... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

With Francisco Alves, Silvio Caldas, Carlos Galhardo, Mario Reis, Almirante, Lamartine Babo, Castro Barbosa, Patricio Teixeira, and Murillo Caldas. (Brazil, Latin) LP, Vinyl record album

Two Latin funk classics – back to back in a single set! First up is the self-titled Azteca album – a crowning moment for the west coast Latin scene in the 70s – a wonderful Bay Area set that brings together some of the best talents working on that scene at the time! The set's got a great blend of modes – Latin soul, touches of funk, and plenty of the jazzy inflections you'd expect from a lineup that includes Coke Escovedo on timbales, Paul Jackson on bass, Lenny White on drums, George Muribus on Fender Rhodes, Tom Harrell on trumpet, and Victor Pantoja on congas! Vocals are by Pete Escovedo – who brings in a heady soulful sound to the set – and the vibe is a bit like work by Malo or El Chicano, but even more jazz-based overall! Titles include "Peace Everybody", "Empty Prophet", "Can't Take The Funk Out Of Me", "Azteca", "Ah! Ah!", and "Mamita Linda". Next is Pyramid Of The Moon – a really special record from a really special group – one of two sublime 70s gems from Azteca – a wicked blend of jazz, funk, Latin, and soul – all put together by a young Coke Escovedo! Coke's ostensibly the leader of the group, but there's also a richly collaborative feel going on – a style that brings together jazz players like Tom Harrell on trumpet, Mel Martin on saxes, George Muribus on Fender Rhodes, and Flip Nunez on organ – and Latin players like Victor Pantoja on congas, Coke Escovedo on timbales, and Pete Escovedo on added percussion. In fact, the set's a key early example of the strength of the Escovedo family – and like their best later efforts, the set really stretches out and pushes the boundaries of conventional genres. There's also some great guest work from Lenny White on drums, Mike Nock on keyboards, and Neal Schon on guitars – and vocals are by a range of singers who really keep things fresh. Titles include "Red Onions", "Mazatlan", "Whatcha Gonna Do", "Mexicana, Mexicana", and "Love Is A Stranger". CD

A rare 70s corker from the mighty Azuquita – featuring his own vocals in the lead of a group directed by Victor Paz, with work on saxes, trumpets, and trombones – plus piano from Marcos Rangel too! Titles include the long guaguanco "Elige Que Yo Te Enseno" – plus "El Felefono", "Duran Mano De Piedra", "A Mi Mamita Le Gusta El Son", and "Dark Woman". LP, Vinyl record album

The second great album from Peruvian funk legends Black Sugar, and a set that's every bit as great as the first – perhaps even more so from a keyboard perspective, given that there's plenty of sweet organ and moog that filter through the set! The record's got the group sounding even tighter than before – mixing Latin rhythms with some great elements from American soul and funky fusion – all wrapped up nicely with a personal, heartfelt sort of approach that's really great. Victor Coco Salazar handles arrangements, guitars, and vocals – and the album features killer covers of "Valdez In The Country" and "Don't You Worry About A Thing" – plus the originals "Fuego", "Checan", "All Your Love", "Wake Up", and "I Want To Believe". LP, Vinyl record album

Latin soul percussionist Willie Bobo hits a new dimension here – singing as well as playing timbales, hitting a groovy groove that's perfect for his rough and ready vocals! The track list is a mix of 60s soul covers and a few very tasty original tunes – all done in a mod style that's right up there with the best sound of Verve at the end of the 60s. The players on the record are great – with Latin and jazz talents that include Sonny Henry, Freddie Waits, Jimmy Owens, and Victor Pantoja – grooving in tight combo format to support Willie's vocal efforts. Tracks include "Psychedelic Blues", "Sham Time", "Lisa", "Grazing In The Grass", "The Look Of Love", and "Yellow Days". LP, Vinyl record album

Killer fusion from keyboardist Jorge Dalto – who plays some especially great Fender Rhodes on the album, plus a bit of moog and Arp as well! The album's got a warm sound that never lets the keys get too spacey – a slight Latin undercurrent in the rhythms, and the album's slight vocals too – sung by Ruben Blades, Dalto and Adela. But most tracks are instrumental, and feature the keyboards very strongly in the lead – on top of instrumentation that includes Seldon Powell on tenor, Jerry Dodgion on alto and flute, Victor Paz on trumpet, and Bernard Purdie on drums. Ronnie Foster plays a bit of minimoog on the set – and the record has the same soulful fusion feel as some of his best work – with a lean, spacious groove, but one that's always plenty darn soulful. Titles include "For Openers", "Dolphin Dance", "Theme In Berlin", "Stella By Starlight", "Time For Some Changes", and "I've Got You On My Mind". (Jazz, Latin) LP, Vinyl record album

A great Dizzy Gillespie Latin session recorded during the mid 70s – proof that he could still hold onto the cubop spirit of the old days! The session features a larger group arranged and conducted by Chico O'Farril – who manages to keep a solidly Cuban groove at the base, but really let Dizzy open up with some broader horn flourishes at the top. Given the quality of actual Cuban jazz at the time, this set may well beat most of what was going on in Havana – thanks to solid solos from Dizzy, and backings from a group led by Machito, and featuring players who include Mario Bauza, Jorge Dalto, Manny Duran, Mauricio Smith, and Victor Paz. Side one features the extended "Oro, Incienso y Mirra", and side two is a 3-part suite, "Three Afro-Cuban Jazz Moods". (Jazz, Latin) CD

Includes the beautiful long "Afro Cuban Jazz Suite"! Composed, arranged, and conducted by Arturo (Chico) O'Farrill the Chico O'Farrill Afro-Cuban Jazz Big Band. Arturo O'Farrill, piano and musical director with John Benitez, Steve Berrios, Peter Brainin, Sam Burtis, Jimmy Cozier, Andy Gonzalez, Joe Gonzalez, Graciela, Roland Guerrero, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, Matt Hilgenberg, Jack Jeffers, Victor Jones, Marshall McDonald, Mike Migliore, Michael Mossman, Mario Rivera, Jon Owens, Jim Seeley, Max Schsweiger, Gary Valente, and Papo Vasquez. CD

A percussion heavy Latin set from the start of the 80s – one that has a very classic Cuban descarga approach to the instrumentation, yet which also sparkles with some more contemporary arrangements as well! Chico Alvarez handles most of the vocals, and plenty of percussion too – but there's also some great players in the mix on other instruments too – including Felix Vega and Chocolate Armanteros on trumpets, Jose Rodriguez on trombone, and Xavier Lynch on some mighty nice soprano sax and baritone – really giving the whole record a nicely jazzy vibe! Yet the percussion persists too, and with a bit of tres from Victor Trias, there's plenty of very rootsy elements to the record too – on titles that include "Chino's Yambu", "Rumba En El Solar", "Con El Ritmo Del Tambo", "El Eden De Los Roncos", "Pineiro", "Esa Brujeira", and "Yo Tengo A Chango". LP, Vinyl record album

A confusing title, but a wonderful little record! The album's as much a Herbie Mann Latin session as it is a record by Johnny Rae – which is probably why the album's titled as such – and the group on the set features Rae on vibes, Herbie on flute, Jack Six on bass, Philly Joe Jones on drums, Bobby Corwin on piano, and Jose Mangual, Patato Valdes, and Victor Pantoja on an assortment of Latin and African percussion. The groove is tremendous – Latinized jazz, but with a real tension between the heavy percussion on the bottom and the ligher flute and vibes on the top – especially on the album's more tribal, African-styled numbers. The "suite" features 7 tracks in all – 5 composed by Herbie ("Sorimao", "Beouin", "Sudan", "Ekunda", "Guinean"), plus a version of Sonny Rollins' "St Thomas", and the track "Jungle Fantasy" by Noro Morales. (Jazz, Latin) LP, Vinyl record album

2 live cookers from Cal Tajder – back to back on a single CD! The set begins with Night At The Blackhawk – one of Cal's best late 50s dates for Fantasy Records – thanks to some smoking tenor sax from Jose "Chombo" Silva! The album has Cal working in the very comfortable territory of San Francisco's Blackhawk Nightclub – in a combo that also features familiar players Vince Guaraldi on piano, Al McKibbon on bass, Willie Boby on drums, and Mongo Santamaria on congas – all musicians who'd previously helped Tjader hit some of his best Latin grooves! But the addition of Silva on a few tracks here really makes the set crackle – giving it a gutsy, soulful fee that you don't always get on some of Tjader's other records. Tracks are longish – and titles include the nice original "Bill B", plus jazzy versions of "I Love Paris", "Blue & Sentimental", and "Night In Tunisia". Live & Direct is great live work from Cal Tjader – one of a number of sets but at his home turf of the Blackhawk Nightclub in San Francisco! The album's nicely laidback, with tracks that stretch out a bit more than Tjader's studio work for Fantasy Records – often hitting a slight Latin groove at times, but with a bit more of a straight jazz vibes feel overall! The great Lonnie Hewitt's on the group on piano, coloring in the tunes with some very soulful notes – and in addition to Cal's vibes, the rest of the lineup includes Victor Venegas on bass, and Willie Bobo on drums. Mongo Santamaria on congas and Rolando Lozano on flute join in on the track "Mambo Terrifico" – and other titles include "Racoon Straits", "Bad & The Beautiful", and "You Stepped Out Of A Dream". Note that the CD omits the track "The Continental" from Live & Direct – due to space restrictions. (Jazz, Latin) CD

With selections by Pepe Aguirre and Orquesta Angel Capriolo, Jorge Omar with Francisco Lomuto and Orquesta Tipica, Orquesta Tipica Victor, Roberto Maida with Francisco Canalo, Alberto Reynal with Juan D'Arienzo, Alberto Vila, Roberto Ray with Osvaldo Fresedo, Jorge Abril with Orquesta Luis Veloso, Antonio Quintanilla with Orquesta Tipico Hermanos Carbone, Ada Falcon with Franciso Canaro, Oswaldo Pugliese, and Ricardo Ruiz. LP, Vinyl record album

A series of new recordings – different than the mostly 78-based music we know from the Dust To Digital record company – yet one that's presented in a format that's every bit as compelling as some of the other global projects from the label! The recordings were done in Cadiz, almost as an ethnographic project – with under-recorded flamenco artists in a very lean setting – as a way of showing that at a grass roots level, flamenco is still very much alive and has a very vibrant role in contemporary Spain – one that's maybe even more powerful here than in glossier studio recordings of the music. The package is great – a hardback book with 96 pages of images, photos, and writing on the music – with a CD that includes the selections "Rondena" by Jesus Guerror, "Saeta" by El Nino Del Parque, "Malaguena" by Ana Polanco & Victor Rosa, "Alegria" and "Buleira" by Trini & Juani De La Isla with Jesus Castilla, "Solea" by Jesus Catilla & Juani De La Isla, and "Seguiriya" by Pedrin De La Isla & Victor Rosa. (Global Grooves, Latin) CD

A set of merengue tracks, but from a very focused source – as the package features all numbers recorded in the Dominican Republic during the 60s and 70s – often with a groove that sets them apart from the rest! The rhythms here are often blindingly fast – so much so, you might be tempted to make sure you're not playing the album at 45rpm – which makes for an even more amazing discovery once you realize that live musicians are moving at such speed with such dexterity – in a way that also creates all this weird tension in the vocals and other instrumentation too! As with other Bongo Joe sets, the track list is great – and titles include "La Negra" by Bilo Y Sus Tipicos, "Me Gustan Las Pegajosas" by Trio Ramirez, "Que Mala Suerte" by Rafaelito Roman, "La Mecha" by Victor Suriel Y Trio Rio Verde, "La Pasion De Cristo" by Trio Royecell, "Por La Manaita" by Negrito Figueroa, "Cana Brava" by Fefita La Grande, and "Los Lanbones" by Aristides Ramirez. CD

A set of merengue tracks, but from a very focused source – as the package features all numbers recorded in the Dominican Republic during the 60s and 70s – often with a groove that sets them apart from the rest! The rhythms here are often blindingly fast – so much so, you might be tempted to make sure you're not playing the album at 45rpm – which makes for an even more amazing discovery once you realize that live musicians are moving at such speed with such dexterity – in a way that also creates all this weird tension in the vocals and other instrumentation too! As with other Bongo Joe sets, the track list is great – and titles include "La Negra" by Bilo Y Sus Tipicos, "Me Gustan Las Pegajosas" by Trio Ramirez, "Que Mala Suerte" by Rafaelito Roman, "La Mecha" by Victor Suriel Y Trio Rio Verde, "La Pasion De Cristo" by Trio Royecell, "Por La Manaita" by Negrito Figueroa, "Cana Brava" by Fefita La Grande, and "Los Lanbones" by Aristides Ramirez. LP, Vinyl record album