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A fantastic bit of lost funky Latin soul from Bobby Marin's Los Africanos – a killer Nuyorican funk record that's languished unreleased until now – probably the best rescued record to appear on the Acid Jazz label in years! The album is an exceptional mix of styles, as it came at the dawn of the disco era, allowing a deeper sense of dancefloor soul, but the killer Latin funk percussion, brass and tripped out keys are a common thread. The tunes have also have a tendency to change the dynamic midstream, without compromising the hard grooving core, and if anything ratchets up the excitement. The opener "Do It" sets the stage, purportedly made at an Ocho recording session with arrangements by Ocho's Chico Mendoza, and other tracks include killer covers of "Love The One You're With" and "It's Your Thing", "Diempre Junto A Ti", the more delicate and vibes flavored "Siempre Junto A Ti", "Pamoja Watu", "Monster Party", "Estamos Como Estamos".

One of the wildest albums in the history of Latin music – a crazy batch of Latin soul tunes made by Louie Ramirez under the alter ego of Ali Baba! The album starts with Ali saying "I hope you buy this album. I need the bread to buy a couple of camels. You see, I haven't had a hump in about a month!" – then rolls into a massively grooving tune entitled "Ungawa". This blend of Middle Eastern, African, and Latin themes in such short space – however goofball – really gets at the expansive feel of the set, as Louie's stepping way past the simple format of his earlier years, into the tripped-out styles that the Latin kids were digging in the late 60s. The album's even got a secret message hidden by backward masking – but even the forward bits are great, especially the tunes that cook with English lyrics by Bobby Marin! Titles include "I Dig Rhythm", "Ungawa", "Ali Baba", "Cookin' with Ali", "Yambu", "It's Not What You Say", and "Cachita".

One of the best collaborations between Puerto Rican bandleader Kako and swingin' Panamanian vocalist Azuquita – and one of the seminal albums from the amazing late 60s era of West Side Latino Records! The record's got a number of nice tracks written by Louie Ramirez, including a few groovy boogaloos like "Panama's Boogaloo", "Aunque No Tengo Dinero", "Shingaling Shingaling", and "Cool Jerk", which is a Latin cover of the Capitols' hit. The title track "Live it Up" is, on top of being one of the most apt titles for a record we've come across in a while, a real pounder of Latin soul track with vocals by Bobby Marin. The whole thing adds up to one of those driving, heavily percussive Latin gems that we would surely have a hard time living without – and a real joy to see repressed on vinyl!

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 time – a sweet uptown blend of Harlem soul and Latin rhythms – with the same blend of sweet soul ballads and uptempo groovers you'd find on some of Bataan's classic albums for Fania Records! Bobby Marin put the whole album together, with a tight groove that's very similar to his work for Speed Records – played here by a group that includes Orlando Marin, Louie Ramirez, Ozzie Torrens, and Joey Pastrana – all kings of Latin Soul at the time! Vocalists include Butch Johnson and Danny Agosto – but there's a real group feel to the record, with lots of harmonies behind the lead – the kind of streetcorner soul you might have heard while catching a stickball game on one of the side streets up north of Harlem. Titles include "Toma Guajira", "Look To Me", "You Put A Hurt In My Heart", "Rhythm & Soul", "Mojo Shingaling", "Barbara With The Kooky Eyes", "Tell Her I Love Her", and "Let Me Do My Thing". CD features 3 bonus tracks by The Nitty Sextet, all previously unissued – "Nitty Boo Boo", "Something New", and "Say Listen".

One of the best collaborations between Puerto Rican bandleader Kako and swingin' Panamanian vocalist Azuquita – and one of the seminal albums from the amazing late 60s era of West Side Latino Records! The record's got a number of nice tracks written by Louie Ramirez, including a few groovy boogaloos like "Panama's Boogaloo", "Aunque No Tengo Dinero", "Shingaling Shingaling", and "Cool Jerk", which is a Latin cover of the Capitols' hit. The title track "Live it Up" is, on top of being one of the most apt titles for a record we've come across in a while, a real pounder of Latin soul track with vocals by Bobby Marin. The whole thing adds up to one of those driving, heavily percussive Latin gems that we would surely have a hard time living without – and a real joy to see repressed on vinyl!

Long overdue – and totally great! This beautiful 2CD set brings together all the early jazz recordings of Sacha Distel – an artist who went onto become a pop vocalist in 60s France, but who was a great jazz guitarist in his early days! Distel was a key part of the transition in French jazz of the 50s – as he took the guitar, and played in a style that was much more modern than that of older Parisian players – especially Django Reinhardt. His playing had a clean and clear approach that was really great, and which shines anew again in this excellent package. The set features work from the following sessions: an orchestral date with backing by Billy Byers; a quintet session with Bobby Jaspar; another quintet date with Hubert Fol on piano; the soundtrack to the Roger Vadim film Les 7 Peches Capitaux; and a stunning album recorded in 1968 with Slide Hampton. This last session is especially great, as it was a "back to jazz" date for Distel, and featured some great orchestrations that mixed together light orchestrations from Hampton, breezy guitar, and even a bit of bossa. The set's got a total of 26 tracks on 2CDs, and titles include "Saki", "Marina", "Blue Waltz De L'Orgueil", "Half Nelson", "Stop & Go", "No Sad Song For Sacha", "Competition", "Scotch Bop", and "A Piece Of Pizza".

An incredible collection from Honest Jons – and like some of the rest of their best, music we never would have heard otherwise! The focus here is on calypso music, but recorded in West Africa – not the usual Caribbean setting – a very unusual strain of styles that cropped up in the fading colonial years of the British Empire – as rhythms were routed southward to Africa, via Caribbean migration to the London scene – making for some really fresh sounds in the end! The work is often much heavier on percussion than its more familiar variant – and other instrumentation includes some great horn parts, and bits of guitar – alongside vocals on most numbers. As usual, the notes are historically helpful and very well done – and titles include "Scrubbs Na Marvellous Boy" and "Poor Freetown Boy" by Famous Scrubbs, "Olubunmi" by Roy Chicago, "Ariwo" by Chris Ajilo & His Cubanos, "Taxi Driver" and "Gentlemen Bobby" by Bobby Benson & His Combo, "Mami" by The Rhythm Aces, "Arria Baby" and "Fire Fire Fire" by Ebenezer Calender & His Maringer Band, "Tree & The Monkey" by ET Mensah, and "Yabomisa Sawale" by Victor Olaiya.