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Excellent bit of west coast Latin fusion -- featuring an all star band that includes such massive talents as Pete Escovedo, George Muribus, Paul Jackson, Lenny White, Coke Escovedo, and Victor Pantoja. The groove is nice and smooth, with a Bay Area early 70s sound on the production tip -- and in a... read more

Amazing work from Gato Barbieri's legendary exploration of Latin American sounds for Impulse Records -- a set that's heavy on Cuban influences, thanks to arrangements from the mighty Chico O'Farrill! The sound is sublime -- a bit fuller than some of Gato's other albums in the run, but never with... read more

A great Ray Barretto album from 1972 -- one that beautifully showcases the master percussionist as he effortlessly shifts between Latin soul and 70's salsa styles! The group's nice and lean -- with Adalberto Santiago on vocals, Papy Roman on trumpet, Louis Cruz on piano, and the great Andy... read more

Two of Ray Barretto's earliest albums, both recorded for the Riverside label at the start of his career! Latino has an approach to Latin jazz that's certainly informed by the charanga sound of the New York scene in the early 60s -- but one that's also opened up a bit more to new ideas -- bits of... read more

Stunning soul from the great Joe Bataan -- a really groundbreaking mix of modes that's right up there with the best of the Spanish Harlem scene of the late 60s! The album is Joe Bataan's debut for the Fania Records label -- and the start of an incendiary run of Latin classics that forever changed... read more

A landmark album from Joe Bataan -- so great, that it made the entire record company change its name! The record has Joe really bursting out after his seminal Latin Soul work of the late 60s -- blending Latin rhythms and American soul into a whole new style of music -- one that Joe called "Sal... read more

A brilliant set of jazzy Latin fusion -- one of Willie Bobo's best of the 70s, and a seminal crossover LP! The album takes the heavy Latin soul of Willie's earlier work, and gives it a sweet 70s twist -- adding in larger arrangements, impeccable production, and plenty of space to let the jazzy... read more

Supposedly the end of Willie Colon's early "crime" career -- as the title and cover imply that he's finally been brought to trial! Don't worry about Willie being beaten down, though, because the music on the album is every bit as fierce and powerful as ever -- and features a number of... read more

Great stuff -- and a very sharp album cut by Willie during the Latin soul era, featuring a bunch of tracks that veer 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 the time --... read more

Heavy funk from the Peruvian scene -- the massive first album from Cosa Nostra, and a burning blend of soul, Latin, and psychedelic influences! Cosa Nostra clearly come from the rock end of the spectrum, but have picked up plenty of funky grooves along the way -- and hit a genre-blending style... read more

An excellent bit of funky acoustic Latin from South America -- with a sound that's quite unique! At some level, these guys sound like acoustic guitar-driven US Latin soul acts -- like Jose Feliciano or Alzo & Udine -- but at another level, there's a lot more complicated instrumentation going... read more

Early 70s psychedelia from Sevile's Flamenco -- a group that's by no means a traditional flamenco music group by any stretch of the imagination -- actually a hard grooving 5 piece that mixed psyche, folk and Latin rock impressively! Fuzzed out guitars, heavy organ grooves and bass, boisterous... read more

The one and only album we've ever seen from this ultra-hip Latin Soul combo -- an outfit that has a sweet swinging sound, soulful lead vocals, and some nicely tripped-out guitar! The style here is a bit different than some of the other New York groups of the time -- as these guys bring the focus... read more

A stone cooker from Rene Grand -- much heavier and harder-hitting than some of his other records from the time -- and a set that's done with plenty of jazzy touches! The group's a small combo, and they pack a tight punch that recalls similar work by labelmate Joe Cuba during the time -- a stripped-... read more

A salsa Christmas from Impacto Crea -- a set recorded right around the same time as Willie Colon's classic Holiday records of this nature! Ismael Miranda and Adalberto Santiago each sing lead on one track -- and the group features Antonio Rodriguez on piano and tres, Alfredo Rios on saxes,... read more

A extremely rare album that Eric Dolphy recorded with the Latin Jazz Quintet -- a rare Latin-based side of Dolphy's career, and a set that's a bit different than the Prestige album by the same pairing! This set features a slightly different lineup of the LJQ -- one that includes Louie Ramirez on... read more

Amazing work from the New York underground of the late 60s -- an album that's as magical as its title implies! Latin definitely goes psychedelic on this one -- burning through a cloud of smoke with a brilliant blend of soul, jazz, and the hipper rhythms of the Spanish Harlem scene at the time. ... read more

2 stormers from the excellent Sensacional Soul 2 compiliation on Vampi Soul! "Hey Hey Bunny" by Los Gatos Negros kicks it off, a hard driving moddish funky tune with furious drumming, punchy horns and heavy organ grooves! "El Sol Es Una Droga" by Los Kifers is in a similar mode... read more

Killer salsa work from Peru -- rare albums from Mag Records by Los Kintos & Sonora Nelson Ferreyra -- on a single CD! We haven't seen a heck of lot of compilations of material from the Peruvian salsa scene of the 60s & 70s, and this set has tightly grooving material -- loads of wonderful... 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 mixes Latin... read more

A killer little set from Les McCann -- one of his greatest records of the 60s, thanks to a fair bit of Latin Soul influences! The album's got a groove that's much grittier than Les' other work -- a solid, soulful emphasis on bottom rhythms -- which are mostly in a boogaloo and shing-a-ling mode --... read more

Lost grooves from Spanish Harlem -- an incredible set of Latin Soul from The 107th Street Stickball Team! With a name like that, the group certainly aren't as well-remembered as contemporaries like Joe Bataan or Willie Colon, but they've got a soulful groove that definitely fits the style of the... read more

A stunning album from Orquesta Harlow -- one of their wildest of the 60s, and filled with delights! The record starts with this strange sound of a train pulling into a station, then rolls into a massive boogaloo groove that really sets the pace for the album -- hitting hard with some heavy... read more

Jazzy goodness from Eddie Palmieri -- a recent set that shows him still burning strong after a stunning 50 years in Latin music! The arrangements are spare, but extremely creative -- well-penned jazz charts that allow Eddie plenty of modern moments on the keys of the piano, but which also always... read more

One of Eddie Palmieri's greatest albums of the 70s -- even though it was recorded for a major label! Like a number of his old counterparts in the New York indie world at the time, Eddie made a move to Columbia Records in the late 70s -- a shift that should have dampened his soul, but which only... read more

A really unique little 60s Latin session from Verve -- recorded with a surprisingly stripped-down feel that you wouldn't expect from the label, given that they mostly went for a groovier pop-Latin approach at the time! Percussionists Patato Valdez and Totico join with Arsenio Rodriguez, Virgilio... read more

A lost funky treasure -- never issued before! For those not in the know, The Pazant Brothers (Ed & Al) were a duo of funky hornmen that first came to fame working with Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers -- and then moved onto cut some great funky records of their own in the 70s. The pair... read more

One of the greatest albums by this funky Latin combo! The record differs from some of their earlier Prestige albums in that the tracks are longer, more instrumental, and have a hard fuzzy electric groove. The band jams hard in a way that's more like some of the funk combos of the early 70s, than... read more

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Not really a "Broadway" album, as you might guess from the title -- although Tito and group do play a version of the soul hit "On Broadway" on the set -- but a nicely-honed set with a strong Latin jazz groove, much more back to basics than some of Tito's work from the 70s. ... read more

One of the greatest Tito Puente albums from the 50s, and a spare percussion jam session that's right up there with his legendary Puente In Percussion album! The group features Mongo Santamaria, Bill Correa, Julito Collazo, and Enrigue Marti on percussion with Tito -- and the only other additional... read more

One of the funkiest Mexican groups at the end of the 60s -- a hard-hitting combo who could almost go head to head with any American ensemble of the funky 45 generation! Rabbits & Carrots work in a mostly-instrumental mode here -- a style that has just a slight element of Latin in the rhythms,... read more

A rare Atlantic session from Latin legend Louie Ramirez -- and one of his tightest and hardest-hitting albums of the pre-Latin Soul years! The record features Louie really grooving hard with a group co-led by Ozzie Torrens -- one that mixes just the right amount of jazz into the mix to keep things... read more

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An incredible record and very unique -- cut around the same time as Arsenio's rare boogaloo album for Tico Records! Like that session, this one has a style in which Arsenio is featured in a larger group -- playing with a raspy edge that really steps out in front of the fuller instruments and... read more

Like the title says, this is Pete Rodriguez's Christmas album. You might expect a lot of soppy Christmas carols, but still, the groove's pretty groovy, and there are a few nice boogaloos -- so forget the holiday component of this one, and check it out for the Latin grooves. Titles include "Bo... read more

One of Mongo's biggest records of the early 70s -- and an important early side for Atlantic Records! Moving to Atlantic from Columbia, Mongo hipped things up even more -- picking up on important trends in soul, rock, and the Latin underground of the time. Atlantic gave Mongo the freedom to open... read more

A killer album of hard instrumental Latin soul tracks -- one of the few albums ever done by funky reed player Mauricio Smith! On the set, Smith plays flute, alto, and soprano sax -- and the record's filled with short little groovers that have a nice choppy sound, and lots of heavy conga work by... read more

A long-overdue collection of work -- one that really gets at the unusual appearance of Latin rhythms on the African scene of the postwar years! Latin sounds from Africa are nothing new, but they're one of those things that's always taken for granted, too -- kind of assumed in most discussions of... read more

A great collection of tracks -- even if it does suffer from the same sort of embarassing postcolonial colonialism that tinges most of the other Luaka Bop compilations. But once you get past that, the music's pretty darn great -- and the set does a very valuable job of unearthing lost funky and... read more

Amazing Latin grooves from the New York scene of the 60s -- and a set that goes way past the obvious to collect tracks from a range of different labels! Unlike other collections of Latin Soul and boogaloo, which are always heavy on entries from the Fania catalog, this set features much more... read more

A spicy mix of Latin styles from the Peruvian scene of the late 60s -- a wonderfully mixed up batch of modes that goes way beyond the more familiar grooves of the New York scene! The work here is a bit like some of the most inventive styles from Colombia and Panama at the same time -- music that... read more

A spicy mix of Latin styles from the Peruvian scene of the late 60s -- a wonderfully mixed up batch of modes that goes way beyond the more familiar grooves of the New York scene! The work here is a bit like some of the most inventive styles from Colombia and Panama at the same time -- music that... read more

The ninth volume in the incredible Love, Peace & Poetry series -- this one devoted to psychedelic tunes from Turkey! The set wonderfully melds Turkish folk styles with western rock, pop and funk influences, along with strains of sounds from other sections of the groovy globe! Like the other... read more

Hard hitting Spanish funk, soul, r&b and moddish gems - the second volume of Sensacional Soul from the late 60s and into early 70s, even better than the first volume -- and a treasure from the folks at Vampi Soul! The Spanish soul sound here is rugged and raw, usually with furious drums,... read more

The rebirth of the Afro-Cuban groove on the New York scene of the 70s -- a dozen recordings in the "new traditionalist" sound of the time! After the boom of the Latin Soul sound of the late 60s, and the rise of salsa in the early 70s, there was also a "back to basics" movement... read more