Here is the laid-back funky gem "Stories" by the group Chakachas. This rare cut was featured on the group's 1972 self-titled album and has a sound that is very much in the same vein as their notable disco classic "Jungle Fever", which was released around the same time. A perfect track to throw on during these warm summer months. Enjoy!
When it comes to blurring the lines between funky Latin music and disco, nobody might have brought the two together better than the seventies group Charanga 76. The group is mostly known for their classic 1979 album No Nos Pararan which features some increadible covers of some disco classics including McFadden & Whitehead's "Ain't No Stopping Us Now" and Chic's "Good Times" among many others. During that same year that group also released a twelve-inch single featuring the song "Music Trance". This twelve-inch release mostly, at the time, got overshadowed due to the success of the No Nos Pararan album. Now that it's not the late seventies and we can fully examine all of Charanga 76's work, it might be safe to say that "Music Trance" is one of the group's best songs and one that certaintly deserves the same kind of attention that songs like "No Nos Pararan" recieved during it's intial release. The song features all kinds of amazing percussion breaks and Latin flavored instrumental grooves throughout that is all tied together by a very catchy chorus. Overall, it's just another example of Charanga 76's brilliance and why they were ahead of the pack when it came to the Latin disco scene during the late seventies. Enjoy!
It's Friday so let's keep it simple and sweet with the disco classic "Woman" from one of my all-time favorite groups in Barrabas. Going through the archive pages of this site, I was very shocked to find that I've never featured this song in a post until now. The song "Woman", was a huge Loft and Gallery classic back in the early to late seventies, and is probably the most recognized song from all of the group's releases. The track has that overall signature Barrabas sound, blending elements of disco, rock, and Latin instrumentation together to produce one of the most influential and played songs of the seventies. Enjoy your weekend!
Here is a funky rare Latin track titled "Flight to Cuba" by the group Fire. I'm not sure exacty when this song was produced however I wouldn't be suprised if it originated in the early seventies. The song has more recently been re-issued by a few labels including Luv N'Haight and Harmless. Overall, "Flight to Cuba" is a great funky instrumental Latin cut that includes some solid percussion breaks. Now if I can only get the U.S. government to allow me to take that "flight to Cuba" for a visit, I would be a very happy person. Hopefully someday our country will end this ridiculous and out-dated sanction. Until then, Enjoy!
One thing I find extremely hard to do is to declare all-time favorites when it comes to artists/groups, albums, and songs. For example, I know that Arthur Russell is my all-time favorite artist, however when it comes to my top five, it starts to get kind of hazy. The more I think about it however, the more that I've concluded that one of my top five favorites is the funky Latin rock band Barrabas. I've posted their music on this site many times and I find they are one of those groups that truly blurs the lines between many of my favorite music genres including disco, Latin funk/jazz, along with heavy Afro-hitting percussion rhythms. Today, I thought I would share another one of my favorite tracks of theirs in "Take It All". This funky 1975 cut represents one of the group's more hard-to-find songs to hunt down. I first heard it on Vampi Soul's 2005 Barrabas-retrospective compilation titled Musica Caliente. The double-vinyl album serves as sort of a "greatest hits" type of release for the group however, in fair criticism, some of the group's best material is missing from the release including "Woman" and "On The Road Again" among others. The other thing I question when comes to the Musica Caliente record is the accuracy when it comes to which album each song was originally included on. I own most of Barrabas' original albums and some of the back-cover information seems to be slightly inaccurate. For instance, "Take It All" was supposedly released on an album titled Desperately and according to my knowledge Desperately is a single released by the group and not an album. Regardless, the overall Vampi Soul release is solid and helps outline many of Barrabas' best and at times rarest tracks like "Take It All". Even with what I feel like are some song credit inaccuracies, I still believe Musica Caliente is a record definitely worth owning. Enjoy!
Recently, I was excited to find an original copy of José Mangual's 1977 album Buyú. The record marks as the Latin percussionist's folllow-up release to his highly acclaimed instructional based album Understanding Latin Rhythms, Vol. 1. Before releasing his material, Mangual worked as a session percussionist, playing bongos, congas and timbales for known jazz artists like Miles Davis, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Willie Bobo, and many others. On Buyú, the Puerto Rico native showcases his abilities with some funky Latin cuts like "Mai Kinshasa", "Chinatown", "Bomba A Puerto Rico", as well as the more dance floor friendly track "Black & Brown Boogie". Overall, the album marks as a great release of work from another one of Latin music's finest percussionist. Enjoy!
Here is one of my favorite tracks from the legendary Latin percussionist Ray Barretto, titled "Together". This funky Latin gem was originally the title track to his 1969 album Together, which was released off Fania Records. When it comes to Barretto, it's safe to say that he had quite a prolific career which started off as being a member of Tito Puente's orchestra during the late 1950's before he went on to form his own Latin orchestra, and eventually becoming a part of the Fania All Stars. On my recent trip to Seattle, I was excited to snatch up a used copy of his 1973 Carnaval album, which I've been enjoying and playing in heavy rotation ever since. For those who aren't as familiar,"Together" might just be the perfect introduction to his amazing collection of music. The song definitely has an overall Latin feel, as does all of his songs, however crosses over nicely when comes to the dance floor, as well as the blending of the track within other genres of music. At times it reminds me of an early Barrabas song. Overall, it's just a glimpse of the brilliance that is Ray Barretto. Enjoy!
Well, I surely knew that when I decided to do a 2009 Best of post, I was bound to unintentionally leave out some worthy releases from the following year. One of those releases, which was right up there with the best albums of 2009, was Cesar's Salad's funky Latin jazz masterpiece Latin Beat. Cesar's Salad is a small combo that nicely blends together congas, Latin percussion, bass, and piano to create some of the funkiest Latin cuts of the past few years. Amazing tracks like "Batucada Surgiu", "Afrodisia", "Bolivia", and "Nana" take the listener on a journey back to the Latin dancefloors of Spanish Harlem during the 1960's. For fans of Sabu Martinez, Har-You Percussion Group, Mongo Santamaria, Latin Beat is an album definitely worth owning. The only downside I've found when it comes to this group, is that Latin Beat is a CD/Digital release only, leaving us vinyl lovers a little bit out in the dark. The only compromise has been the fact the group has release a seven-inch single of arguably the album's best track in "Batucada Surgiu". Hopefully in time we will see more vinyl releases from this upcoming group. Until then, I'll be putting the iPod on repeat and enjoying every second of the Latin Beat.
It's Monday, which for the record, is my least favorite day of the week for obvious reasons. Anyways, I'm going to step a bit further outside the conventional "box" on this blog and post another amazing track, titled "Burned Sugar", from an artist I just can't seem to get enough of lately, and that's Sabu Martinez. The sixteen-plus minute funky Latin jazz cut is the title track to Martinez's three song album Burned Sugar: The Swedish Radio Recordings 1973, released in 2008 by the Swedish label Mellotronen. Until the more recent release of Burned Sugar, this collection of recordings was pretty much unable to be obtained. The Mellotronen label released at least four albums worth of lost and rare material from Martinez, that I know of, which represents much of the music he recorded during the final years of his life while he was living in Sweden. The records three tracks, "Burned Sugar", "Bernt", and "Mambollo", are all outstanding Funky Latin gems that feature plenty of congas, bongos, and heavy percussion alongside tasty electric piano, sax, and flute grooves. Overall, if you find yourself enjoying Sabu's classic Afro Temple record, than I highly recommend picking up a copy of Burned Sugar. In my opinion, the album represents some of the best funky Latin jazz that was ever recorded.
I've had a long and exhausting day, so I'm going to keep this short and very sweet with a funky Latin-flavoured gem in Candido's "I'm On My Way". This cut was released on Candido's solid 1971 Blue Note records released album Beautiful. "I'm On My Way" is just one of the many great tracks that is included on the record, and I highly recommend checking out the entire release. Enjoy!
One of the more surprising favorites of 2009 was my personal choice for compilation of the year in Soundway Records' Tumbele! Biguine Afro & Latin Sounds From The French Caribbean 1963-74. This compilation is far from being considered "disco", however the record is one of the funkiest compilations I've ever heard. From start to finish, this album is very solid. Most of the songs and artists, before this compilation was released, I've never heard before, and this record really highlights the lost rare grooves from the French Caribbean. Some of my favorite cuts, even though I enjoy the entire record, include Barel Coppet Et Mister Lof's "Jeunesse Vauclin", Robert Mavounsy Quartet's "Henri Te Vle Maye", and Raphael Zachille's "Manze Mona" among many others. Overall, this might be one of those compilations that you find yourself sitting on the fence when it comes to purchasing, which makes sense due to the comp's very unknown and rare material, however if you enjoy funky rare world beats and Latin/ Afro grooves, this amazing record is an absolute masterpiece. Enjoy!
I hope everybody had a great holiday break, mine was low-key and relaxing, just the way I like it. The only thing I didn't do enough during my four-day mini vacation was enough record hunting. That being said, the little that I did payed off with me scoring an original copy of J. Walter Negro & The Loose Jointz's twelve-inch classic Shoot The Pump. This 1981 funky latin gem was recently featured on Soul Jazz's excellent compilation New York Latin Hustle!. Overall it was a nice find on an otherwise minimal week of crate digging.
This will be my last post for the week as tomorrow is my 29th Birthday and I'm taking the rest of the week off. It's been quite a busy six-plus months for me, therefore as usual, I appreciate everyone who has supported me, my edits, and this blog throughout the years, and especially the last few months. I really appreciate it.
This past week I spent a few days in Seattle for work. While I was there I hit up one of my favorite record stores in Jive Time Records and I came across one of the most amazing records I have ever heard in The Har-You Percussion Group's 1969 self-titled LP. This funky Afro-Latin masterpiece has been re-issued I believe a few times, however this record shop had a mint original going for about $600, therefore it's safe to say I didn't buy it. I would say, however, if it went for anything $100, it would be sitting in my apartment right now as I type this. I guess for now, I will settle for a digital copy which you can find in a number of places on the web. Overall this record is solid from start to finish, capturing a "mostly instrumental" collection of material that blend the best of Afro-Cuban, Latin, jazz, and soul-funk grooves together to create a true masterpiece that will definitely stand the test of time. The group was formed by the guidance of Jamaican-born percussionist Roger "Montego Joe" Sanders, who was basically trying to create a music outreach program in Harlem. He brought together, taught, and directed a large Afro-Cuban ensemble made up of young musicians within the community. A pretty amazing story and foundation to maybe one of the greatest records I've ever heard. Enjoy this!
On to the music...Yesterday, when I was back in San Francisco, I was excited to find Mongo Santamaria's funky 1975 LP "Afro-Indio". I had been looking for this rare and funky latin groove record for quite sometime. The whole album is solid, consisting of numerous funky latin instrumentals including today's featured track "Funk Down", which was the song that first brought my attention to the album. This is the first Santamaria record I've actually owned. I've been meaning to get into more his music, especially his more uptempo groove material, however I haven't quite been able to pull the trigger on a purchase until yesterday. After listening to this record, I must admit that I will definitely be checking out more music from this artist in the weeks and months to come.
It's been a hectic week to say the least. As some of you might know, on top of everything I do musically (blogs, edits, dj, production), I am also the web producer/ designer for the Seattle Opera. We are getting ready to open Richard Wagner's Ring cycle on Sunday, and my most busy work days are those leading up to an opera. Some weeks really challenge me as far as juggling my work load with these blog posts and this was one of those weeks. Therefore I really appreciate every one's enthusiasm. That being said I'm really looking forward to stepping away from the opera scene and spinning some disco gems later on this evening at the Capitol Club. You also will be able to catch me at the Lo-fi Gallery tomorrow night, spinning the early set.
Sometimes, as I'm sure you've noticed, I like to step away from "pure" disco tracks(if there are any), and highlight other funky music and crossover cuts of the late seventies that didn't neccessarily fall into the "disco" category, but was very influential. Today is going to be another one of those times. That being said, a group that was a lot more latin and a lot less disco was the Fania All-Stars. I don't want to really get into the groups entire and accomplished history or highlight all the amazing members (which they definitely do have) that made-up the distinguished musical group, however I want to share a track that I've really been enjoying lately in their 1976 track "Picadillo" from the groups album Delicate And Jumpy. This version of the group featured some noteable musicians including Ray Barretto, Bobby Valentin, Papo Lucca and many many others. Overall the track has a funky laid back latin groove that I think would work well in the middle or even the "cool-down" of a disco set. A track that can really help change-up the groove slightly without losing people on the dancefloor. Regardless, being a Fania All-Stars fan like myself, the songs funky grooves has me playing this track on repeat as of late. Hopefully you'll enjoy it just as much as I do.
I've had a bit of an exhausting and busy day, so I'm going to keep this post short and sweet with Louie Ramirez's funky "Do It Any Way You Wanna" cut off the excellent Soul Jazz compilation New York Latin Hustle. This is just one of the many tracks I enjoy off this two-part doulbe album series. The original was featured on Ramirez's 1976 album A Different Shade Of Black, which has a number of solid latin disco flavoured cuts. I've been listening to this record a lot lately, especially as the weather continues to warm-up. Enjoy the hustle!
Lord Rhaburn Combo's funky "Disco Connection" is one of the many standout tracks from the Numero Group's excellent compilation Cult Cargo: Belize City Boil Up. This compilation focuses on the hard-to-find music produced by musicians of Belize, both in their native country and in the States, between 1967 and 1980. This record explores many different genres of music including early disco, funk, latin soul, boogaloo, dub, and many others. Personal favorites on the record include Jesus Acosta & The Professionals' latin-jazz flavoured "Guajida", Lord Rhaburn's "Boogaloo A La Chuck", and The Professionals' dubbed out version of "Theme From The Godfather". Overall, the record showcases a pretty impressive and diverse collection of music from this small, yet sprawling metropolis country within Central American.
When it comes to some of the best Latin-flavoured disco cuts of all-time, Elkin & Nelson's release of "Jibaro" has to be near the top. This seven-plus minute classic was released as a twelve-inch single back in 1979 and saw immediate success in Spain and throughout Latin America. The first versions of the song showed up back in 1974 on the groups Angeles Y Demonios LP. Regardless, this amazing track is by far one of the best Latin disco songs I've ever come across.
