A killer collection of work from the legendary
Pucho & The
Latin Soul Brothers – one of the coolest, grooviest groups to record in the 60s – and one who equally touched the worlds of
soul, jazz, and
Latin at the time! The group have a really special blend here – a groundbreaking way of pulling together all the best sounds happening uptown – some of the
soul jazz currents you'd expect from their placement on Prestige Records, some of the crossover
soul influence that was taking place in Spanish Harlem, and even some of the funky currents that were showing up in the indie 45 underground of the late 60s. Many of these tracks emphasize that last side with work from the great Pazant
Brothers – who were a key part of
Pucho's group – as was Neal Creque, a killer pianist who'd later go onto make great records of his own. There's also some key use of electric bass, which kicks these tracks strongly from the bottom – and the 17 track CD is filled with gems that include "Shuckin N Jivin", "Swamp People", "Dateline", "Big Stick", "Swing Thing", "
Soul Yamie", "Something Black", and "Strange Thing Mambo".
(Latin, Soul) (Out of print.)