A deep dive into the world of Puerto Rican music in the years before salsa and Latin Soul – overflowing with the sounds and styles that also helped forge a huge new wave of expression on the New York scene as well! The package does a great job of pulling together tracks that really get at this prehistory of more familiar Latin modes – beginning with rare tracks from the 78rpm years, then focusing on killer album cuts from the late 50s and early 60s – grooves that were helping Puerto Rico to rival Cuba in terms of fresh rhythms and razor-sharp instrumentation! Just about all of this work has been out of print on any format for many years – including CD – and the package does a great job of tracing the line from San Juan up to New York – with a selection of 44 tracks by artists who include Humberto Morales, Bobby Capo, Orquesta Panamericana, Noro Morales, Cesar Concepcion, Cortijo, Roy Rosario, Ismael Rivera, Chiquitin Garcia, Angel Luis Torruellas, Cuarteto Puerto Rico, Roberto Casillas, Lou Perez, and others. (Latin, Global Grooves) CD

Rare Caribbean funk from the 70s – the second volume of West Indies Funk – once again delivering a stylistically diverse take on the classic funky soul from groups such as The Troubadours, Boo & The Tru Tones, Roosevelt Johnson & His Spice Islanders, The Cassanovas, Blue Rhythm Combo and others! All the things we dug about the first volume are in the mix once again – and ultimately the set goes even further with the range and boundlessly funky styles. Includes numbers that could just as easily come from the funky underground of the regional US and others that roll out grooves that are purely indicative of the Caribbean – with steel drums, tropical rhythms and all around breezier, sunnier touches. Even better than the first one! Includes "Funk Good Feeling" by The Troubaodours, "Have A Party" by The Esquires Now", "Don't Blame This Joint" by Boo & The True Tones", "Shango!" by Steel Image, "Something's Definitely Going On" by Mamwaw, "Look-Ka-Py Py" by L Charmers, "Funky Crookie" by Exile 1, "Sing A Simple Song" by The Cassanovas, "The Big Pay Back" by Kenny & The Beach Boys and more. LP, Vinyl record album

Caribbean disco, funk and dancefloor grooves from a range of sources – spacey grooves and tropical dancefloor sounds from Billie Cole, Tappa Zukie, El Cid, Casual T and many more! A number of tunes have more of a pronounced late 70s club soul groove with spacey touches, others have more pronounced Caribbean flavors, but it's all nicely grooving and geared to get the club floor shaking! Includes "Extra Carefully" by Billie Cole, "Freak" by Tappa Zukie, "Nassua's Disco" by Mucho Plus, "Sail On" by Wabine, "Soca Fusion" by Bobby Raven, "NY To Georgetown" by El Cid, "Hands Off" by Casual T, "Praise Jah" by Oluko Umo and more. CD

A dozen heavy groovers from the legendary Discos Fuentes – pulled from a time when the Colombian label was really finding its sound and strengths – mixing together older strands of Afro Cuban inspiration with a special vibe that would soon make their scene rival the Latin music power of New York and Puerto Rico! The percussion is pretty darn heavy on most of these tracks – almost a fusion of the rootsier modes of early years with some of the more sophisticated musical elements developed in the small combo years of the New York 60s Latin scene – but also touched with some styles that are completely Colombian, yet still in a formative early moment that's never predictable or commercial at all. Titles include "Atiza Y Ataja" by Los Supremos, "El Vidriero" by Fruko Y Sus Tesos, "Coco May Ma" by Combo Las Vegas, "Cumbia En Do Menor" by Lita Barrientos, "Manue" by Michi Sarmiento Y Su Combo Bravo, "Cumbia Loca" by Conjunta Miramar, "Safari Safari" by Tita Duval Y El Nuevo Ritmo De Bobby Ray, and "La Pluma" by Peregoyo Y Su Combo Vacana. (Latin, Global Grooves) CD

A drum-heavy spectacular – recorded with a really rootsy feel! The first half of the material was recorded in Africa – not credited especially well, but done with a stripped-down sound that's very heavy on drums and other odd percussion instruments – recorded in that rough, loud Folkways style that really makes the music sound nicely bombastic. The remaining tracks on the set are from a variety of North and South American locales – Brazil, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Jamaica, and even the US – as Baby Dodds turns in a solo on the final track! Titles include "Ceremonial Drums", "Dance Drums", "Stamping Tubes", "Salute To A Chief", "Sit Log Talking Drum", "Djuka Dance Drums", "Lucumi", "Jumping Dance Drums", "Cuminia Drums", "Rhythms For The Deity Ogoun", and "Jazz Drumming". LP, Vinyl record album