them jam in the... read more

A great criss-crossing of grooves from the early 80s – a set that bubbles with a mixture of Latin rhythms, African inspiration, and some great jazzy Fender Rhodes! Pierre's style almost has a mixed-up, cross-Caribbean sort of vibe – that wonderful mode when things get extrapolated from... read more

An insanely wonderful album of Latin percussion – the only album we've ever seen from Cuban percussionist Lazaro Pla, aka Manteca – a date recorded in Miami in the 70s, and filled with lots of raw percussion jams! There's a massive amount of bongo work here, mostly in a very spare... read more

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A sweet mix of Spanish and Cuban styles – as Pedrito Martinez takes on some older flamenco tunes, but in ways that have a really old school Havana sort of sound! Pedrito's vocals are served up with plenty of soul – and backed with tight guitar from Nino Josele, whose dexterity on the... read more

Percussionist Sabu Martinez is one of the all-time greats of Latin music – and this record is probably the rarest he ever cut! The album came out of Sweden, where Sabu was residing during the 70s – enjoying some success as an expatriot jazz player in the European scene. The album... read more

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Colombian music, both classic and contemporary – as a group of older all-star players comes into contact with Will "Quantic" Holland! The set's easily one of the most smoking Latin-styled projects we've heard from Quantic so far – recorded in Colombia with work from Fruko,... read more

Colombian music, both classic and contemporary – as a group of older all-star players comes into contact with Will "Quantic" Holland! The set's easily one of the most smoking Latin-styled projects we've heard from Quantic so far – recorded in Colombia with work from Fruko,... read more

Nothing creeping up here – as the album takes off right from the first note, into a joyous groove that's mighty nice! The group are billed as "the youngest Latin Orchestra in the world" in the notes – and there's definitely a feel here that reflects that fact – a fresh... read more

Beastly salsa from Orquesta El Macabeo – a record that bursts out with power right from the start – soaring forth at a level that almost knocks out most classic salsa records we can think of! This youthful group just keeps getting better and better with each new release – and... read more

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A hell of a trumpeter – making his debut here on one of the grooviest albums on the legendary Latin Percussion label! The session's a bit fuller than some of the other LP albums – a crackling blend of jazz, funk, and Latin rhythms – warm, but with some pretty complicated moments,... read more

A 70s masterpiece from Eddie Palmieri – a brilliant set of Latin tracks with a modern jazz edge that's really astounding! From the first note of the record, Eddie's piano makes a bold statement of difference – edging into the rest of the group with slight modern touches, and a slightly... read more

Believe it or not, this is a crackling batch of Latin jazz tracks, featuring the alto solos of Charlie Parker and (more importantly) the arranging genius of the great Chico O'Farrill. The material was originally issued on a number of different 10" jazz LPs – some under Parker's name,... read more

Brilliant early work by one of the sharpest bandleaders of the Latin Soul era! A young Joey Pastrana leads his sharp little combo through a stunning mix of Latin jazz, Latin soul, and descarga tracks – all with the kind of hard playing, jazzy grooves, and dark edges that characterized a lot... read more

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An amazing little set – one that's got a sound we could hardly expect! The album's a unique Latin jazz session that brings together some of the best talents of the west coast scene of the late 50s – one that features arrangements from Bill Holman, Benny Carter, and Art Pepper –... read more

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Two rare gems from this legendary Latin group – both on CD for the first time ever! Big Stick is quite possibly the rarest album from Pucho & The Latin Soul brothers – and also one of the greatest, too – thanks to a wonderfully soulful vibe overall, and some wicked vocals... read more

A double-header to die for – two of the rarest albums from Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – back to back on a single CD! First up is Saffron & Soul – one of the first albums from the legendary Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – a wonderful little record that... read more

Pretty nice work from Joe Quijano – a Latin musician who never hit the bigger fame of some of his 60s and 70s contemporaries, but who always comes out sounding pretty great! The record's a nice back-to-basics session from the mid 80s – recorded in an older pachanga groove, but with a... read more

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Joyous grooves from congolero Johnny Ray – a contemporary set of salsa tracks, put together with a mix of keyboards and acoustic instrumentation at the core! Ray's conga's lost none of its edge over the years, and helps direct the group with a nice rootsy vibe – even amidst the more... read more

Not just 70s New York salsa, but a range of different styles – all packaged together with a focus that's mostly aimed at the Latin dancefloor ! Most of the work here is still relatively rootsy – pulled from the Salsa International/Mary Lou Records catalog – with a sound that's... read more

70s grooves from the New York scene – but played by a group with a strong ear for Cuban roots! Armando Sanchez's combo here really focuses on older Cuban tipico sounds – using instrumentation that's heavy on percussion, guitar, tres, and trumpet – often woven together in ways... read more

A wonderful tribute to Dizzy Gillespie – put together by trumpeter Arturo Sandoval – who can not only claim a big influence from Diz, but a number of past musical partnerships as well! The setting is great – not the simple bop mode that you'd usually get from other Diz tributes... read more

A hard-driving Latin set from early 70s Japan – served up in a non-nonsense mode that's arguably more classic than most American work of the time! The group is very heavy on percussion – with Segami in the lead, but a handful of other players providing strong accompaniment too –... read more