Latin Fever 1

60 track collection of current hits and classics. Artists include, Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Gloria Estefan, Gibson Brothers, Gypsy Kings, Kaoma, Enrique Iglesias, Santana, Lou Bega, Will Smith, Cher, Quincy Jones, DJ Mendez, Los Lobos, Perez Prado, Geri Halliwell, Kylie Minogue, Toni Braxton, Safri Duo and many more.

Typical of most Liberty products of the era, Latin Fever features a gorgeous, if perfectly lewd, jacket, which of course has no particular relevance to the musicians. Costanzo gets to reprise "The Peanut Vendor" ("El Manisero"), which was one of his three big spotlight numbers under Stan Kenton. Better are the five originals, however, including a deadly hip bass spotlight, "Bajo Numero Uno." (Sounds like a precursor to Perez Prado's seven-minute funk version of something that turns out in the last half-minute to be "Tequila.") Eddie Cano enjoys playing standards by Noro Morales and the Lecuonas in this group. While "Taboo" loses some of its exoticism with the bongos, it regains it with Alcaraz' flute. And "Malaguena" here is an excuse for a nearly eight-minute jam! Finally, "Drum-A-Mania" is a Mr. Bongo solo.

One of the great latin jazz lps of the 60s and featuring who else but Sabu Martinez. Latin Kaleidoscope is comprised of two suites, with the band swinging on well-written parts to a panoply of well-used percussion elements. Boland recruited drummers Kenny Clare, Al "Tootie" Heath" and Sabu Martinez to add their percussion talents. Gary McFarland’s six-part "Latin Kaleidoscope" is a joy to discover - much as it was to first hear his solo creations and offers much evidence of his gifts. Boland, who added his own touches to this suite, never takes a solo throughout and is occasionally heard on harpsichord; a sensitive touch to sensitively considered music. And excellent solos are taken by Sahib Shihab ("Duas Rosas"), Ronnie Scott ("Uma Fita de Tres Cores") and Aki Persson ("Othos Negros") Francy Boland’s "Cuban Fever" is like a musical postcard of Cuba: powerful, colorful, exciting…