A fantastic collection of music – 66 tracks that show the huge influence of Cuban rhythms in American music during the mid-century years – presented here in a wider range of styles than you might expect! This isn't just Latin music, made by Cuban cats hitting the New York scene – and instead, these are tracks that show the very deep penetration of sounds from Havana – at a level that has the rhythms emerging in soul, hardbop, R&B, and even more standard blues material! The CD divides the music up into three different CDs, each with a different theme – one that looks at rumba in jazz music, another the influence of the mambo, and the third the range of slower Cuban rhythms well into the 60s. Titles include "Dem Tambourines" by Don Wilkerson, "Cuba Doll" by Lloyd Glenn, "Summertime" by Red Saunders, "Soony Roony" by Slim Gaillard, "De Laff's On You" by Louis Jordan, "Conga Brava" by Duke Ellington, "I Come From America" by Chris Powell, "Jock A Mo" by Sugar Boy Crawford, "Woke Up This Morning" by BB King, "Fool Burro" by Mabel Scott, "Cu-Blue" by Billy Taylor, "Arabian Love Call" by Art Neville, "Out Of Nowhere" by Cal Tjader, "I've Waited So Long" by Eddie Cochran, "She Wants To Mambo" by The Chanters, "Mambo Hop" by Oscar Saldana, and "Mambocito Mio" by Illinois Jacquet. CD

A collection of tracks that amount to some of incredibly deep audio archaeology – a wonderful, consciousness wakening collection of globe spanning 78s from the first half of the 20th Century – all from the darkest corners of the EMI Vaults! Honest Jons does an impressive job of collecting recordings that are first and foremost exciting pieces of music – and they reportedly spent a couple of years going through thousands and thousands of 78s and to put this thing together. It was worth the effort! The album includes recordings from China in the 10s, Bali and London in the 20s, Constantinople, Kenya and Spain in the 30s, Uganda & Trinidad in the 50s, and much more from each decade in many parts of the world. Cuban rumbas, Middle Eastern & African string tunes, more pop oriented British tunes, vocal and pop with a global focus. Wonderful stuff! Titles include "The English Sound Table" by GU Hsu, "Lagu Kebiar" by Gamelan Gong, "Rumba Negra" by Sacasas, "Laughing" by Vemngopal Chari, "Different Kind Of Motor Car Noises" by Vengopal Chari, "The Queen's Canary" by Mighty Sparrow and more. CD

A really deep dive into the lost legacy of Franklin Boukaka – a singer who really helped revolutionize music in the Congo during the 60s, recording a heck of a lot of great tracks before a brutal murder took him from the planet in the early 70s! At some level, the work here is to Congolese music what some of the more playful township songs were to the South African scene – a new style, but one that also had a really universal sort of appeal – contemporary and catchy, yet still nice and lean, and never overproduced in any sort of European way! There's plenty of numbers here that show that strong 60s Congo love of Afro-Cuban elements – and the 3CD package also features work done with Manu Dibango, and the group Cercul Jazz. Titles include "Pasi Na Komona", "Succes Cercul", "Na Welate", "Dia Bikola", "Honole", "O Nongone Mba Mulema", "Na Ye Na Lisano", "Yanga", "Longwa Na Nzela", "Nitouani Yam Bi", "Awana Divorce Na Bana", and "Les Ecoliers". CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Titles include "Dame Un Cacho", "Tu Regreso", "Walter Winchell Rumba", "Noro In Rumbaland", "Vamos Ya", "La Reina", and "Mambo". LP, Vinyl record album

A legendary early set from percussionist Francisco Mora Catlett – and a really sublime blend of spiritual jazz and Latin rhythms! Mora's percussion is definitely at the core – but the set also features wonderful contributions from Vincent Bowens on tenor and soprano sax, Jerome LeDuff on berimbau, Alberto Nacif on quinto, and Detroit jazz legend Kenny Cox on piano! There's a balance here that really matches the best Strata East energy of the 70s – an open, flowing approach that's completely sublime, and very righteous too – even more so than anything Mora's done since the 70s – making this record one of his greatest achievements ever. Tersa Mora sings a bit of vocals at times – and titles include "Afra Jum", "Five AM", "Rumba Morena", "Samba De Amor", and "Cultural Warrior". CD has an insane amount of bonus tracks – 8 more than the original album – with titles that include "Old Man Joe", "Afra Jum", "Amazona", "Por Que Paro", and "El Morro". CD

Titles include "Guarachita", "Si Me Pudieras Querer", "Los Cinco Sentidos", "Amor Antillano", "Sun Sun Babae", "Mi Bambalaye", "Barin Bareta", and "Rumba A La Vida". LP, Vinyl record album

A terrific career-spanning anthology from one of Congolese music's most popular and influential figures! Papa Wemba first made his mark in 1969 as a co-founder of Zaiko Langa Langa, one of the great modernizers of Congolese rumba who employed a multiple singer frontline and ditched the horn section in favor of an all-guitar line-up. Wemba carried on this progressive mindset when he formed his own group, Viva La Musica, in 1974. The first CD of this excellent collection covers his early work with the band, where sublimely liquid guitar percolates, glides, and splashes over complex Cuban-flavored grooves. The second CD finds Wemba broadening his appeal as he spread his operations into Europe. While the sound definitely becomes slicker, his vocals remain deeply soulful and strong, the guitars even more crystalline, and the dense polyrhythms sturdier than ever. Wemba has come under fire in recent years, accused of illegally smuggling Africans into Belgium, but this essential document reminds us of his greatest accomplishments. Tracks include "Mere Sperieure", "Amina", "Bukavo Dawa", "M'Balumuna", and "Mi Amor". CD