An overstuffed package of classic work from the Caribbean – most of it from midcentury, at a time before reggae and other styles would bring even more exposure to the scene! The music here is in a nice mix of modes – separate by island identity, but drawn together in a good way by the package, and given more detail in the large booklet of notes – which features details in both English and French. Styles run the gamut from mambo to voodoo, biguine to goombay, calypso to cha cha, and lots more in between – with a total of 48 cuts by artists who include Compay Segundo, Facundo Rivera, Dioris Vallardes, Luis Quintero, Joe Harriott, Ruben McCoy, Theophilus Beckford, Sidney Bean, Josephine Premice, The Mighty Terror, Blind Blake, Cout Ossie, Cecil Lloyd, Mongo Santamaria, Henri Salvador, and many others! (Global Grooves, Latin) CD

A relatively recent effort by Eddie, but also one of his best albums in 25 years! The record's a beautiful batch of Latin jazz instrumentals, played with a lot of fire, but also a lot of maturity and creativity. The compositions are great, and Eddie's in top form on piano, with backing by Donald Harrison, Conrad Hewig, and Brian Lynch. Titles include "Palmas", "Doctor Duck", "Bouncer", and "Slowvisor". Recorded in the 90s, but with a beautifully classic sound! CD

A burner of a set from Tito Puente – very well titled to suit the energy of the session! The tracks are all highly rhythmic numbers – short, but filled with jazzy horn flourishes and the kind of snapping rhythms that made the Puente group one of the biggest crossover favorites of the 50s. Tunes nicely mix up vocals with some more pronounced jazz soloing – getting a heck of a lot into a relatively small space, and really keeping up the energy of the record overall. Ray Barretto's on congas – and other players include Vincent Frisaura and Frank LoPinto on trumpets, Gerry Sanfino and Rafael Tata Palau on saxes, Ray Conception on piano, and Robert Rodriguez on bass. A few cuts have lead vocals – sung by Santos Colon – and titles include "3-D Mambo", "Hong Kong Mambo", "Mambo Gozon", "Saca Tu Mujer", "Varsity Drag", and "El Cayuco". Amazing 2CD edition – with the full bonus Dance Mania 2 album, plus rare bonus tracks from both sessions too – a massive 45 tracks in all! CD

A fantastic collection of music from Cuba – not the jazzy descarga styles that led to salsa, nor the more romantic singers that are maybe some of the nation's best-known artists – but instead a wealth of work that mixes raw percussion and vocals to support the spiritual practice of santeria! The music here represents a shifting spiritual culture that was taking place in the Caribbean during the 20th Century – as African and Spanish ideas were coming into play with each other – forming new modes of understanding, which also led to new musical practices as well! Many of these recordings were done at the same time that larger, more polished orchestras were dominating the Cuban scene – but they represent rootsier, rawer recordings that often just have percussion and vocals as the dominant force – sometimes quite a surprise when you might hear a bigger star as part of the lineup. As with every collection on the Fremeaux label, the package offers up a lot of music for the price, and a very detailed set of notes in both French and English – with a total of 66 tracks in all – including work by Chano Pozo, Miguelito Valdez, Celina Y Reutilio, Mongo Santamaria, Celia Cruz, Sabu, Arsenio Rodriguez, Julio Gutierez, and others – as well as a set of field recordings done on acetate in 1940! CD

19 songs. CD

Recent genius from the true king of Latin Soul – the mighty Joe Bataan, sounding every bit as great now as he did back in the day! Bataan gets some very hip backing from Los Fulanos – a Barcelona-based combo who help recreate the tight sound of Joe's early grooves from the late 60s, with just a touch of the funk he picked up in the 70s too – a really great blend that helps Bataan breath fresh new life into a range of classics from years back. The set list includes some of our favorite Latin Soul gems from Joe, and both the rhythms and production styles are completely faithful to the originals – but also aren't just simple copycat versions either. After so many years in obscurity, it's great to see Bataan back in action so strongly – cooking it hard and heavy on cuts that include "Latin Soul Square Dance", "Gypsy Woman", "Mestizo", "The Bottle", "Johnny's No Good", "Special Girl", "Subway Joe", "Puerto Rico Me Llama", and "Rap O Clap O 2008". CD