Latin — All Formats  

One of the greatest albums of Latin Jazz ever recorded on the west coast during the 50s – and a landmark session from Jack "Mr Bongo" Costanzo! The album well earns its "fever" claim – as the set smokes from the very first note – Jack's bongos calling the pace, moving fast and furiously to pull in a jazzy mix of tenor, trumpet, flute, and piano – the latter of which is played by the great Eddie Cano! The whole thing's wonderful – as compelling musically as the great image on the front cover, and without any of the kitsch, tricks, or gimmicks that could sometimes hurt a session like this. No-nonsense Latin jazz all the way through – and filled with great tracks that include "Hornacopia", "Latin Fever", "Bajo Numero Uno", "Sax Con Ritmo", "Drum a Mania", and "Cumbanchero".

One of the best collaborations between Puerto Rican bandleader Kako and swingin' Panamanian vocalist Azuquita – and one of the seminal albums from the amazing late 60s era of West Side Latino Records! The record's got a number of nice tracks written by Louie Ramirez, including a few groovy boogaloos like "Panama's Boogaloo", "Aunque No Tengo Dinero", "Shingaling Shingaling", and "Cool Jerk", which is a Latin cover of the Capitols' hit. The title track "Live it Up" is, on top of being one of the most apt titles for a record we've come across in a while, a real pounder of Latin soul track with vocals by Bobby Marin. The whole thing adds up to one of those driving, heavily percussive Latin gems that we would surely have a hard time living without – and a real joy to see repressed on vinyl!

Not so much an introduction to Latin jazz, as it a wonderful collection of Latin-tinged tunes from the mighty catalog of Blue Note Records – and not just New York and Cuban Latin grooves, but also a fair bit of bossa nova and Brazilian sounds too! The 3CD package is overflowing with goodness – and titles include a range of killer Blue Note gems from the 60s – plus related cuts from labels like Capitol, Liberty, and World Pacific. The groove changes nicely throughout the set, and the instrumentation is superb – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Sandalia Dela" by Duke Pearson, "Chitlins Con Carne" by Kenny Burrell, "Loie" by Ike Quebec, "Samba De Orfeu" by Charlie Rouse, "Bossa For Baby" by Hank Mobley, "South Of The Border" by Lou Donaldson, "Rhapsodia Del Maravilloso" by Sabu Martinez, "Minors Holiday" by Kenny Dorham, "Congalere" by Horace Parlan, "Ghana" by Donald Byrd, "Latin Fever" by Jack Costanzo, "No Problem" by Jerome Richardson, "Girl From Ipanema" by Lou Rawls, "Rojo" by Bobby Hutcherson, and "Thousand Finger Man" by Candido. 38 tracks in all!