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A Latin soul treasure from Bobby Matos – quite different than his straighter jazzy work of recent years, and a stone cooker to rival the best of the New York indies in the late 60s! Like cookers on Fania and Cotique, the set's got a groove that's rooted in descarga – with loads of great percussion and jazzy instrumentation – then mixed with a heady dose of late 60s Spanish Harlem soul, which means that there's some good boogaloo elements on the set that really start things on fire – a massive groove that goes way beyond standard Latin, and which has made the record a treasure for years! Nearly ever cut's a killer – and titles include "Raices", "Mambo Maxims", "Trailo A Casa", "Caliente Y Grasoso", "Up In Alfred's Pad", and "Ritchie's Boogaloo". Essential

An album that definitely lives up to its title – as congolero Francisco Aguabella comes on hard, hitting strong throughout – and serving up a wicked blend of Latin, funk, and soul! The mid 70s set is a standout recording from Aguabella – done after he left the group Malo, and one of the best west coast takes on the modes that scene was changing up from New York at the time – really transforming the sound of contemporary Latin with a trans-genre vibe that was easily some of the most revolutionary music of the period. Rhythms are acoustic, but there's a nice dose of electric energy too, thanks to some sweet keyboards. Some cuts have English vocals, others are instrumental – and titles include "Hitting Hard", "I Wanna Know", "Cisco", "Image of a Star" and a nice version of Edu Lobo's "Casa Forte".

A masterpiece of Latin jazz – and one of the truest expressions of the genre we can think of! The album's quite unique, especially for the time – a spare, stripped-down presentation of Latin-influenced jazz – a sound that has its roots in the cubop experiments of a decade before, but which comes off here with even more dynamic energy! Sabu's sound is quite different from the more staid styles of the cha cha/charanga generation at the time of this recording – and thanks to his own heavy conga, percussion from Louie Ramirez, trumpet from Marty Sheller, and alto sax from Bobby Porcelli, the whole album bristles with electricity and excitement. The horn solos are given plenty of room to do their thing – space you might find more on Blue Note or Prestige – and Sabu adds in some great sparer percussion bits too. Titles include "The Oracle", "Breakin' It In", "Flipping", "Nica's Dream", "Otra Vez", and lots lots more great ones!