Afro-Cuban Delight

After my recent post on Dizzy Gillespie's Afro-Cuban classic "Manteca" (see Funky Manteca), many readers where asking me about similiar artists, songs, and records that fall in line with that Afro-Cuban sound that "Manteca" captures so brilliantly. The first album that comes to mind that falls along the same line musically as the Gillespie classic is Kenny Dorham's 1955 album Afro-Cuban. The album, which features Dorham on trump as well as jazz giants like Art Blakey on drums, Horace Silver on piano, Hank Mobley and Cecil Payne on saxophone, and some excellent work on the congas by Carlos "Potato" Valdes, consists of some solid Afro-Cuban gems like "Minor's Holiday", "Basheer's Dream", and the funky classic "Afrodisia". This album showcased a different side musically for the trumpeter, who went on to release many more "smooth sounding" jazz records. Overall, when it comes to Afro-Cuban jazz, Dorham's Afro-Cuban album is an absolute masterpiece and a record that I highly reccommend. Enjoy!

Kenny Dorham - Afrodisia