CD-Charts Position 11
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Piazzolla: Tango Zero Hour

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
from: Nonesuch

Release Date April 03, 2000
This as hands down one of the most astonishing recordings I have ever heard. I bought it knowing a bit about tango, and a bit about Piazzolla, but regardless of that, this is incredible music. The music itself is gorgeous - dark, beautiful, ominous, brooding and deeply passionate. The playing is beyond compare - laser precise and yet at the same time gritty and rough. This is very much a band effort, and what a band - they swing, caress and whip up thunder.

Apparently this angered the tango purists in Argentina, as did much of Piazzollas output, and I can see why - this is modern, vital music, with clear influences from jazz, classical music and even the rush of punk. I must emphasise that you do not need to know much about ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 12
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Chavez Ravine

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
by: Ry Cooder

Release Date June 13, 2005
....it's going to be. That is ....it isn't Buena Vista Social Club, it isn't Ibrahim Ferrer, it isn't Ali Farka Toure, it isn't Flaco Jimenez. But then again it's all of these and more. In particular it's more of Ry and in a bigger sense its more altogether. A commanding view with all Ry Cooder's talents of bringing together disparate elements into a musical whole. Every play pays off and the record gets better and better with each hearing. In some ways it reminds me of early spring backs to folk melodies on "Into the Purple Valley" but with everything that he has done since coming together over a long and fruitful career and adding to the disc. Quite possibly the best thing that he has out together for a long time and worth persisting with

CD-Charts Position 13
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The Essential

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
by: Sergio Mendes

Release Date March 22, 1999
I HAVE A SERGIO MENDES ALBUM FROM THE LATE 60`s . WHEN HIS BAND WAS NAMED "Sergio Mendes and Brazil 66" BUT IT`s ON VINYL AND I HAVE`nt GOT ANYTHING TO PLAY IT ON NOW. SO WHEN THIS WAS LISTED IN THE 3 C.D`s FOR £10 SECTION I THOUGHT I WOULD BUY IT TO BRING BACK OLD MEMORIES. I AM PLEASED I DID. HIS MUSIC BRINGS THE SUN OUT EVEN IF IT`s RAINING. SO MUCH OF HIS MUSIC IS USED AS BACKING TRACKS BY T.V ADVERTISERS & PROGRAM MAKERS,
THAT HIS MUSIC IS THOUGHT TO BE COOL AGAIN. THIS C.D HAS ALL HIS GREAT MUSIC ON.
JUST LISTEN TO THE FIRST TRACK `Mas Que Nada` IT`s WORTH BUYING THIS C.D JUST FOR THAT.THEN LISTEN TO HIS INTERPRETATION ON BEATLES CLASSICS LIKE `DAY TRIPPER / NORWEGIAN WOOD / FOOL ON THE HILL / WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MY FRIENDS`WHICH ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 14
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Elis & Tom

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
by: Elis Regina Antonio Carlos Jobim

Release Date January 13, 2005
The easy-to-love, soft and swinging sound of bossa nova swept the world in the 1960s, and much of its fame rested with the supremely talented composer Antonio Carlos Jobim. Mr Jobim recorded generously throughout his career, but this 70s collection with marvellous singer Elis Regina is something rather special. Elis and Tom create a darker, more fatalistic bossa record than we are used to, with strong, deep-blue emotions expressed via Elis' searing voice and some wonderfully varied instrumentation, including a dramatic string section that sounds positively mournful when paired with Ms Regina's limpid vocals.

The songs themselves are some of Jobim's most wonderful. The classic "Inutil Paisagem" benefits from hauting solo piano accompaniment; ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 15
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Out to Lunch

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
by: Eric Dolphy

Release Date May 03, 1999
Make sure you do some reading up on Eric Dolphy before you buy this. Don't expect to hear anything resembling the winning Blue Note hard bop formula characteristic of the fifities and sixties. As far as Jazz goes this is way ahead of it's time, those who know the contemporary Jazz scene will know that there are plenty of acts out there who try and sound exactly like what you hear on this record.
OK, it's not easy listening. For me Dolphy's compositions are no way near as compelling as some of Ornette Colman's for example. It's quirky, mysterious, it has you scratching your chin trying to figure it all out. "Gazzelloni," starts off as very accessible before disappearing into some great flute loops. Add to that William's nuerotic sounding drums and it makes ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 16
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Latin: the Essential Album

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
by: Various Artists

Release Date July 25, 2001
CD1 opens with Pete Roderiguez' tight Latin soul mover 'I like it like that' and closes with the now infamous Mambo No. 5 in its original trumpet-piano beauty. Whilst not everyone will know it by name the popular Latin classic 'Oya Coma Va' (Santana's version) opens CD2. Whilst under the heading Latin this superb compilation manages to include everything from Latin samba to 1990's Latin house, the later of which concludes CD2 in the quite masterful 'Guallando' by Fulanito with its heavy basslines and incredible accordion sound. The songs in-between are hardly fillers either with an emphasis placed on big names and popular tunes (such as the Cuban 'Guantanamera'), as well as the odd rare gem. This is the perfect introduction to anyone looking to take their first steps into Latin music. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 17
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Song for My Father: Remastered

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
by: Horace Silver Quintet

Release Date June 14, 1999
It's the simpleness of his warm, infectious grooves that makes Horace Silver's music so enduring. The Bossa Nova infused title track is a typical example of his ability to pen catchy rhythms, "Song for my father," is notable for Joe Henderson's blazing solo and it remains one of those Blue Note signature tunes. Each track starts with a bass note and a single piano chord before gently building into a tumultuous ebb and flow. "Calcutta Cutie," has a slighly eerie, claustrophobic feel to it and it combines well with the snaking,"Que Pasa." The liner notes on this re-issued version give an interesting insight into the rag bag of musicians that Silver used in laying down the tracks. The rather lengthy recording time and the two quintets involved can only add to the record's allure
Some ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 18
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Buena Vista Social Club Presents Manuel Guajiro Mirabal

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
by: Manuel 'Guajiro' Mirabal

Release Date September 20, 2004
I have just read David Garcia's book "Arsenio Rodríguez: and the transnational flows of Latin Popular music". Luckily, there are now a few original recordings available of this son montuno style master. He was copied by many of the younger salsa performers, like Johnny Pacheco and many others, but was often barred from performing on the major stages. Racism, his own lack of adaptation to the big town up beat tastes, and for other reasons, Rodriguez was forgotten by many.
Mirabal's record consists only of Rodriguez' music, which is more subtle, intricate, and challenges the dancers to feel the music, not only the beat of the drums. Read the book, listen to Mirabal, and then go to the source!

CD-Charts Position 19
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Rhythm & Romance: The Latin Album

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
by: Kenny G

Release Date March 10, 2008
I have just read David Garcia's book "Arsenio Rodríguez: and the transnational flows of Latin Popular music". Luckily, there are now a few original recordings available of this son montuno style master. He was copied by many of the younger salsa performers, like Johnny Pacheco and many others, but was often barred from performing on the major stages. Racism, his own lack of adaptation to the big town up beat tastes, and for other reasons, Rodriguez was forgotten by many.
Mirabal's record consists only of Rodriguez' music, which is more subtle, intricate, and challenges the dancers to feel the music, not only the beat of the drums. Read the book, listen to Mirabal, and then go to the source!

CD-Charts Position 20
Average Rating:

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The Very Best Of

CD-Charts > Music > Latin Jazz
by: Astrud Gilberto

Release Date August 21, 2006
Astrud Gilberto made a name for herself when she fortuitously sang on the 1964 US Top 5 smash "The Girl From Ipanema". This association with jazz and bossa nova godfathers brought her a lot of flak from critics quick to dismiss her "artless singing style" and "limited vocal range".
However, to the music listeners who succumbed to her vocal charms - and I sure am one of them - the most important aspect of Astrud Gilberto's singing was her ability to get the most out of everything song she performed. As a bonus, her music greatly benefitted from sumptuous Brazilian cum U. S. orchestrations.
Her honey-voiced delivery is forever able to transport me to warm summer days lazily spent relaxing on the beach of distant and warm faraway oceans, of effortelessly floating on turquoise tides under forever ... Read More: