Tito Peak

Flamboyant and innovative percussionist who infused big-band music with Latin sounds to become El Rey de los Timbales.
By virtue of his warm and buoyant stage manner, constant touring, longevity, and appearances in the mass media, Tito Puente became one of the most beloved symbols of Latin jazz. But more than that, he managed to keep his music remarkably fresh over the decades; as a timbales virtuoso, he combined mastery over every rhythmic nuance with old-fashioned showmanship. A trained musician, he was also a fine, lyrical vibraphonist, a gifted arranger, and played piano, congas, bongos, and saxophone…

While the music that came to be termed "salsa" originated in Cuba, Puerto Ricans have been among its strongest supporters. One New York-reared puertoriqueno who soared to the top of the salsa world in the 1950s was timbale player/vibist Tito Puente. Boasting such early Puente gems as "Cual Es La Idea," "Oye Mi Guanguanco" and "Yambecua," the exuberant, infectious Cuban Carnival is essential listening for anyone with even a casual interest in Afro-Cuban music. Many of the players Puente employs in his driving orchestra - including Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo and Carlos "Patato" Valdez - would become among the most celebrated percussionists in Latin music. Whether the style is mambo, son, cha-cha or rhumba, Cuban Carnival is outstanding from start to finish.

Tito & Tarantula is an American chicano rock/stoner rock band formed in Hollywood California in 1992 by singer/songwriter/guitarist Tito Larriva. The band is best known for its songs, "After Dark", "Back to the House That Love Built", "Strange Face of Love", and "Angry Cockroaches", as well as for its role in Robert Rodriguez's film From Dusk till Dawn as the band performing at the "Titty Twister" nightclub. "After Dark" was the track played during Salma Hayek's iconic exotic dance scene in that film, and later became the theme for From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series. Back into the Darkness is the fifth album by Tito & Tarantula, released in 2008.

They'd been calling him "El Rey" for years, but Tito Puente really proved it on this, one of his best original LPs on Tico. Yes, this is the one with "Oye Como Va," one of the brightest, most exuberant Latin performances of the century, but El Rey Bravo has plenty of other features for Puente's tight pachanga orchestra…

Tito Puente was never one for half measures, and even in death there's no modesty involved, as the label calls him King of Kings. It might be an exaggeration, but only a slight one, and it gets the attention. Still, as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and there's a hearty meal here, albeit one missing one or two choice dishes, like Puente's original version of "Oye Como Va," a song that indirectly brought him a whole new audience. However, "Honk Kong Mambo" is here, "Dance Mania," and "Dance of the Headhunters," so it's hard to find too much fault with the disc's 21-track selection. While the man wasn't shy about having his timbales, or himself, front and center, he truly was a driving force in his music - and, as this CD shows, he knew how to write more than his share of good tunes, too…

Tito Puente - Dance Mania (1958) {2CD 2009 Legacy Edition Vol 1&2 Extra Tracks}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 825 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 316 Mb
Full Artwork @ 600 dpi (jpg) -> 315 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1958, 2009 RCA / Legacy / Sony Music | 88697 44710 2
Jazz / Latin Jazz / Afro-Cuban Jazz

Dance Mania, Tito Puente's best-known and best-selling album, came ten years into his career, but at a time (1957) when the craze for mambo and Latin music was beginning to crest. (Another landmark LP, Pérez Prado's Havana 3 A.M., had been released the previous year, and Prado's "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White" had hit number one in 1955.) Recorded as part of a just-signed exclusive contract with RCA and appearing in vibrant sound as part of the label's Living Stereo series, Dance Mania exploded with a series of tight arrangements, propulsive playing, and the features of new additions in vocalist Santos Colón and conguero Ray Barretto (who helped, in part, make up for the recent loss of Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria to Cal Tjader's group).