A crackling live set from Tito Puente – recorded at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1977, and more of a straight Latin jazz set than most of his other work of the 70s! The performance is really wonderful – classic Tito without any other trappings at all – Puente in the lead on timbales and vibes, working with a lively large group who are clearly schooled in the stylings of the mambo years of the 50s, but who bring a much more contemporary feel to their music overall! There's no electric instrumentation at all – and players include Mauricio Smith on flute, Richard Pullin on trombone, and Albert Shikaly on tenor. Frank Figueroa sings a bit on the performance, but the main focus is instrumental – and titles include "Oye Como Va", "Tito's Odyssey", "Delierio", "Babarabatiri", "Pare Cochero", and "El Rey Del Timbal". CD

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 70s jazzy update of his best work from earlier years! The set is proof that Puente could keep his fire burning brightly even through many years of changes in Latin music – and the set features titles that include "Batuka", "China", "Palladium Days", "Nina Y Senora", "Para Los Rumberos", and "El Catire". LP, Vinyl record album

One Tito Puente's finest albums for RCA, with a tight hard bunch of cuts that have a Cuban big band sound, and a lot more drive to them than some of Tito's other work for the label. Ray Bryant wrote the great track "Cuban Fantasy", and Tito contributed most of the other tunes on the set – a really unique batch of material that includes "Yambeque", "Elegua Chango", "Que Sera", and "Cha Cha De Pollos". The percussion is nice and hard, and the band grooves in tight ensemble playing throughout! CD

A late date from Tito Puente, but a great one too – one of his sublime sessions for Concord Records during the 80s – done with a rock-solid approach to Latin jazz! Puente really hits on all burners during these years – free of gimmicks, or any need to sound too modern – and instead moving back into a jazzy style that's almost more classic than any of his records from years back! Of course, the recording style is more modern – but never with any 80s gimmicks at all, just in ways that let the players open up even more than usual on their solos – a good thing, given that the lineup features Mitch Frohman on reeds, Robbie Kwock on trumpet, Sam Burtis on trombone, and Sonny Bravo on piano – and we're also guessing some arrangements too. Titles include "Airegin", "Pent Up House", "Picadillo A Lo Puente", "All Blues", "Lambada Timbales", and "Ode To Cachao". CD

Brilliant work from the Picante label – the Latin-styled offshoot of the main Concord Records imprint – home to some of the best west coast Latin music for the past few decades! At a time when so many other labels were going for hits and crossover material, Picante started things out right with a real back-to-basics approach to Latin jazz – one that stripped the music back down to its roots, and focused on key instrumental contributions from top-shelf players. This approach continued even when the label moved into some vocal work too – and when it took on the amazing Tania Maria, who brought a bit of Brazilian flavor to their roster too – and over the years, Picante's west coast work really took over the helm from New York gians like Fania or Alegre. This 4CD package is filled with Picante gems from the glory days of the label – and titles include "Spain" by Tito Puente, "Mambo Mindoro" by Cal Tjader, "Think Twice" by Monty Alexander's Ivory & Steel, "Up Late" by Jeff Linsky, "Soca Me Nice" by Mongo Santamaria, "Night In Tunisia" by Caribbean Jazz Project, "Ran Kan Kan (Thunderball vs Fort Knox Five rmx)" by Tito Puente, "La Voz Del Caribe" by Eddie Palmieri, "La Cuna" by Pete Escovedo, "El Shing A Ling" by Poncho Sanchez, "Bom Bom Bom Tchi Tchi Tchi" by Tania Maria, "Sonando" by Poncho Sanchez, "Evil Ways" by Carmen McRae & Cal Tajder, and lots lots more. 50 tracks in all! CD

The vaults of Fania Records, plumbed by the Jazzman crew – all in a double-strength approach to Latin grooves! The wealth of great music on Fania, Tico, and related labels is well-known to Latin groovers worldwide – but the Jazzman crew have managed to bring a nicely fresh perspective to the labels here – going for cuts that show the labels' appeal to the funky 45 underground, thanks to a healthy dose of soul, jazz, and funk in the mix! Most of these numbers represent the cream of the crop of the New York scene of the late 60s and early 70s – not the mainstream one, but the side that was bubbling under uptown – as influences from Spanish Harlem mixed in nicely with older influences from Cuba and Puerto Rico. CD features 18 tracks in all – most of the numbers that were previously on the expensive 7" box sets that were part of the Fania/Jazzman project – and the set also features all the original notes on each tune too. Titles include "Doug's Room" by Mauricio Smith, "Come An Get It" by Eddie Palmieri & Cal Tjader, "Soana" by Noro Morales, "Hit The Bongo" by Tito Puente, "Geronimo" by Bobby Valentin, "Fever" by La Lupe, "Soul Drummers" by Ray Barretto, "Black Brothers" by Tito Puente, "Mambomongo" by Mongo Santamaria, "Camel Walk" by The Latinaires, "Tighten Up" by Al Escobar, "I Got The Feeling" by Chollo, "Use It Before You Lose It" by Bobby Valentin, and "Never Learned To Dance" by Harvey Averne. CD

Features tracks by Tito Puente, Kai Windig, Percy Faith, Tom Jobim, Paul Mauriat and more! CD

Caribbean styles hit the American scene – then get transformed into something completely different in this huge collection of recordings that span styles that include jazz, Latin, R&B, soul, and blues! In some cases, the Caribbean element comes through in the song structure – which might be lifted directly, then reworked for an American audience. But at other times, the influence is more in the rhythms or instrumentation – used as inspiration to then create something new – a bit in the way that American soul would provide the inspiration for reggae in the 60s. The package has the usual fantastic Fremeaux presentation – with a big booklet of historical notes, in both French and English, to support 66 titles that include "Jamaica Farewell" by Sam Cooke, "Salty Fish Aki Rice" by Ruth Wallis, "Bajan Girl" by Lionel Belasco, "Sly Mongoose" by Sam Manning, "El Gallero" by Dioris Valladares & Angel Viloria, "El Mambo Diablo" by Tito Puente, "Hey Little Girl" by Professor Longhair, "Un Poco Loco" by Bud Powell, "Chee Koo Baby" by Lloyd Price, "Shrinking Up Fast" by Camille Howard, "Ojai" by Joe Lutcher, "Salee Dame" by Albert Nicholas & Baby Dodds, "Inside" by Hector The Ram, "Run Come See Jerusalem"b y Stan Wilson, "I Learn A Merengue" by Robert Mitchum, "Afro Blue" by Cal Tjader, "La Maricutana" by Damiron & Chapuseaux, "Magical Joe" by Herb Jeffries, "Begin The Beguine" by Charlie Parker, "Make It Do" by Slim Gaillard, "Guitarambo" by Mickey Baker, and "Don't Touch Me Nylon" by The Charmer (aka Louis Farrakhan). CD