An excellent batch of funky Latin tunes from Irakere – and one of the group's best albums! It's got a mix of rolling bass and electric keyboards on the best cuts – sounding a lot like the funky sound of LA Latin groups like War or El Chicano, but with more of the Afro-Cuban groove of their homeland of Havana in the mix. The quality of the work is excellent – better than on any of the group's American releases in later years – and this one time Cuban-only release is the kind of gem that's was unjustly hard to track down in earlier years – all the while deserving of worldwide love! Titles include "Iya", "Moja El Pan", "Juana 1600", "En Nosotros", "38 1/2", and "Xiomara" and "Este Camino Largo". CD

A fantastic blend of funk, jazz, and Cuban rhythms – served up by the youthful Irakere, working here at the height of their powers! There's a sense of boundless energy throughout the entire record – an effort to try on so many things at once, and somehow get them all really right – from the complicated piano passages of Chucho Valdes, to the slight use of electricity on the fuzzy guitars or keyboards, to the soaring horns that really show some great sparkle from the young Paquito D'Rivera! Tunes are short, but almost have the full drive of much longer descarga numbers – and titles include "Valle Picadura", "Bacalao Con Pan", "Danza De Los Nanigos", "Quindiambo", and "Misaluba". CD

A fantastic blend of funk, jazz, and Cuban rhythms – served up by the youthful Irakere, working here at the height of their powers! There's a sense of boundless energy throughout the entire record – an effort to try on so many things at once, and somehow get them all really right – from the complicated piano passages of Chucho Valdes, to the slight use of electricity on the fuzzy guitars or keyboards, to the soaring horns that really show some great sparkle from the young Paquito D'Rivera! Tunes are short, but almost have the full drive of much longer descarga numbers – and titles include "Valle Picadura", "Bacalao Con Pan", "Danza De Los Nanigos", "Quindiambo", and "Misaluba". LP, Vinyl record album

An excellent batch of funky Latin tunes from Irakere – and one of the group's best albums! It's got a mix of rolling bass and electric keyboards on the best cuts – sounding a lot like the funky sound of LA Latin groups like War or El Chicano, but with more of the Afro-Cuban groove of their homeland of Havana in the mix. The quality of the work is excellent – better than on any of the group's American releases in later years – and this one time Cuban-only release is the kind of gem that's was unjustly hard to track down in earlier years – all the while deserving of worldwide love! Titles include "Iya", "Moja El Pan", "Juana 1600", "En Nosotros", "38 1/2", and "Xiomara" and "Este Camino Largo". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer work from this legendary Cuban jazz group – with work from Paquito D'Rivera on saxes and Arturo Sandoval on trumpet! CD

... CD

Titles include "Anabis", "Stella, Pete, Ronnie", "Tributo Peruchin", "La Pastora", and "La Maquina Del Sabor". CD

... CD

An excellent album of spare Latin jazz, played by the legendary leader of the Cuban group Irakere! Chucho Valdes is playing here with a small combo that only features bass, drums, and percussion – plus some additional vocal accompaniment by Mayra Caridad Valdes. But the main focus is on Chucho's lively piano talents – some of the best-ever in Afro-Cuban jazz, and graced by a stunning style that's at once starkly modern, yet stepped in a rich Latin tradition. Tracks are nearly all very long – and titles include "Ponte La Clave", "Drume Negrita", "Anabis", "Punto Cubano", "To Bud Powell", and "Lorraine's Habanera". CD

Very very cool 4CD set of classic Latin material, packed inside of a nifty cigar-box cover, with an extra 112-page booklet of notes! The set's perfect if you're just getting into Afro Cuban music – but also pretty darn great even if you're already a fan, as the selection and packaging are exquisite. There's far too much music on the set to mention in this small space – but let us just tell you that the 4 CDs in the package all focus on a different side of Cuban music: Jazz, Vocals, Percussion, and Cuban Traditions. Each track comes with lavish notes and information that's helpful to novices and experts alike – and some of the artists include Cachao, Roberto Faz, Issac Delgado, Tito Gomez, Merceditas Valdes, Arsenio Rodriguez, Sexteto Habenero, Beny More, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and Irakere. The jazz CD alone is enough to blow your mind – and that's only the beginning! CD

Features Chucho Valdes, Irakere, and others. CD

A true revolution in Cuban music – not the familiar cha cha and pachanga modes of the pre-Castro years, but instead the huge wave of fresh styles and combinations that sprung up in the years to come! The tracks here aren't the kind of Cuban sounds that are locked in time by the all-star representations of the scene that circle widely – and instead, this music represents the younger, more experimental side of the scene – continually creating new styles and hybrids during the 70s and 80s, even at a time when most of the records weren't making it out to the world at large! Make no mistake, there's certainly elements of older Afro Latin rhythms, and Latin jazz instrumentation – but those are blended with new approaches to rhythm, instrumentation, and the overall role of the musicians and singers – on tracks that will really open up your ears. Gilles Peterson helped put the package together for Soul Jazz – and the whole thing's got the same hybrid hallmarks as his more recent recording forays in Havana – with cuts that include "Cancion Con Todos" by Grupo De Experimentacion Sonora Del Icaic, "Hast Las Cuantas" by Grupo Monumental, "Luna Wanestain" by Emiliano Salvador, "Te Quiero Porque Te Quiero" by Pablo Milanes, "Un Lamento Heco Cancion" by Los Reyes 73, "Dacapo" by Raul Gomez, "La Patica" by Paquito D'Rivera, "Rompe Cocorioco" by Juan Pablo Torres, "Mi Ritmo Caliente" by Juan Formell & Los Van Van, "Chequere Son" by Grupo Irakere, "El Son Del Campeon" by Conjunto Rubavana, and "Con Cadencia Y Con Dulzura" by Las D'Aida. CD

A dozen songs from Araketu, Bamdamel, Negritude Jr, Soweto, Grupo 100%, Karametade, Ronaldo & Os Barcelos, and Vinny. (Global Grooves, Latin) CD