A blend of soulful styles from the mighty Macondo! This self-titled set is pretty hip batch of tracks – sort of a mixture of early 70s LA Latin funk, with some lighter elements of Brazilian music, possibly added into the record by Claudio Slon, who produced the set for Sergio Mendes. The best cuts have hard-jamming organ and guitars, rocking along in an El Chicano mode – but some of the others have mellower vocals that work really well, too! Titles include "Do It To Me", "Wishes", "Get It On Girl", "Sneaking In The Back Door", "Why", "Battery", "Never Thought I'd See You Gone" and "Cayuco". CD

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Mongo cooks mightily – working here at the Montreux Jazz Fest in 1971, with a soaring group that's even more spiritual than any of his records in the 60s! There's definitely a dose of Latin Soul in the mix, but there's a fiercer, more righteous quality to the album too – thanks to the presence of players like Carter Jefferson on tenor and flute, Roger Glenn on vlute and vibes, and Ray Maldonando on trumpet – soloists who really know how to soar at the right moments. The percussion's a bit more rootsy too – showing Santamaria's concern with classic Afro-Cuban sounds at the time – and alongside Mongo's congas, you'll also hear percussion from Steve Berrios and Armando Pereza. Marty Sheller handles the arrangements – and titles include "Come Candela", "Climax", "Disappear", "Marty's Tune", "I Wanna Know", and "Cloud Nine". LP, Vinyl record album