Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino/Har-You Percussion Group

Two somewhat underappreciated gems from the Upper-Manhattan and Bronx latin music scene of the 60's and 70's.

Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino - Concepts in Unity

"Varied fusion of Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Mexican motifs by a collection of musical visionaries. Their sound is not at all limited to any one style; it jumps from traditional Cuban rhythms to Tejano accordion tunes to experimental rumba."

Har-You Percussion Group - The Har-You Percussion Group

"The Har-You Percussion Group's self-titled album stands as a testament to how exciting and profound music education can be for kids. Imagine creating this album as your homework assignment. That's just what these eleven 16- to 19-year-old boys did under the guidance of Jamaican-born percussionist Montegro Joe. Latin, Cuban, jazz, and blues influences combine to create their boogie-down melting pot of rhythm that keeps the feet moving. Tracks like "Welcome to the Party" and "Feed Me Good" are exciting dance numbers. In contrast, "Oua-Train" is an impressive tribute to Coltrane featuring Nelson Sanamiago on alto sax. This is a rare album where music informs its powerful sounds."

Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez- "Cachaito"

First solo effort from Cachao's son, pushing afro cuban music into unknown and wonderful territories.

"Buena Vista Club mainstay Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, who is widely regarded as the best bassist in Cuba, could have taken the safe route and recorded a straightforward collection of Cuban son/Latin jazz music. The resulting album may have been a bit predictable and mild, but the high level of musicianship would have ensured a quality product, particularly considering the impressive international cast that appears with Cachaito on this album. To their credit, however, Cachaito and his colleagues were willing to take some chances. Some tracks approach a Cuban version of dub music, as Jamaican organist Bigga Morrison's Hammond prods or Cuban surf guitarist Manuel Galban's instrument reverberates while the bottom drops in and out of the mix. French DJ Dee Nasty even scratches on "Cachaito in Laboratory," a partially successful experiment that yields interesting results even though it doesn't quite gel with the rest of the album. At times the tracks seem more like studio jams than fully realized songs, but the album's overall feel -- self-assured, relaxed, warm, even somewhat jocular -- is quite appealing. The musicianship, of course, is impeccable, including the amazing rhythm section of Cachaito, Miguel "Anga" Diaz on congas, Amadiot Valdes on timbales, and Carols Gonzalez on bongos. Other highlights include Ibrahim Ferrer's cameo appearance on "Wahira," the album's only vocal track; the full orchestral string arrangements by Demetrio Muniz and horn arrangements by James Brown saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis; and "Tumbao No. 5 (Para Charlie Mingus)," which was inspired by the Mingus classic "Haitian Fight Song." " - Todd Kristel

Anais

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Buena Vista Social Club - Live at Carnegie Hall

Recording of Buena Vista's legendary 1998 performance at Carnegie Hall, some of which was featured in Wim Wenders' excellent documentary. They play all the songs from the studio album along with a few other Cuban classics.

"This set is every bit as necessary as the solo albums by the singers, and perhaps even more than the studio effort. It is not only a historical document; it is a living, breathing piece of work that guarantees the transference of emotion from tape to listener, and cements the Buena Vista Social Club's place not only in the Latin music pantheon, but in the larger context of popular music history."

Beyond Essential.

Muy Divertido!

Second album by Ribot's outfit Los Cubanos Postizos. following the same blueprint as the first one, but with a few more original compositions and an excellent version of Pedro Flores' "Obsesion". Highlight of the disc: "El Divorcio".

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Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos - The Prosthetic Cubans

Continuing with some more Cuban influenced music I'll include this gem by guitarist Marc Ribot who's most famous for working with Tom Waits and John Zorn. He explores his love of Cuban music and the great Cuban band leader Arsenio Rodriguez with a collection of covers and original tracks played with his unique style.

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V/A - Sí, Para Usted: The Funky Beats of Revolutionary Cuba, Volume 1

It's hard to be Puerto Rican and not like Salsa. It's all around you and you grow up on it, but just like a lot of musical styles it can hit a dead end. A lot of it starts to sound repetitive. That's why when I first heard this I couldn't believe it. I thought I was fairly well informed when it came to Cuban music but I never thought there would be a crop of Cuban musicians from the 70's that were blending the island's typical Son and Salsa sounds with psychedelic, progressive, middle eastern, avant-garde, and fusion influences creating a funky melting pot. Apparently there was a steady stream of American and European records flowing into the island and these local musicians absorbed all their influences creating some throughly unique recordings that until recently were criminally unavailable to a wider audience. What's even more surprising is that a lot of these bands were government sponsored and on their payroll. Apparently Fidel liked hitting the bong and listening to some good shit.

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