Latin — All Formats  

A nice jammer from the "second wind" period of CTI – and a strong return to Latin jazz for Ray! The set's a great mixture of smooth CTI electric funk and Latin-oriented grooves – and it features work by Ray on congas and percussion, plus a list of players that includes Tito Puente, Charlie Palmieri, Steve Gadd, John Tropea, Carlos Franzetti, and Willie Torres. The melds the styles beautifully – with plenty of languid, rubbery jamming with percussion that thumps just hard enough! Really kind of a stunner from '79 – one that came at welcome time for both Barretto and CTI! Includes the great electric Latin groover "Mambotango", plus "The Old Castle", "La Cuna", and a sublime vocal remake of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise"!

This famous Latin combo hits the early 60s, and lays down a stock session of pachanga and charanga cuts, infused with lively guitar parts, and some lovely female vocals. Tracks include "Yo No Se", "Cafe Y Pan", "The Don Jose Pachanga", "Pachanga Pa'Gozar", and "Bilongo".

Excellent stuff! Although Eddie Cano cut a lot of pop-Latin piano records, this hard jazzy groover is a firey bunch of instrumentals that stands as one of his best records ever! The set's got a tight west coast group that includes a tight trumpet frontline, plus timbales, bass, and congas – all supporting Eddie's lively piano. The album's got a few nice originals from Eddie – like "Ican", "Baila Pachanga", and "Pancero Mambero" – plus great jazzy numbers like "Tin Tin Deo", "Nightingale", and "Line For Lyons". Truly one of Eddie's best, and a hard one to find!

A lost Latin cooker from Alfredito Linares – recorded in Peru during the early 70s, but with a vibe that's right up there with the best New York albums from the Latin Soul scene of the late 60s! Like other South American sets from the time, this one holds onto a groove that American Latin acts had already discarded – a tight mix of boogaloo and other soulful styles that are very heavy on the rhythms – played by a small combo with a joyous, energetic vibe! There's loads of dark piano lines dipping and turning alongside the rhythms – really giving the record a sinister undercurrent – and the horn parts are tight, but never dominate too much – leaving room for the Spanish language vocals over the top. Titles include "Boogaloo Girl", "Guaguanco En Onda", "Recuerdame", "Pa Juga Nama", "A Los Timbaleros", "La Salsa Va A Comenzar", and "Macchu Picchu". CD also features 2 bonus cuts – "Yo No Soy Guapo" and "Sujetate La Lengua".