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Another tasty batch of short firey Latin tracks from Tito's immediate post-RCA years! The cuts are a nice mix of mambo jazz numbers and guarachas, with a few cha chas thrown in – and they all have that tight raw sound that made Tito's Tico work so much better than most of his 50s stuff. Here's your chance to hear the master bandleader in action – especially on the cuts "Samba-Roco", "Agua-Nile", "Vaya Puente", "Timbalero", and "Chino". Tough to find on wax!

A soulful 70s set from Cheo Feliciano – cut-above salsa done in close collaboration with songwriter C Curet Alonso, who wrote most of the songs on the set! Bobby Valentin handles arrangements – and the groove here has that joyous, upbeat style of his own work at the time – pushed forward strongly with basslines from Bobby, plus Ray Barretto on congas, Vinnie Bell on guitar, Dave Carey on vibes, and Larry Harlow on piano. The core combo's nice and tight, and gives the album a personal feel that matches the tunes nicely – and titles include "Nabori", "Salome", "Guaguanco Te Dedico", and "Hace Furo", a nice jazzy mambo track.

A later recording by Pupi, but with a nice traditional sound – played by a small combo that has a tight charanga feel. The tracks are a bit longer than the old days, which is nice, and Pupi plays flute and violin, and sings a bit. Titles include "El Niche", "Sabroso Como El Guarapo", "Canallon", and "Deuda/Amalia Batista".

Sweet electric funk from the great Mongo Santamaria – a great little 70s album that's filled with plenty of warm fusion touches, and some especially nice saxophone work from Justo Almario! The groove here is heavy on the Fender Rhodes – and Mongo uses the electric keys in all the right ways to spice up the tunes a lot more than before – showing a sound that's quite new for the 70s, and very different than the style of most of his earlier work! The sound is sophisticated, but never sleepy – almost a CTI-meets-Fania sort of style – with production that respects both the chunky rhythms at the bottom and the sweeter jazzy on the top! Titles include a funky cover of "Lady Marmalade", plus "Funk Down", "Mambo Mongo", "The Promised Land", "Creepin", and "Funk Up".

Johnny Pacheco's working here with vocalist Luis Angel Silva Nava – also known as "Melon", hence the title and cover! The album's a crackling batch of straight samba from the 70s – played by a sharp little group with Sonny Bravo on piano, Luiz Perico Ortiz on trumpet, Luis Mangual on bongos, Charlie Rodriguez on tres, and Pacheco himself on both flute and percussion – both of which are handled with a slightly classic vibe. Production is nice and clean – like the best Vaya dates from the time – and the album does a great job of balancing Latin roots with the more youthful energy of the 70s New York scene. Titles include "Don Toribio Carambola", "Compay Anton", "Solo Estoy", "Vera Cruz", "Jicamo y Salsa", and "Nuestra Cita".

A classic Mongo Santamaria record from the late 70's – one of the best of his albums for Vaya, filled with nice electric-tinged grooves, and some great work in the Latin fusion mode! The sound's different from his 60's recordings, with more of a jazzy vibe, and a sound that's a little bit more laid back – but also wonderfully majestic, stretching out with the same sort of warm electric touches that Ray Barretto used on his classic set The Other Road from a few years before. There's loads of nice Fender Rhodes in the set – and tracks include "Five On The Color Side", "Iberia", "Cruzan", "Spring Song", and "O Mi Shango".

A wonderful full album from keyboardist Jessica Lauren – a London talent we've loved for years, and have watched mature deeply over the past few decades! Jessica's keyboards have graced a number of key recordings from the past 20 years or so on the British scene – but she's issued woefully few albums under her own name, which makes this jazzy session an even greater treat! Jessica plays acoustic piano and organ on the record – the latter of which still brings in some of the more electric modes we know from her roots – while the piano tones ring out with a beautifully earthy feel – alongside bass, drums, and a heck of a lot of percussion – more than enough to bring in plenty of Latin and other global elements to the music! Most tunes are instrumentals, but the set does feature guest vocals from Jocelyn Brown on the tracks "Happiness Train" and "I Believe". Instrumental cuts include "The Name Of Fela Will Always Stand For Freedom", "White Mountain", "Vaya Con Dios", "Dogtown", "Gangaman", and "Mel Benson".

An amazing little set – one that's got a sound we could hardly expect! The album's a unique Latin jazz session that brings together some of the best talents of the west coast scene of the late 50s – one that features arrangements from Bill Holman, Benny Carter, and Art Pepper – making an unusual but remarkable appearance here in a Latin mode! The group's nicely stripped down with bongos by both Jack Costanzo and Mike Pacheco – plus drums by Chuck Flores, bass by Ben Tucker, and piano from Russ Freeman. But the real strength of the set is the horn players – including not just Pepper on alto, but also Conte Candoli on trumpet, and Bill Perkins on tenor – all coming together in tightly crafted head arrangements that swing around the rhythm wonderfully – then breaking out in short but sharp solos that really knock the socks off the session! The whole thing's totally great – and proof that the LA scene could cook with the best of them, given the right sort of setting. Titles include "Mucho Calor", "Vaya Hombre Vaya", "Pernod", "I Love You", and "Mambo De La Pinta".

Not the most authentic Brazilian album you'll ever find – but a great batch of bossa jazz tracks! The set was put together in New York by pianist Bill Potts, and it features some great work by Zoot Sims on tenor, Louie Ramirez on percussion, Chano Pozo on conga, and a special unnamed guest artist on vibes! We're guessing that this artist can't be listed because of contractual reasons, but his playing is great, and the vibes give the record a great added touch. Includes a version of "Samba Saravah/My Heart Loves The Samba" from A Man & A Woman – plus "Brasilville", "Teach Me Tonight", "Que Se Vaya", and "Forgetting You".

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 voices! The group's a great one – playing here with a few early Latin Soul touches, and in a way that mixes together different modes in a really unusual approach to the grooves. Arsenio's sound is still quite rootsy, but the larger backings are quite tight – and often done with a nod to more popular soul modes of the time. The whole thing was put together by producer Bert Berns, with arrangements by the great Artie Butler – and it's got a freewheeling New York groove that's as close to Latin Soul as Arsenio ever came! Includes Latin Soul versions of "Hang On Sloopy" and "La Bamba", plus the tracks "La Yuca", "Tres Marias", "Randy", "Vaya P'al Monte", and "El Elemento Del Bronx", a groovy guaguanco track!

Not just 70s New York salsa, but a range of different styles – all packaged together with a focus that's mostly aimed at the Latin dancefloor ! Most of the work here is still relatively rootsy – pulled from the Salsa International/Mary Lou Records catalog – with a sound that's got a bit more grit than contemporaneous work from labels like Fania or Vaya. But that doesn't stop the music from being great – and the racks here really roll out with a very vibrant feel throughout! Titles include "I Regret" by Orchestra Capri, "Aprendelo Como Yo" by Bobby Quesada, "Puerto Rico Guaguanco" by Orchestra Tentacion, "Descarga 72" by Willie Rodriguez, "Salsa Tropical" by Orchestra Capri, "A La Memoria Del Muerto" by Dominica, "Sono Mi Guaguanco" by Raphie Martiniez, "Los Que Lloran Son Los Ninos" by Willie Rodriguez, and "Something Right" by Cucaracha Brass.

Rare grooves in many flavors – a wonderful collection of rare gems from the American 70s underground – and a set that's overflowing with cuts from some of the most valuable albums of the period! The core vibe here is jazz, but there's also a lot more going on too – bits of funk, some spiritual touches, and some downright soulful moments too – all presented in a set of tracks that really lives up to the "deep" in the title – a bit like Gilles Peterson pulling together music of this nature, but as if he dug even deeper than usual! Titles include "Shake Your Poo Poo (45 version)" by Earl Carter & The Fantastic 6, "Vaya Mulatto" by Stone Alliance, "Free Man" by George Freeman, "African Rhythms (45 version part 1)" by Oneness Of Juju, "Mr PC" by Mike Selesia, "Destroy The Nihilist Picnic" by London Experimental Jazz Quartet, "Intergalactic Love Song (alt mix)" by The Diddys with Paige Douglas, "Ain't Got No I Got Life" by Nina Simone, "Only Yesterday" by Weldon Irvine, "Afra Jum (alt take)" by Francisco Mora Catlett, and "Dream Come True (part 1)" by Three Of Us.

An insane bit of choppy jazz funk – and easily the best record ever cut by this monster combo! The group's a trio of jazz fusion luminaries – with Steve Grossman on tenor, Don Alias on drums and percussion, and Gene Perla on bass and piano – and the best cuts have a raw chopping groove to them that other groups at the time were trying to cop, but could never match! Includes the insane break track "Sweetie Pie", plus Stevie Wonder's "Creepin", "Duet", "King Tut", "Samba De Negro" and "Vaya Mulatto".

Very soulful work from singer Ismael Rivera – working here with some sharp arrangements by Javier Vazquez, in a groove that's totally great! As with other Vaya sessions of the time, there's a strong undercurrent of tradition in the rhythms – a return to Latin roots at the height of the 70s salsa years, in a way that gives the record a really timeless feel overall – right in keeping with Rivera's approach to the vocals. Players in the group include Carlos Malcolm on timbales and Chocolate Armenteros on trumpet – and titles include "El Nazarena", "Que Te Pasa A Ti", "Witinila", "Orgullosa", "Traigo De Todo", "El Niche", and "Satelite".

That's a pretty festive pig roast taking place on the cover of this one – and the band's got an equally festive groove to match! The set bristles with all the sharp energy we love from the early Cortijo albums – a tight, percussion-heavy approach to Latin grooves – one that's a rougher contrast to some of the polish on the New York scene of the early 60s – speared through with soulful vocals from a young Ismael Rivera! The album's a cracker throughout – filled with lively tracks that never seem to let up the groove – and titles include a great Latin jazz version of "Volare", plus "Oriza", "Que Le Paso?", "Mofongo Pelao", and "Solavaya".