The Jungle Book 1967

Major film composer Alan Silvestri became interested in music early, playing drums from age three and learning woodwinds and guitar. After his high school graduation in 1967, he entered the jazz-oriented Berklee College of Music in Boston. At 19 he moved to Las Vegas and toured with Wayne Cochran & the CC Riders, a rhythm & blues band. After that job was over, he accepted a contract to do arrangements on an album that was supposedly set up for his girlfriend. When Alan's first check bounced, they realized they had been had, and that they might be bound to the bogus contract for life. They traveled to Los Angeles and ended up paying borrowed money for their release. Silvestri was broke and stuck in L.A. His friend Mike Jarrett introduced him to Bradford Craig, who had received an Academy Award nomination for his work with Quincy Jones, and Craig was able to get Silvestri a few arranging jobs.

The flagship act for Fania Records, the Fania All-Stars popularized New York salsa during the 1970s by organizing concerts at larger and larger venues (from the Red Garter in Greenwich Village all the way to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx) that spotlighted not only the label's but the salsa world's biggest stars – Ray Barretto, Willie Colón, Johnny Pacheco, Rubén Blades, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, Cheo Feliciano, Bobby Cruz, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, and special guests like Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and Eddie Palmieri.

The flagship act for Fania Records, the Fania All-Stars popularized New York salsa during the 1970s by organizing concerts at larger and larger venues (from the Red Garter in Greenwich Village all the way to Yankee Stadium in the Bronx) that spotlighted not only the label's but the salsa world's biggest stars – Ray Barretto, Willie Colón, Johnny Pacheco, Rubén Blades, Hector Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, Cheo Feliciano, Bobby Cruz, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez, and special guests like Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, and Eddie Palmieri.

Good crossover album from Fania All-Stars featuring the track "Picadillo" - tough, tough Nu Yorican latin-jazz-funk-soul tune!

"This is not straight-up salsa, or any of the Latin music varieties one typically associates with Fania. This is salsa-flavored disco. The Fania touches elevate the material above standard-fare 70's club tracks, but the Washington Heights fire is no where to be found. Still, any of these tracks would add a little spice to a vintage disco set."

Music legend Steve Miller has produced and personally directed the curation and creative process for two new, career-spanning Steve Miller Band Ultimate Hits collections. Ultimate Hits edition featuring 22 essential Steve Miller Band tracks, including three previously unreleased rarities, and in an expanded double deluxe edition with 40 tracks, including the acclaimed band’s top hits, live tracks, and eight previously unreleased recordings from the studio and the stage.