A really pivotal album in the career of Mongo Santamaria – one that has Mongo stripping down the groove, kicking up some jazz, and mixing together soulful styles that brought him to the top of the Latin crowd of the 1960s! There's a tightness here that goes beyond any of Santamaria's previous albums – a no-nonsense approach that makes for some incredibly hard-hitting numbers – heavy on the conga, but also featuring strong piano lines from Rodger Grand, trumpet from Marty Sheller, flute and tenor from Hubert Laws, and alto sax and baritone from Bobby Capers! This small combo provides pretty much all of the instrumentation for the record – and there's no added tricks or gimmicks, just hard-grooving Latin jazz at its best! Titles include "El Pussy Cat", "Together", "Black Eyed Peas", "Ritmo Negro", "Sarai", "Hammer Head", and "Afro Lypso". LP, Vinyl record album

Latin grooves from the 60s and 70s – most from hard-to-find sides cut for Atlantic Records! Like the first volume, this one dips into some excellent material that was only ever briefly issued on LP – and it mixes it with some overlooked Latin cuts on albums by jazz and soul artists from the same time. The groove's got a tight 60s beat to it – with plenty of Latin Soul riffing, and even a bit of funk in the mix. Titles include "His Groove" and "King Kong" by Eddie Cano & Nino Tempo, "Watusi Boogaloo" and "Light & Sweet" by Willie Rosario, "Are You Sure" by Freedom Sounds, "Ghetto Funk" by Ike Turner, "Blood Shot" by Hubert Laws, "Devilette" by Dave Pike, and "Hip Hug Her" by Mongo Santamaria. LP, Vinyl record album

A fresh new groove from The Fania All Stars – one that definitely has them picking up some of the Spanish elements mentioned in the title – the fusing them into the tight mix of Latin, club, and jazz they were doing at Columbia Records in the late 70s! These new elements are often light – a bit of acoustic guitar here, maracas there, or some slightly different rhythms – and they're warmed up nicely by the mix of electric and acoustic instrumentation used by the group – who are definitely at the height of their disco powers here! Core players include Papo Lucca on keyboards, Nicky Marrero on timbales, Johnny Pacheco and Roberto Roena on percussion, and Bobby Valentin on bass – and other players include Hubert Laws on flute, Eric Gale on guitar, Luie Ramirez on vibes, and Luiz Perico Ortiz on trumpet. Vocals are by Ismael Miranda, Pacheco, and Ruben Blades – and titles include "Spanish Fever", "Que Pasa", "Space Machine", "Donde", "Your Sereneness", and "Sin Tu Carino". LP, Vinyl record album

A really pivotal album in the career of Mongo Santamaria – one that has Mongo stripping down the groove, kicking up some jazz, and mixing together soulful styles that brought him to the top of the Latin crowd of the 1960s! There's a tightness here that goes beyond any of Santamaria's previous albums – a no-nonsense approach that makes for some incredibly hard-hitting numbers – heavy on the conga, but also featuring strong piano lines from Rodger Grand, trumpet from Marty Sheller, flute and tenor from Hubert Laws, and alto sax and baritone from Bobby Capers! This small combo provides pretty much all of the instrumentation for the record – and there's no added tricks or gimmicks, just hard-grooving Latin jazz at its best! Titles include "El Pussy Cat", "Together", "Black Eyed Peas", "Ritmo Negro", "Sarai", "Hammer Head", and "Afro Lypso". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer Latin soul from one of the all-time greats – a collection of greatest hits from Mongo Santamaria, but a set that's every bit as essential as his full length albums for Columbia! Most of the cuts on the album were arranged by Mongo's key right-hand man – the great Marty Sheller, who was an excellent trumpeter, a great writer, and a skilled arranger who knew how to make Mongo's whole group swing with incredible tightness! The cuts are all instrumental, with hard conga-heavy grooves, and some wonderful jazzy breakaway solos, played by folks like Hubert Laws or Ronnie Cuber. Titles include "El Pussy Cat", "The Now Generation", "Cold Sweat", "Cloud Nine", "We Got Latin Soul", and "Fat Back". LP, Vinyl record album

Mongo Santamaria at the height of his Latin Soul years – working on a cool Columbia session titled after an earlier hit, but served up with his new lean sound of the late 60s! The album's got that perfect Santamaria combo from the time – a group that features trumpet and these wonderfully sharp arrangements from the great Marty Sheller – plus very smoking reed work from a young Hubert Laws, wailing away on flute and tenor, and Bobby Capers on alto and baritone – both players who mix jazz and soul instrumental modes, to bring a hell of a lot of feeling to the overall sound of the band – in ways that really get past more familiar use of trumpet or trombone in other Latin combos. The band grooves nicely on original material like "Streak O Lean", "Ricky Tick", "Do It To It", "Fatback", "Coconut Milk", and "Jose Outside" – and they also reprise Mongo's big hit "Watermelon Man". LP, Vinyl record album