A wonderfully-done session of Latin jazz – played by a combo formed to pay tribute to the music of Cuban composer Emiliano Salvador! The group on the set is totally great – and features piano by Chuco Valdes, trombone by Juan Pablo Torres, tenor and flute from Juan Manuel, and congas ... read moreCD
A crackling bit of piano jazz from the Peruvian scene of the 60s – and a record that's somewhere between the best of Horace Silver on Blue Note, and some of the Brazilian bossa trios of the time! There's a strong sense of rhythm throughout – round, rolling basslines punctuated by great ... (Jazz, Latin)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
The deepest work we've heard so far from Dayme Arocena – a Cuban singer we first discovered in Gilles Peterson's Havana Cultura project, but one who's really gone onto find her own strong musical paths in recent years! This set has Dayme working with Dexter Story on production – and ... (Neo Soul, Latin)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Cesar Ascarrunz —
Cesar 830 ... LP Flying Dutchman, 1975. New Copy (reissue)...
$11.99
Lost Latin funk from the Bay Area scene of the 70s – and an album that may well blow away better-known work by groups like Malo, Azteca, or El Chicano! The album's near-perfect right from the start – and brings in plenty of New York elements to the groove, thanks to the inclusion of a ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A monster! If you buy one Latin record this year – make it this one – because it's one of the greatest ever recorded! Ray's late 60s Acid album is a landmark recording – a sublime mixture of Latin jazz, percussion, and soul – grooving hard in a variety of styles, and ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
One great percussionist pays tribute to another – in a brilliant set of Latin jazz tracks that would have made Art Blakey plenty proud! The tracks on the set are some of the greatest tunes from the Blakey songbook of years past – classic songs pulled from the best Blue Note recordings ... read moreCD
Ray Barretto —
Latino! ... LP Riverside, 1962. Very Good ...
$19.99
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 ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Teal label Orpheum productions pressing. Cover has a split top seam, mostly split bottom, with moisture stains & peeling along the bottom half.)
Fantastic stuff from Ray Barretto – and one of his most sophisticated albums of the 70s! The album mixes together rootsy percussion and smoother jazzy arrangements – in a manner that keeps things fresh at all points, and which shifts the focus nicely from track to track – ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A great album of salsa tracks recorded at the end of the 70s – when Ray was returning to the scene after a prolonged hand injury kept him out of music for a while. Despite this time off, though, Ray's in top top form – coming back to basics with a really heavy groove, picking up right ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Sunrise label pressing. NOTE – Cover has fairly large peeled spots on the bottom 4 inches, mostly on back.)
A second version of the album that was also issued under the title Afro Jaws – a beautiful record that has Lockjaw's hard tenor blowing strong over a Latin group led by Ray Barretto. An amazing mix of sounds, and one of the few cross-genre attempts in jazz that actually works. Hear Lock ... (Jazz, Latin)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Maroon label Orpheum Productions pressing. NOTE – Cover is stained and flaky on the bottom 4 inches, with the back mostly peeled.)
Ancestral Messages is a bold, proud record that really lives up to its title – a batch of tunes that has Ray leading a strong combo with Ray Vega on trumpet and Jay Rodriguez on tenor and flute – both tightly woven into a strong-voiced frontline that gives the record a tremendous amount ... read moreCD
(Out of print.)
Manuel Barrueco —
Cuba ... CD EMI, 1999. Used ...
$4.99
Fantastic rhythms from percussionist Rubens Bassini – a set that has all the raw live energy of a Latin jazz jam session, but which also carries some of the sweet touches of the bossa nova scene in Brazil – a really wonderful mixing of modes that makes the album a gem all the way ... (Brazil, Latin)read moreCD
Amazing work from the Spanish Harlem underground of the late 60s! From the title, to the cover, to the beautiful blend of songs, this album perfectly sums up the rich energy and raw power bubbling in the NuYorican scene of the time – effortlessly blending together soul, Latin, jazz, and funk ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Amazing work from the Spanish Harlem underground of the late 60s! From the title, to the cover, to the beautiful blend of songs, this album perfectly sums up the rich energy and raw power bubbling in the NuYorican scene of the time – effortlessly blending together soul, Latin, jazz, and funk ... read moreCD
Joe Bataan —
Riot ... LP Fania, Late 60s. New Copy (reissue)...
$9.99
A real killer from the legendary Joe Bataan – an album of righteous power that really lives up to the dynamic promise of the title and cover! Joe Bataan's in top form throughout – serving up a blend of Latin grooves and 60s soul influences that few other artists of the time could touch ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
An amazing achievement for Ruben Blades – a full suite of tracks conceived and composed by Ruben as a "disco drama" on wax! The work isn't the disco-styled album you might think from this description – and is more of a mini-opera or concept album by Blades, one that features ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Willie Colon declares Ruben Blades as the champ on the cover of this early solo set – and for good reason too, as the album's one of Blades' best! There's a clear, clean simplicity to the record that's totally wonderful – a purity of vision before some of Ruben's later crossover ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Remastered!)
Johnny Blas —
Mambo 2000 ... CD CuBop/Ubiquity, 1998. Used ...
$7.99
Nice stuff! Conga player Johnny Blas put his first LP out on Ubiquity a few years ago, and although we thought that was a cracklin' set of Latin jazz, we totally love this release, which has a very sharp vibe to it, and a good hard groove that's peppered with some funkier moments than last time. ... read moreCD
Rene Bloch is probably best known for his work in a straighter Latin vein, but this excellent set from the late 50s has him "rocking" it up a bit with some really heavy sax! The approach is totally great – one that uses heavy Latin percussion on the bottom (played by Mongo ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Original Andex pressing! Cover has a small sticker stain and a few marks in pen.)
Latin Bird, but way more Latin than Bird ever was – if that makes any sense! In other words, TK Blue really steps out nicely with this album – doing way more than just a Charlie Parker tribute, and certainly not rehashing the cubop elements of Bird's early 50s sides – and instead ... (Jazz, Latin)read moreCD
(Penmark through barcode. Out of print.)
Willie Bobo —
Bobo's Beat ... CD Roulette/Warner (Japan), 1962. New Copy ...
$13.99
An obscure album by Willie Bobo – and a great one too! The session predates Willie's more famous work on Verve, and it catches the percussionist as he's coming off of some very successful years in the Cal Tjader band – a place where he really picked up a flair for jazzy and lyrical ... read moreCD
2 late 70s gems from Willie Bobo – 1978's Hell Of An Act To Follow and 1979's Bobo – on a single CD! Hell Of An Act To Follow is really nice stuff from Willie – maybe not as hard and funky as his early 70s work, but very nice in kind of a Latin Club mode, thanks to some great ... read moreCD
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. ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Incredible work by Willie Bobo – a slamming record of hard funky instrumentals, one that sounds different than any of his other albums! The record's a killer all the way through – a mixture of Latin and deep 70s funk, one of the few perfect fusions of the styles, held up beautifully ... (Soul, Latin)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Incredible work by Willie Bobo – a slamming record of hard funky instrumentals, one that sounds different than any of his other albums! The record's a killer all the way through – a mixture of Latin and deep 70s funk, one of the few perfect fusions of the styles, held up beautifully ... (Soul, Latin)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Original pressing. Cover has a split top seam & spine, with a taped bottom seam.)
Very obscure LP by what seems to be a lost Chicano funk group from Chicago. Released by the small Pipas label on the south side, the LP includes a nice cover of "Funky Nassau", plus covers of "Do Me Right", "Simple Song", and "Them Changes". The LP also ... (Soul, Latin)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Includes original slipcase and book. Out of print.)
Bwana —
Bwana ... LP Caytronics, 1972. Very Good+ (reissue)...
Just Sold Out!
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 ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Nano Cabrero —
Nano ... LP Velvet, 1988. Very Good ...
$1.99
... LP, Vinyl record album
Ray Camacho Band —
Reach Out ... CD PMG (Austria), 1980. Used ...
$9.99
Brilliant brown-eyed soul from Ray Camacho – an artist who was previously known for more border-styled work with his Teardrops band, but who steps out here with a surprisingly great blend of electric jazz and boogie! The approach is wonderful – a real re-direction of Ray's earlier ... read moreCD
Camaron De La Isla —
Flamenco Vivo ... CD Philips/Polygram (Spain), 1987. Used ...
$8.99
Stone lost Latin funk! This is Candido's rarest – and it's a killer batch of conga-heavy grooves, recorded in the late 60s for Solid State, and featuring a very groovy set of mod Latin arrangements by Joe Cain. The band features organ, guitar, bass, horns, and some upfront conga solos from ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Stunning stuff – and one of the best-ever Latin soul albums of all time! Despite the fact that Eddie Cano's earlier albums are more in a Latin easy mode, this late 60's side for Dunhill is totally smoking – and probably his greatest album ever! Forgive the superlatives, but we're ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A great lost descarga session from the 60s – led by Chihuahua Martinez! Martinez plays both timbales and guiro on the sessions, fronting a group that includes Alberto Valdez on conga, Mike Martinez and Chivirico Davila on coro, Manfredo Lee on guiro, Elpidio Vazquez on piano, Elpidio ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A surprisingly great little Latin set from Rosemary Clooney – one that makes us want to forgive her for all her pop takes on the genre in the early 50s! Backings here are by Perez Prado, who really brings a nice degree of "zing" to the session – kicking things up with that ... (Vocalists, Latin)read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Black label Living stereo pressing with deep groove.)
Coke —
Coke ... LP Sound Triangle, Early 70s. New Copy (reissue)...
$9.99
Funky Latin breaks and very groovy grooves – the kind of record that you hear for only a second, and say "oh yeah, this is the stuff!" Coke were an obscure Florida combo who mixed together Latin, funk, and soul – served up in a crossover style that's halfway between the sound ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A Latin monster – and one of our favorite albums from the New York scene! The record is the only one we've ever seen from pianist Earl Coleman – and it's a groove-happy fiesta that's every bit Spanish Harlem at its best. Earl's piano is flowing and free, and the band grooves through ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A stunning portrait of one of the best young artists on the New York Latin scene at the end of the 60s! Johnny Colon initially cooked up a groove with a run of some really important Latin Soul albums – and here, as the 70s come on, he's moving into smoking salsa territory with all the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Willie Colon —
Cosa Nuestra ... CD Fania (France), 1972. New Copy ...
$12.9913.98
A monster album of 70s salsa – and one that has bad boy Willie Colon taking the Latin world by storm – forging the new sound that would push him and the New York scene into the frontline of 70s Latin! Willie's got a strength on the set that's very much in keeping with his machine gun ... read moreCD
A monster album of 70s salsa – and one that has bad boy Willie Colon taking the Latin world by storm – forging the new sound that would push him and the New York scene into the frontline of 70s Latin! Willie's got a strength on the set that's very much in keeping with his machine gun ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Original multi-color label stereo pressing. Label has a bit of pen. Cover has a small corner portion torn off from the back paste-on.)
A monster album of 70s salsa – and one that has bad boy Willie Colon taking the Latin world by storm – forging the new sound that would push him and the New York scene into the frontline of 70s Latin! Willie's got a strength on the set that's very much in keeping with his machine gun ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Willie Colon —
El Juicio ... LP Fania, 1972. New Copy (reissue)...
$9.99
Supposedly the end of Willie Colon's early "crime" career – as the title and cover imply that he's finally been brought to trial! Don't worry about Willie being beaten down, though, because the music on the album is every bit as fierce and powerful as ever – and features a ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Willie Colon —
Hustler ... LP Fania, Late 60s. New Copy (reissue)...
$9.99
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 ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
An 80s effort from Willie Colon, but still great, is a wild Latin club number – with some nice conga-laden grooves pulsing under the heavy keys and some tasty jazzy touches spicing things up! (Soul, Latin)12-inch, Vinyl record
(Cover has a promo stamp on the back.)
Willie Colon & Ruben Blades —
Siembra ... CD Fania (France), 1978. New Copy ...
$12.99
A classic 70s salsa jammer from Willie Colon – working here with his one of his greatest vocalists – the young Ruben Blades, back before he'd crossed over to super-huge success! The album really marks a departure for Willie – moving past the bad boy style of earlier records, that ... read moreCD
A classic 70s salsa jammer from Willie Colon – working here with his one of his greatest vocalists – the young Ruben Blades, back before he'd crossed over to super-huge success! The album really marks a departure for Willie – moving past the bad boy style of earlier records, that ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Killer Colombian work from Combo Los Yogas – a 60s group who've got a sound that's maybe more like some of the hardest grooves coming from Puerto Rico at the time! There's a wicked pre-salsa style going on here – fierce percussion and piano right from the start – definitely ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A legendary crossover Latin album from the mid 70s! Percussionist Rafael Cortijo leads a killer group that mixes Latin jazz, salsa, and 70's soul instrumentation into a groove that's still being touted highly today – a classic Nuyorican sound that's only slightly electric, but has a really ... read moreCD
A legendary crossover Latin album from the mid 70s! Percussionist Rafael Cortijo leads a killer group that mixes Latin jazz, salsa, and 70's soul instrumentation into a groove that's still being touted highly today – a classic Nuyorican sound that's only slightly electric, but has a really ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Jack Costanzo —
Mr Bongo ... LP Clarion, Early 60s. Very Good ...
$24.99
A rare bit of Latin jazz from this mighty percussionist – the man also known to the world as Mr Bongo! The date's Jack's only one for Atlantic Records – and the cuts are short, hard, and fast, with Jack's nimble hands on the bongo highlighted on most cuts, with tight backing behind, ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco —
Celia & Johnny ... CD Vaya/Fania (France), 1974. New Copy ...
$12.99
A fantastic pairing of talents – one that seems to push each individual artist to a new high point in their career! By the time of the set, Johnny Pacheco was emerging as one of the strongest forces in 70s salsa – a crack percussionist whose instrumentation was driving on a younger ... read moreCD
A fantastic pairing of talents – one that seems to push each individual artist to a new high point in their career! By the time of the set, Johnny Pacheco was emerging as one of the strongest forces in 70s salsa – a crack percussionist whose instrumentation was driving on a younger ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A classic batch of Latin tracks from Diva Celia Cruz, and one that's got her backed by the great combo Sonora Matancera. Celia's rich voice is in amazing form, and it works perfectly with the arrangements to create a haunting batch of titles that include "Rinkinkalla", "Retozon" ... read moreCD
(Out of print.)
Celia Cruz, Johnny Pacheco, & Justo Betancourt —
Recordando El Ayer ... LP Vaya, 1976. Very Good+ Gatefold ...
$16.99
Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco join forces with vocalist Justo Betancourt and pianist Papo Lucca – the latter of whom was making plenty big waves in music with Sonora Poncena at the time! Pacheco's the leader of the group on flute and percussion, but Lucca's piano has plenty of force in the ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A later album by Joe – but a really great one! Joe's moved from a Latin soul groove into one that's beautifully strident and jazzy – with the kind of solos and tight rhythms that made him a legend, updated to reflect some of the NuYorican changes going on around him. There's some ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
A Latin classic from the word "bang"! This album was the one that busted Joe Cuba out of the Latin ghetto – into the sound of 60s soul, early funk, and beyond. The record's a stone winner – filled with boogaloo tracks delivered by Joe's firey young sextet, a killer ensemble ... read moreCD
Very cool very excellent early Joe Cuba record, recorded right in the middle of the boogaloo era, with a great set of tracks that includes "My Man Speedy", "I'm Insane", "Talk About Luv", "T.C.O.B.", and "Hey Joe, Hey Joe". Excellent stuff, with ... read moreLP, Vinyl record album
(Cover has heavy wear, red electrical tape along all seams, with writing in pen. Vinyl plays with clicks & crackles.)
We're especially heavy on New York sounds of the 60s and 70s -- Latin Soul, salsa, boogaloo, and more!
Africando —
Baloba! ... CD 
