While it doesn't quite match the dizzying heights of his breakthrough Todo a Su Tiempo, Marc Anthony's third album Contra la Corriente is nevertheless a barnstormer of a record. Anthony is no typical salsa singer -- he's a powerful, bold singer who doesn't follow the genre's traditions. He ignores improvisation and concentrates on love songs, but ...
Like many late '90s outfits, the Los Angeles-based Ozomatli is an eclectic conglomeration, fusing a wild variety of music. At its core, the group is a dance band, blending funk, hip-hop, Latin rhythms, jazz, salsa, reggae, Tejano, and worldbeat into its sound. It's a busy, heady mix and occasionally there's simply too much going on in the mix for ...
Marc Anthony plays the role of Héctor Lavoe in El Cantante, the film he had been wanting and waiting to make for many years. Lavoe is a hero to salsa fans, famed for the artistry of his vocals and the intensity of his rhythm; his records with Willie Colón during the early '70s were high points for salsa, and they paved the way for many vocalists ...
Desde Un Principio is a superb collection of Marc Anthony's biggest salsa hits, which preceded the English language success he attained with his 1999 self-titled album. The only complaint is that several of the songs are severely truncated, especially toward the end, but, nonetheless, this proves to be an ideal introduction to the singer, ...
It goes without saying that the entire history and stylistic diversity of Latin jazz cannot be encapsulated on one ten-track CD. But like all of Putumayo's compilations, that was the task the label was faced with: representing the chosen genre adequately and accurately while understanding that much more would necessarily be omitted than included. ...
With a fiercely loyal fan base and over ten years of success in the salsa world, Grupo Niche decided that with its six studio albums, and as many compilations, 1994 was ready for The Best. According to the charts, they were right. The Best charted well for them, and continues to be among their best-selling records, as they specialize in both ...
The downtempo side of fusion between traditional Latin forms and electronica. The mixes are surprisingly good throughout, with styles taken from everywhere from Spain to Argentina to Texas and thrown together with electronic beats and grooves. The album opens up with Alacran, an Italian outfit specializing in electronic tango à la Gotan Project. ...
Marc Anthony was a salsa superstar throughout the '90s, long before the Latin pop explosion of the 1999. Once Ricky Martin ushered in a new era of crossovers that spring with "Livin' La Vida Loca," there was a rush of crossover acts, almost enough to make it seem like Anthony was left behind. After all, his bid for mainstream success as the ...
An interesting take on Putumayo's fascination with Caribbean music, this album takes the standard salsa and finds bands around the world performing it. The album starts out with a nice Scottish salsa band, then moves through Italy, Curaçao, and Greece before ending up with Putumayo stable standards Touré Kunda from Senegal. Moroccan and Indian ...
The first English-language album in the long and illustrious career of Panamanian salsa superstar Rubén Blades, Nothing But the Truth is a strong effort that, if less than great, is fascinating on several counts. The novelty of hearing Blades sing in English is certainly a big draw. He's a fine vocalist and he has the luxury of working with three ...
The career of the "actor/singer" is a precipitous one indeed. Seldom has this combination yielded truly quality results for the artist in either arena. There have been a few examples of artists, like Rubén Blades and Marc Anthony, who've managed to straddle the fence successfully. With more than 15 records spanning nearly two decades on one side ...
Although he was never inactive, the 1980s found Tito Puente in a bit of a renaissance. His exciting Afro-Cuban jazz band had found a home on the Concord Picante label, and his music was increasing in popularity again. This particular CD has a stronger than usual repertoire, including "Take Five," "Lush Life" (done as Latin jazz), "Pick Yourself Up ...
Another monster hit for the young singer that demonstrated the appeal of the romantic style in the early '90s. This came to reap even higher success, since the recording managed to stay fresh and alive years after its release. It combined the best of the traditional style, but focused on the romantically fancy demeanor that is always the main ...
Putumayo Presents: Afro-Latin Party might give the idea of frantic, sweaty rhythms, and mambos and salsas at hyperspeed. Instead, this collection focuses more on the genre called son, with some low-key salsa and rumba thrown in for good measure. Africando, the superstar band made up of West African and Latin musicians, claims most of the honors, ...
Yerba Buena let their Deee-Lite out and come to terms with their inner Kid Creole & the Coconuts on their spicy, sparkling, and entirely weekend sophomore release, Island Life. The album is one Saturday short of their stunning debut, but there are more quirky and smart touches and the highlights are extra spicy. The collective blend together a ...
Los Angeles-based Ozomatli are a new kind of American band, a band reflecting the multiracial and multicultural One World demographics of the 21st century. Drawing on musical sources as diverse as salsa, hip-hop, rock, jazz, funk, Tejano, and reggae, Ozomatli appear to be trying to be all things to all people, but amazingly, they pull it off more ...
Evidently someone at Sony International advised Gilberto Santa Rosa that what the Latin music world really needed was more heartfelt pop love songs -- and that's exactly what he made on the 2006 release Directo al Corazón, although the CD begins with the confident, mature salsa that made him the superstar he is. The majority of the playlist ...
Although they won a Grammy for their previous studio album, 2004's Street Signs, the ten-piece multicultural music collective known as Ozomatli have always been first and foremost a live act, and experiencing the group's explosive, energetic stage show, which mixes salsa, punk, reggae, funk, hip-hop, and touches of jazz into a barrio gumbo block ...
Putumayo Presents: French Caribbean isn't the first time a Putumayo compilation has had an Afro-Caribbean orientation, but is the first Putumayo disc that has focused specifically on the Afro-French side of Afro-Caribbean music. Unlike 1997's Caribbean Party and 1999's Caribe! Caribe!, this CD is almost devoid of English lyrics -- all of the ...
The name pretty much says it all here. The Best Latin Party Album in the World...Ever features every aspect of Latin party music, from classics like José Feliciano's "Light My Fire" and Milton Nascimento's "Cravo e Canela (Clove and Cinnamon)," to trendy chart-toppers like los Umbrellos' "No Tengo Dinero," Kaoma's "Lambada," and los del Rio's mega ...
Jazz Moods: Latin Romance provides plenty of sensual atmosphere with performances by Latin jazz masters like Poncho Sanchez and Pete Escovedo. Tito Puente's "A Prelude to a Kiss," Mongo Santamaria's "Oasis" and "This Is Always" by Cal Tjader are just a few of the other smoldering tracks on this collection. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
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![Desde un Principio: From the Beginning [Sony International]](http://images.alibris.com/cover/h32060a2u80_t.jpg)
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