A darn tough one to find – and one of Charlie Palmieri's best records from the 60s! The session is an obscure one-off done for Atlantic in 1968 – and for some reason, the record was never issued as widely as some of Charlie's other sides for smaller labels during the time, making it one of the most hard-to-find chapters of his career. The tracks are played by a tight little Latin jazz combo – with Charlie on piano, Julian Priester on trombone, and Louis Ramirez on timbales – and the set is filled with some great original tunes that mix together boogaloo rhythms and straight ahead Latin jazz. Tracks include "Bugalu", "Mambo Show", "Panama's Boogaloo", and "Bitter Sweet" – plus a Latin soul instrumental reading of "Up Tight". LP, Vinyl record album

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 here in really traditional modes, with a much more folksy sound than any of his other work for the time. Most instrumentation on side one is from percussion – but as the record goes on, the "history" of Latin music begins to seep in – with some great jazz lines from players who include Felix Watkins on flute, Carter Jefferson on tenor and soprano saxes, and Jon Faddis on trumpet – plus a bit of keyboards from Eddie Martinez. Neal Creque, Eddy Martinez, and Marty Sheller all help out on arrangement as the sound builds through the set – so by the end the record is nice and funky, and filled with plenty of soul! Titles include "Little Angel", "Sofrito", "Forked Tongue", "Jose Outside", "Para Ti", and "Conga, Bata, y Chequere". LP, Vinyl record album

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, keeping the groove nice and fresh! Tracks include "Jack Jack Jack", "Bonco", "Atu", and "Que Dicho E". LP, Vinyl record album