Fania/Craft, 1972. New Copy (reissue)
A fantastic classic from Latin percussion legend Ray Barretto – one of his most sophisticated albums of the 70s, and a set that's different than some of his later salsa hits! The album mixes together rootsy percussion and smoother jazzy arrangements – in a manner that keeps things ...
Rocafort (Spain), Late 60s. New Copy
A killer set of Latin Soul from the New York scene of the late 60s – a record that's every bit as wonderful as boogaloo classics on labels like Fania and Cotique, but which never got released at the time! The production quality is wonderful – with the mighty Bobby Marin heading up the ...
Palomonte/Jazz Room (UK), 1981. New Copy (reissue)
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 ...
Discos Fuentes/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1974. New Copy (reissue)
A record that's every bit as groovy as you might guess from the title – served up by one of the most unique combos to record for Colombia's Discos Fuentes in the 70s! Afrosound certainly have plenty of rhythms and sounds that resonate with their contemporaries at the top of the South ...
Vampi Soul (Spain), 1972. New Copy (reissue)
A really cool, complicated set of grooves – Peruvian tropical at its best, with plenty of sweet guitar lines mixed in with lots of rootsy percussion! Kroffer Jimenez handles the lead vocals, and has this style that leaps one minute, swells the next – very individual, and kind of a ...
Issste/Mr Bongo (UK), 1981. New Copy Gatefold
A wonderfully hard-to-categorize album from the start of the 80s – a Mexican record that mixes folkloric roots with electronic instrumentation – but all in a way that sounds much more ancient than you'd expect for the time! The fusion of modes here is wonderful – almost at a ...
IRT/Musica & Entretenimiento (Spain), 1972. New Copy (reissue)
A wicked Latin groover – with lots of American funky touches! Xingu were an obscure 70s South American combo, but they clearly heard plenty of funky 45s from the US – as the best tracks on this set have them grooving in a style that recalls the best of The Meters, The Nite-Liters, and ...
Discos Fuentes/Vampi Soul (Spain), Early 70s. New Copy 2LP
A stunning tribute to one of the real giants of Colombian music in the 70s – the legendary Fruko, a man who almost singlehandedly kick-started a new groove for the decade! Fruko was clearly inspired by the hip late 60s sounds of New York – but his work here is almost headier and more ...
El Palmas (Spain), Mid 70s. New Copy (reissue)
A well-done look at the music of Ray Perez – one of the hardest-hitting Latin leaders on the Venezuelan scene in the 70s, and a musician who's finally getting his due on the global scene! Ray's got a groove that's nice and sharp, and at times maybe more tuned towards the small combo sound of ...
El Palmas (Spain), Mid 70s. New Copy
Rare work from the obscure Andres and his combo – one of those Venezuelan salsa treasure that never saw that much exposure up here back in the day – different than Colombian and Puerto Rican records that formed a much bigger part of the New York scene! Yet the vibe here is every bit as ...
Mucer/El Palmas (Spain), 1982. New Copy (reissue)
A record that has a bit of a late 60s look on the cover, but which instead comes from the Venezuelan scene at the start of the 80s – the first recorded effort from the very groovy Moncho Y Su Banda! There's a quality to the record that's almost out of time – small combo Latin work that' ...
El Palmas (Spain), 1960s. New Copy
The cover's a bit stark, but the music is warm and wonderful – a collection of cuts by an obscure Venezuelan group of the 60s – a Latin combo who were originally formed by a bunch of engineering students – hence the name of the group! The music's not the stuff of slide rules and ...
Impulse, 1973. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
One of the most unusual albums issued by Impulse Records in the early 70s – one that's partly funky jazz, partly Chicano soul – and very much in that nice mixing of modes that the label was cooking up in the years after John Coltrane's passing! Gary Saracho leads the group on acoustic ...
Mag/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1966. New Copy (reissue)
That's Betico Salas on the cover – a hell of a trumpet player, and one who really sets the tone for this rare album from the Peruvian scene! The record's very much in the best small combo mode of the New York scene of the time, but also has some unique South American touches too – some ...
Pyraphon/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1969. New Copy (reissue)
A stunning set from the great Ray Perez – the Venezulan pianist and Latin bandleader who cut some killer records back in the day, but hardly ever got the global fame he deserved! As with some of Ray's other gems from the time, the music here is nicely offbeat – partly in that small ...
Alegre/Honey Pie, Early 60s. New Copy (reissue)
A landmark album that shaped Latin jazz for years to come! The format of the set borrows heavily from the previous Cuban Jam Session LPs, but gives it a real New York twist that made the Alegre albums much stronger overall – and much more influential in a wider spectrum. A core group fo ...
Fania/Craft, 1975. New Copy (reissue)
A classic bit of 70s salsa gold from vocalist Hector Lavoe – a record done in close collaboration with Willie Colon, with whom Lavoe had worked on a great run of albums during the late 60s and early 70s! The set's got a slightly warmer and more straightforward feel than some of Willie's ...
Tico/Craft, 1972. New Copy (reissue)
A heavy groover from Tito Puente – recorded in a back to basics style, but with a hard percussive edge! The sound here has plenty of jazzy touches – almost in the mode of Tito's funky big band records of the mid 70s, but with less of the funk or the large group touches – almost a ...
Fania/Craft, Early 70s. New Copy Gatefold (reissue)
Killer early work by the Fania All Stars – caught live at the legendary Cheetah club, which was the heart of the New York salsa scene at the start of the 70s! The album is easily one of the best by the group – and features long tracks that really capture the jamming intensity that ...
Fania/Craft, 1971. New Copy (reissue)
Killer early work by the Fania All Stars – caught live at the legendary Cheetah club, which was the heart of the New York salsa scene at the start of the 70s! The album is easily one of the best by the group – and features long tracks that really capture the jamming intensity that ...
Omega/Mr Bongo (UK), 1970. New Copy (reissue)
Fierce funky grooves from the legendary Nico Gomez – a set cooked up in Europe, but heavy with influences from the other side of the Atlantic – from Havana all the way up to New York! There's definitely a Latin groove to the record – one that's similar to other Gomez productions ...
Nu Tone, 2023. New Copy
We'll admit that the look of Tito Ramirez on the cover initially made us a bit suspicious – but once the record gets going, it's a surprisingly groovy set! The set begins with a chicha-styled number, complete with surf guitar – but following tracks bring in plenty of Latin soul and ...
Soul Jazz (UK), Late 70s/Early 80s. New Copy 2CD
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 ...
Fremeaux & Associates (France), Late 50s/Early 60s. New Copy 3CD
A fantastic look at one of the biggest contributions that Cuba ever made to music in the 20th Century – the rise of the jam session and descarga scene in Havana right before the revolution – a moment that saw an already-great style get even better in the hands of a few key musicians! ...
Munster (Spain), 1969. New Copy (reissue)
Ana and Jaime may look like post-punk artists on the front cover, but they've got a style here that's perfect for the 1969 date of the recording – a really cool mode that mixes mainstream Latin pop with some killer psychedelic touches – served up with lots of echo in the production, ...
TSG/P-Vine (Japan), 1976. New Copy
Maybe the best album ever from the mighty Ricardo Marrero – a 70s Latin talent who didn't record much, but always gave the world something wonderful when he did! The set's got this really great vibe – some cuts that update 60s Latin soul modes with even more righteous 70s elements ...
Andale, 1993. New Copy (reissue)
A great lost album from Pucho & The Latin Soul Brothers – not classic vintage, despite the front cover image, but an excellent session from the early 90s that still has Pucho very much at the top of his game! The album's way heavier than some of Pucho's other material from the period ...
Pyraphon/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1971. New Copy (reissue)
A really raw cooker from the great Ray Perez – an album that's overflowing with heavy percussion, hard-edged piano, and some mighty soulful vocals from Perucho Torcat – all with a vibe that feels like some lost New York indie Latin session from the mid 60s! The arrangements are nice ...
Alegre/Craft, Late 60s. New Copy (reissue)
A fantastic little album of Latin Soul – a perfect example of why Pete was known as the "King Of The Boogaloo" during the 60s! The group's having a non-stop party on the album – breaking it hard with heavy piano lines, rumbling bass underneath the grooves, tight timbales, and ...
Mag/Vampi Soul (Spain), 1968. New Copy (reissue)
Amazing Latin grooves from the Peruvian scene of the 60s – an a record that well lives up to its "descarga" title! Congolero Coco Lagos may hail from Lima, but he's got a sound that's right up there with the best of the New York scene of his generation – a hard-hitting and ...