Gustavo Puente Ojea

Tito Puente - Top Percussion / Dance Mania (1957) {RCA-Bear Family BCD 15687 rel 1993}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 496 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 182 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 15 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1957, 1993 RCA Victor / Bear Family Records | BCD 15687
Jazz / International Jazz / Latin Jazz/ Cuban Traditions / Mambo / Afro-Cuban Jazz

The mambo has become fashionable again lately, but for Tito Puente it has never gone out of fashion. In 1957 he cut two stellar albums for RCA, but just how good they were didn't become obvious until the advent of the CD. The full, rich sound on these LPs is nothing short of astonishing. This is mambo at its most ecstatic: blasting brass, sensual saxes, and that irresistible Afro-Cuban rhythm section led by Tito, Ray Baretto and Mongo Santamaria. This set contains 23 titles, including 3-D Mambo, Mambo Gozon, Conga Alegre, Hot Timbales…. etc.. Ay! Ay! Ay!

Summarizing Tito Puente's numerous accomplishments on a single CD would be impossible. El Rey del Timbal!, a 1997 disc spanning 1949-1987, barely scratches the surface - but for Puente, a five-CD box set would also only scratch the surface. But this gem-laden collection does illustrate just how remarkably consistent the salsa legend was during the course of 38 years. El Rey del Timbal! kicks into high gear with 1949's "Ran-Kan-Kan" before treating listeners to such essential 1950s recordings as "Cao-Cao Mani Picao," "Cual Es Tu Idea," "Agua Limpia Todo," and "Oye Mi Guaguanco." Live versions of "Separala Tambien" and "A Gozar Timbero" from 1960 are superb, as is 1961's exuberant "T.P. on the Strip." Though salsa dominates the disc, Puente's Latin jazz output for Concord Picante in the 1980s is well represented by "El Rey del Timbal" and "Machito Forever"…

Born in Spanish Harlem to parents from Puerto Rico, Tito Puente would eventually become a legendary musician of Latin-jazz, and dance-oriented mambo compositions. Over his 50 year career Puente released or appeared on a vast catalog of albums (notably Dance Mania in 1958), on television (The Cosby Show and The Simpsons) and in films (The Mambo Kings). This is a recording with excellent sound. It's a must-have album for Tito Puente fan.

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…

This Concord CD was Tito Puente's 99th as a leader and the music is particularly strong. Four jazz standards alternate with a quartet of Puente's originals and Chucho Valdes' "Cha Cha Cha," all of which are potentially good vehicles for jazz improvisations (although "Ode" and "Lambada" are dominated by group vocals). There are plenty of fine solos throughout by the five horn players and the three or four-piece percussion section keeps the rhythms infectious. In the world of Latin-jazz, Tito Puente has had few peers.