Brilliant work from the Picante label – the Latin-styled offshoot of the main Concord Records imprint – home
to some of the best west coast Latin music for the past few decades! At a time when so many other labels were going for hits and crossover material, Picante started things out right with a real back-
to-basics approach
to Latin jazz – one that s
tripped the music back down
to its roots, and focused on key instrumental contributions from top-shelf players. This approach continued even when the label moved into some vocal work too – and when it took on the amazing Tania Maria, who brought a bit of
Brazilian flavor
to their roster too – and over the years, Picante's west coast work really took over the helm from New York gians like Fania or Alegre. This 4CD package is filled with Picante gems from the glory days of the label – and titles include "Spain" by Tito Puente, "Mambo Mindoro" by Cal Tjader, "Think Twice" by Monty Alexander's Ivory & Steel, "Up Late" by Jeff Linsky, "Soca Me Nice" by Mongo Santamaria, "Night In Tunisia" by Caribbean Jazz Project, "Ran Kan Kan (Thunderball vs Fort Knox Five rmx)" by Tito Puente, "La Voz Del Caribe" by Eddie Palmieri, "La Cuna" by Pete Escovedo, "El Shing A Ling" by Poncho Sanchez, "Bom Bom Bom Tchi Tchi Tchi" by Tania Maria, "Sonando" by Poncho Sanchez, "Evil Ways" by Carmen McRae & Cal Tajder, and lots lots more. 50 tracks in all!