Ay Que Rico!
Artist: Benny Velarde

Benny Velarde and Francisco Aquabella were among a number of Latin percussionists, performers, and bandleaders who got a chance to record during the late '50s as Latin music enjoyed a surge in popularity. Both led steady, competent ensembles that made songs solidly in the groove, designed for dancing. Although neither was a great soloist, they... Read More

New York City Ache!
Artist: Bobby Sanabria

Though not a Latin superstar a la Tito Puente, Ray Barretto or Mongo Santamaria, Bobby Sanabria is a solid, New York-based percussionist known for salsa, Latin jazz and traditional Puerto Rican music. Sanabria excels in all of those areas on his diversw New York City Ache! Salseros will want to savor "Brindando El Son," while engaging... Read More

Taboo
Artist: Ray Barretto

Ray Barretto's Taboo features a new, smaller version of his New World Spirit ensemble. Hector Martignon, who composes along with Barretto, is still here, as are Satoshi Takeishi, Ray Vega, and Jairo Moreno. Saxophonist Adam Kolker takes the sax chair vacated by Jay Rodriguez, and guitarist Alfredo Gonzales has not been replaced. The material is... Read More

Nueva Vision
Artist: Emiliano Salvador

Salvador's 1979 first album included Irakere hornmen D'Rivera, Sandoval and Varona and nueva trova singing star Pablo Milanes. The cuts, and Salvador's piano, move between fine fairly típico-based numbers with jazz soloing, (including a fine version of "Son de la Loma," and more strongly jazz-oriented arrangements. Maybe not a "landmark" album... Read More

Oye Como Va: The Dance Collection
Artist: Tito Puente

Given Tito Puente's staggeringly prolific output on recordings, obviously no single disc can sum it up, so Concord Picante sensibly calls this compendium a "dance" collection. With the aim to keep the mambos, guajiras and cha-chas moving and grooving foremost in mind, there is still a great deal of variety in this CD -- powerhouse big-band... Read More

Afro Blue: The Picante Collection
Artist: Mongo Santamaria

In assembling its own "Mongo's Greatest Hits" entry, Concord Picante had only a slim catalog of four albums, a narrow time frame, and one of Mongo's less incendiary phases to choose from. But they stuck with a purist concept, avoiding pop covers and experiments, targeting Mongo's vintage standards and numbers that conjure some of the old... Read More

Sobre el Fuego
Artist: India
Community Score: 10.00

India's Sobre El Fuego is a dynamic set of traditional New York salsa. The fact that India doesn't shake things up much at all is actually a benefit -- her rich voice and percolating, infectious music prove that "traditional" doesn't mean "conventional." Sobre El Fuego is about as entertaining as New York salsa can get. ~ Terry Jenkins, All... Read More

Calle Salud
Artist: Compay Segundo

Compay Segundo is one of the legends of Cuban music. When he started playing the clarinet in the municipal band of Santiago de Cuba as a teenager, the world was just recovering from World War I. Segundo is one of the musicians who shaped the Cuban son style. More recently, he was a major contributor to 1999's surprise hit Buena Vista Social... Read More