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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 ...

Wonderful early work from Ray Barretto -- proof that he was one heck of a hip cat, even at the start! The album's got 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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

One of the grooviest groups of the Latin Soul scene -- but they'd have to be, given their name! The Latin Souls are a vocal group with a really soulful feel -- a great link between the earlier harmony sounds that were bubbling under in Spanish Harlem, and some of the hipper rhythms that were ...

Boogaloo -- and nothing but! This is the kind of groovy Latin soul record you always hope to find when digging for Latin sides -- and it's got that perfect mix of soul vocals and sock-boogaloo grooves that some of the best young combos were turning out in the late 60s. Bennito and crew have a ...

A fantastic little Latin soul album -- cut by bandleader Hector Rivera, and the Latin Renaissance soul group. The group sings in a warm harmony vocal style, with three female singers, and one male. Hector's in fine fine form laying down some jazzy Latin backings -- and the record's got a hard ...

Killer Latin soul! This record is one of the hardest to find from the late 60's boogaloo era, and it's a massive stormer filled with tasty grooves! The band is small and tight, with a 2-sax frontline, for an extra-soulful sound. Vocals are in English and Spanish, and the album wails away like a ...

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 ...

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- ...

A monster album of Latin soul -- arguably the greatest record ever cut by Hector Rivera! The record's a rare cooker that never lets up at all -- a non-stop boogaloo party that definitely lives up to its swinging cover image -- and which is quite different than most other albums from Hector! ...

Brilliant early work from a young Willie Colon -- a true hustler if there ever was one! The album has an amazing energy that really bridges a number of Latin scenes -- it's part descarga jamming, part Latin soul, and part traditional Latin -- put together with a no-nonsense approach that makes the ...

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 ...

Eddie Palmieri's work for the Coco label is some of his best of the 70s, and this album is no exception -- and while the title may call the record "unfinished", it sounds pretty darn well done to our ears -- far better than most other Latin sides of the time! The album includes a moody ...

A seminal bit of 70s Latin from Eddie Palmieri -- a rull, rich session that really earns its "sun" title! Eddie's working here in that complicated approach to jazzy rhythms from the later Tico years -- inflected by a bit of straighter salsa rhythms -- in a style that proved that it never ...

Stone Latin funk from the great Willie Bobo -- tracks recorded during his prime early 70s years with the Bo-Gents, but never issued until now! The material was found by Bobo's son on some lost master tapes -- but it's easily some of the funkiest, most hard-hitting Willie Bobo ever recorded -- and ...

A legendary Latin funk album -- spearheaded by Eddie Palmieri! The record is a landmark crossover album from the early 70s -- cut at the end of the Latin soul era, but featuring that genre's wonderful mix of Puerto Rican soul, Spanish Harlem Latin, and New York funk. The grooves are all nice and ...

Joe Bataan is alive and well -- and to our ears, the king of Latin Soul is sounding better than he has in decades! This tasty little set really takes us back to Joe's classic work for Fania -- but it's also got a slightly different twist -- one that shows a new younger appreciation of the funk ...

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 ...

The rare first album by Ocho -- and a killer batch of Latin tracks that breaks down all definitions of the music! Ocho were a seminal group in the NuYorica scene of the early 70s -- blending soul, funk, Latin, jazz, and other styles into a groove that was perhaps a bit too complicated for the ...

One of our favorite Latin soul albums ever -- a rollicking mix of upbeat party tracks, gentle ballads, and more -- all handled with the undeniable magic that is Joe Bataan at his best! The album kicks off with the fantastic groover "Subway Joe" -- a hilarious tune about Joe trying to ...

One of Candido's funkiest albums! The record's got a similar sound to Candido's great albums for Blue Note and Solid State -- with short, hard funky tunes that have a really great 70s edge! Chico O'Farrill did the arrangements, and the record chops along nicely with some very funky tracks that ...

One of our favorite Ray Barretto albums of the 60s -- a real gem from the pre-Latin Soul years! The album's a clear attempt to cash in on the cash in on the James Bond craze of the time -- issued by United Artists, who were releasing the Bond films, but also had Ray under contract during the ...

An incredible album of Latin Funk -- recorded in Peru during the early 70s, but right up there with the best from New York and LA at the time! The record has a fantastic style that blends together electric instrumentation, acoustic percussion, and some sweetly soulful lyrics -- in English on all ...

Killer material, and one of Willie's best-ever albums for Verve! The album's filled with groovy numbers that hit the good mix of soul and Latin that was coming out of the New York scene at the time -- and Willie delivers all of it with a tight jazzy sound that works great with the titles. ...

There's a slightly rootsy groove to this 70s set from Conjunto Candela -- a cool mix of salsa-styled trumpet lines with tres from Tony Velez -- a mode that's similar to some of the groups working on the Vaya and International labels at the time! Vocals are by Louie Rodriguez and Charlie Romero -- ...

One of the best-selling albums ever from the team of Ricardo Ray & Bobby Cruz -- and a key set that marked a sharp dedication to spirituality in their music! The rhythms here are strongly in the best salsa mode the pair was forging in the 70s -- heavy piano from Ricardo, and majestic vocals ...

One of Mongo's best Columbia LPs, and a totally hard hitting live set recorded with a very strong Latin jazz feel! The group's got some of Mongo's best players ever -- like Hubert Laws and Bobby Porcelli -- and the album's got lots of hard horn solos, and a good good groove throughout. Cuts ...

One of the best albums ever by Mr. Bongo! This one was recorded live at the Garden Of Allah, and it features Jack Costanzo leading up a tight little group of congas/bass/drums/piano, plus some nice tenor work by Jay Corre. Tracks include "Garden Of Allah Bongo", "La Cumparasa" ...

We know, we know -- sounds like a snoozer -- but it's not! Sure, the record's titled "Tito In Love", which makes you feel that there's some lush romantic tracks of the sort you like to fall asleep to -- but Tito actually breaks out the groove on a number of strong tracks, and he also ...

Slamming Latin from drummer Frank Hernandez -- a real 60s cooker that grooves with the best from New York at the time! The group's really got the "ritmico" component of the set down strongly -- as the percussion is fast, frenetic, and really dominates the arrangements -- so much so that ...

Killer Latin soul from Pucho and crew -- and an album that's one of their greatest! The record is also one of the earliest by the group, and it features a different lineup than later ones -- with William Bivens on vibes, Claude Bartee on tenor, and Vince McEwan on trumpet. There's a bit more of a ...

Killer Latin from South American drummer Frank Hernandez -- easily the king of the scene on his side of the globe! Frank's taking a key cue here from the harder sound of the New York scene of the time -- and the record's overflowing with great little tracks that mix together heavy percussion, ...

Smoking early work from the team of Ricardo Ray and Bobby Cruz -- the kind of record that marked the pair as one of the freshest new voices to hit Latin music in the New York scene of the 60s! The rhythms and modes are all familiar ones, but they're delivered with a different sort of edge here -- ...

Killer stuff all around! This album's a monster -- one of Ray's greatest, with the same sort of Latin Soul groove heard famously on his classic Acid LP. The record has Ray cutting across many genres -- blending Latin, soul, jazz, and a slight bit of funk -- all into a set of grooves that never ...

A wonderful batch of Latin Jazz grooves -- from a group who more than deserved the right to call themselves the Latin Jazz Quintet! The core sound features vibes and piano jamming away nicely, really hitting some great modal rhythms -- but this album's also got an added bonus in the presence of ...

The only album ever cut by conga player Armando Peraza -- the killer percussionist who worked with Cal Tjader in the 60s! The album's got a very similar feel to Cal's work of the time -- blending together jazz, Latin, and groovy 60s rhythms -- with lots of percussion on the bottom, and ...

A smoking descarga session from the 60s -- one of the best albums ever by percussionist Kako! The album explodes with wonderful jazzy playing, and features 4 very long tracks that are stuffed with great solo work on piano and sax -- bubbling over in heavy percussive excitement, with the best Latin ...

An insanely great record -- filled with lots of odd twists and turns, and done in a really unusual way! The session is an obscure one that features Pharoah Sanders joining the tight combo, who are working here with a very different sound than usual! Earlier Latin Jazz Quintet albums have the ...

An insanely wonderful bit of Latin funk! The groove is super heavy, and falls somewhere in between NuYorican soul and Chicano Power rock -- with a sound that's pretty close to Black Sugar, but a little bit more psychedelic, due to the heavy guitars and keyboards in the grooves. Hard congas take ...

Frank's definitely got a new sound on this album -- one that's even groovier than before! The record still has Hernandez hitting that hard New York Latin groove that make all his 60s sets so nice -- but he's also working here in a more instrumental mode, and one that's got more than a few jazzy ...

Amazing early work from Ricardo Ray -- material that's got a lot more fire than some of his better-known sides from the 70s! The album's a stone cooker all the way through -- played by a tight young group with lots of descarga energy in their blood, and some of the pre-Latin Soul styles that were ...

An important early album from Eddie Palmieri -- one in which he introduces the "mozambique" rhythm -- essentially a conga-styled approach to the tune, and one that features a lot more percussion than on his earlier sides! The group that supports him is strong enough to carry off the ...

Killer material from the mid 60s -- recorded for United Artists after Ray's initial watusi work for Tico -- and in a similar style that has mixes together Ray's Charanga Moderna sound with some more boogaloo and Latin Soul numbers! The record's a key bridge between these two chapters of Ray's ...

A really surprising turn in the career of Mongo Santamaria -- especially after a run of successful mainstream Latin sides for Columbia and Atlantic! The album's definitely "up from the roots", and features Mongo in a percussion-heavy exploration of older Afro-Cuban rhythms -- served up ...

A heck of a great little boogaloo album -- and one of the few 60s sides by the legendary Johnny Zamot! Although cut for Decca, the album's every bit as tight and soulful as contemporaneous work for Tico, Fania, or Cotique -- and the set features a similar blend of English lyrics, Latin rhythms, ...

One of our favorite Latin jazz albums ever -- and a truly amazing record! Bobby Pauntteo, aka Bobby Vince Paunetto, is probably best known for his groundbreaking Latin fusion albums of the NuYorican era -- but this rare gem from the 60s shows that he was a really forward thinker, even at a younger ...

A wild wild album of Latin soul -- one of the maddest albums ever recorded for the legendary Speed label! The group, like a rare few others of their generation, are an insane mix of Latin jamming, psychedelic soul, and stoner funk riffing -- all sifted together in a blender, with a sound that ...

A Latin Soul classic -- but one that's a lot more obscure than some of the better-remembered albums on Fania and Tico from the late 60s! Orlando Marin is probably mostly known as an arranger, and a leader from the earlier years of the New York scene -- but during the Latin Soul years he cut this ...

An insanely wonderful album of Latin percussion -- the only album we've ever seen from Cuban percussionist Lazaro Pla, aka Manteca -- a date recorded in Miami in the 70s, and filled with lots of raw percussion jams! There's a massive amount of bongo work here, mostly in a very spare setting -- but ...