Musica del Alma

LOS KENYA: A LATIN FUNK MIX PREVIEW

In anticipation of a new Heavy Latin Funk Mix that I will be releasing soon, I offer you a quick taste of what lays in store for that release.  The first song here will be prominently featured in the mix along with 60 minutes of some of the world’s rarest and heaviest Latin Funk jams.  Please stay tuned!

Here’s an excellent LP from Venezuela featuring Los Kenya, a popular Latin combo hailing from the coastal region of that country. Fronting the group was Ray Perez, a charismatic pianist and vocalist who also led the amazing Los Dementes. Click here to check out an excellent interview of Ray Perez by Roberto Ernesto Gyemant.

What originally attracted me to the LP was the track “Esa Mujer”, a frenetic combination of piano & horns atop funky Latin breakbeats. The song is termed a “Guajira Surf” on the LP’s back cover, and is about the coolest Latin song description I’ve come across. However, the raw boogaloo funk rhythms emanating from this track argue for a different title entirely!

But wait, this album has something else in store for the unsuspecting pair of ears. Beginning with a corny piano refrain, the monster “Al Trigueño” soon shoots off into the realm of jazzy salsa bliss; just the right environment for Señor Perez and his 88 keys to shine. The shear mastery of the Salsa being played on this track sons just about anything coming from New York City in this period, and strongly signifies the true salsa capital of the world resides further South! It builds up into an epic explosion of rhythm and horns that has far outweighed much of the music I have come across recently.

LOS KENYA: “Esa Mujer” & “Al Trigueño”
From the Volumen 2 LP (Discomoda, Colombia, 197?)

HEATROCKS FOR HAITI

In light of the horribly destructive earthquake in Haiti this past Tuesday, two music/record-related online discussion forums are offering places to auction off rare records for donation to charitable causes doing relief work in Haiti.

The first one is going on at SOULSTRUT:

CLICK HERE FOR HEATROCKS FOR HAITI ON SOULSTRUT

And a second is going on at Waxidermy:

CLICK HERE FOR HEATROCKS FOR HAITI ON WAXIDERMY

Check them out and contribute something for auction if you can, or just place bids on something that looks cool. There is some serious heat being auctioned off, people!

Tighten Yourself Up for 2010

Just in time for 2010, Los Johnny Jets urge y’all to tighten yourself up for the new year with a raw and fantastic cover of the Archie Bell and the Drells classic.  Coming from the seemingly endless vault of Mexican covers of popular American soul and funk songs from the 1960s and 70s, most of which are quite forgettable IMO, “Apretado (Tighten Up)” relishes in its own grittiness.  Bass, drums, guitar and hand claps are all this garage-styled monster needs to hold its own (and get your new year started off on the right foot!).

Shouldn’t be too hard to grab an affordable copy of this LP with enough patience.

Los Johnny Jets: “Apretado (Tighten Up)”
From the La Minifalda de Reynalda LP (Harmony, 1968)

Guest Post: Reynaldo # 2

Joining us again is Reynaldo, who today supplies us with a killer mix of Pachanga, Charanga, & Guaguanco to keep you dancing through the winter! Rey runs two of the finest Latin music/record sites online: the Latin Vinyl Junkie blog and his own Rare Latin record gallery.

-Adam
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LVJ Guaguanco, Pachanga, and Charanga Mix (LISTEN / DOWNLOAD)

I’m constantly on the hunt for Latin records/music to add to my collection, to post on my blog, or just to listen to and enjoy. When I hear a track that really catches my ear, I add it to my playlist of recent discoveries, and when the list gets to about thirty tracks, I whittle it down and sequence the songs until a coherent theme emerges. Then I can put together a solid mix such as this one, which consists of up-tempo pachanga, charanga, and guaguanco songs. My favorites from this mix are “Treinta Kilos” by Johnny Pacheco, and the two Charlie Palmieri & La Duboney cuts, “Pon Pon Pachanga” and “Tema De La Duboney,” which features Johnny Pacheco. Enjoy!

-Reynaldo

01. “Tema De La Duboney” – Charlie Palmieri & The Duboney Orchestra
02. “Treinta Kilos” – Johnny Pacheco
03. “Margie” – Ray Barretto
04. “El Pega Joso” – Antonio (Chocolate) Diaz Mena & His Orchestra
05. “Vivir La Vida Ortra Vez” – Orquesta Colon
06. “Yo Tengo Un Guia” – Los Nuevos Dementes
07. “Domino” – Rafael Cortijo Y Su Bonche
08. “La Calle Diez” – Sexteto Juventud
09. “Para Los Bravos” – La Tropicana De Eldy Tor
10. “Afro Breed” – Phil Moore III & the Afro-Latin Soultet
11. “Afro Revolt” – Afro Soul-Tet
12. “Peanut Vendor” – Jack Costanzo
13. “Sza, Sza, Ole” – Modesto’s Charanga Kings ft. Olguita
14. “Amalia Bataista” – Pete Terrace
15. “Tosca Pachanga” – Charles Fox & His Charanga
16. “Pon Pon Pachanga” – Charlie Palmieri and his Charanga “La Duboney”
17. “Pachanga En Katanga” – Mon Rivera
18. “Tony’s Cha Cha Cha” – Pete Terrace

Back in Form…

…with some Cuban Funk Fire! Sorry for the delay, but here we go again with a bangin LP on the Areito label. FA-5 have many things to offer on this LP: dirty takes on American Funk and Disco songs, heavy b-boy breaks (you’ll have to track the album down to see what I mean), and some straight-up tight musicianship. Check out their song “Salga y Baile”, which is a loose rendition of Kool and the Gang’s nasty funk classic, “Jungle Boogie” (well at least those horns sound like it to me!).

“Paso Sin Mas” is a quintessential Cuban Funk song but features some heavy guitar and a killer keyboard a la Ricardo Marrero. Lastly, there’s a break-heavy version of The Commodores’ “Brick House” on here that I figured I’d pass on. Cheesy? YES. Bangin? HELLS YES.

You have to appreciate the production quality on this joint, as with many Cuban LPs on the Areito label that emerged from groups fostered at Fidel Castro’s music schools in Havana and elsewhere. The state funding coming into these schools gave many musicians the chance to explore and experiment with Afro Cuban, Funk, Jazz, and Caribbean sounds in a groundbreaking way that still does not get the full attention it deserves. Check out these compilations of Cuban Music for more (if you haven’t already).

FA-5: “Salga y Baile”, “Pasos Sin Mas”, & “Casa Del Ladrillo (Brick House)”
From the S/T LP (Areito, 1976)

From Panama to Puerto Rico

So it’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Panamanian music, and this week we have one of the best combos out of the country doing their own thing with both originals and covers. I’ve had this album for ages, but I get more enjoyment from it with every listen. Check it out to hear why.

“Puerto Rico”, originally an Eddie Palmieri tune from his shit-hot album Sentido, starts the album off on a mellow tip, but slowly builds into one of the finest Salsa tracks I’ve heard. The guitar, a predominant instrument in most musical forms coming out of Panama, is the real star of the show here: taking the place of Palmieri’s keys, the guitarist guides the song through intense horn lines and deep breakdowns alike. Love this one to death!

“Let Me Do My Thing”, featured on the first Panama! comp, is easily one of the top 5 funk/soul songs from the isthmus. If not familiar already, do yourself a favor and git fam!

“Say Amor” is like a super chilled-out & mellow version of “Tighten-Up”, with an odd drum track that sounds almost like a drum machine at times. Again, the guitar and horn combo cannot be beat!

The last song on the album is “Morning”, a killer Latin Jazz staple as done by Cal Tjader and others. While the vocalist isn’t quite my style, I can definitely vibe-out to this with ease.

Los Dinamicos Exciters: “Puerto Rico”, “Let Me Do My Thing”, “Say Amor”, & “Morning”
From the Lo Mejor De Los Dinamicos EXCITERS LP (Discos Jacher, Panama, 197?)

Boogaloo en Peru

Yeah, its been comped to death, but I couldn’t resist throwing this up anyway!  Coco Lagos hails from Peru where he was a successful percussionist in his country during the sixties.  Joined here by an All-star line-up of MAG studio players (including Alfredo Linares on piano!), Coco and crew devise a sensational set of hot Latin tunes for their Ritmo Caliente album.  This 45 features two of my favorite tracks from the album: “Guajira Boogaloo,” a smoking dancefloor cut with a massive 8-bar break & “Descarga Jala Jala,” an energy-packed descarga of high potency.  Take a listen and see what you think!

Coco Lagos y sus Orates: “Guajira Boogaloo” b/w “Descarga Jala Jala”
From the MAG 7″ (196?)

Gallina Funky

Apologies for the long gap in posts, but I got the swine flu! Back on track with some crazy fresh Latin Funk covers supplied by Mexico’s very own Comparsa Universitaria, yet another group coming from our southern neighbor that specialized in covering popular songs from the US. Here we have them doing the “Funky Chicken” by Rufus Thomas and “Chicken Strut” by The Meters, putting their own style to the hit soul songs of the day.

Comparsa Universitaria de La Laguna: “El Ritmo de Gallina” y “El Pavoneo de la Gallina”
From the Una Comparsa Con Sabor album (Orfeon, Mexico, 196?)

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They must have found a winning formula by covering Rufus Thomas, because on a later LP entitled La Nueva!, the group returns to his catalog and bangs out a seriously cool cover of the “Push and Pull,” one of my favorite of Thomas’ songs to begin with. Do the “Poooosh and Pooooool” everybody….

Comparsa Universitaria de La Laguna: “Empuja y Estira“
From the La Nueva! album (Orfeon, Mexico, 197?)

Babalonia: Take 2

Building off of my first post on this site, we have an alternate version of Ricardo Marrero and The Group’s seminal Latin Funk/Disco classic “Babalonia” (appearing on the Don Records 7″).  This one comes from the Yu Qui Yu 7″, and is far slower and groovier than the other take.  Many of the musical elements are different, including a wah wah keyboard and the enlisting of a skilled bongo player.  So take a listen and decide which one you like best!

This take of “My Friend” (the same b-side as on the Don 45) is again far slower, and almost sounds like a different female singer to my ears. But how about that breakdown in the middle of the song? ¡Excelente!

Lastly, I’m not sure what the deal is with the note on the 45’s label: “Soundtrack from the Movie ‘TECATO (JESUS SAVES)’”.  Anyone know?  Could it be referring to this?

Ricardo Marrero and The Group: “Babalonia” & “My Friend”
Taken from the 7″ (Yu Qui Yu, 197?)

Descarga Para el Alma pt 2: North vs. South

Yo, apologies for the posting hiatus, but I’m back in action now.

A simple premise: 1 album from New York City with two hot descargas & 1 album from Colombia with two hot descargas.  Both include versions of “Mondongo” plus one more descarga each.

Now, I love the Latin sounds that emerged from NYC from the 1960s and 1970s to death, but the output that came from our southern friends down in Panama & Colombia raises the bar considerably in pure style.  The poorer recording equipment & inferior quality vinyl used in these tropical countries gives the music an unmistakable rawness and heaviness.  Not just that, the groups were looser, more creative , and waaaaaay more willing to take risks.

Case in point here.  Los Corraleros were a Cali-based group of talented players that traveled to the Big Apple to gig and record a few albums on more occasions than one.  Esta Si Es Salsa is the product of one of these transcontinental journeys, and includes a hot version of Frankie Nieves‘ killer “Mondongo” (from The Terrible Frankie Nieves album on Speed records).  Their take on this classic descarga begins loosely, familiarly following the original’s structure, but soon enough breaks into a piano solo that far outlasts that on the Nieves version.  It’s as if the piano player from Los Corraleros is attempting to say to his counterpart: “oh, you think you can play?”  If their style wasn’t South American enough, they throw in an accordion for good measure!

I’m also including “Ten Cuidado” and “Don Eliseo” from each respective album for your listening/dancing pleasure.

NEW YORK:

The Terrible Frankie Nieves: “Mondongo” & “Ten Cuidado”
From the S/T LP (Speed  SM-105, 196?)

If you like these songs make sure to cop the rest of this classic Latin album, remastered and rereleased by Nieves himself.

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COLOMBIA:

Los Corraleros: “Mondongo” & “Don Eliseo”
From their Esta Si Es Salsa! LP (Discos Fuentes, 196/7?)