TITO PUENTE

SoulJazz@aol.com
Mon, 4 Mar 1996 00:24:03 -0500


A few people on the list have mentioned being fans of latin music recently.
Last week I picked up two incredibly amazing Tito Puente albums: "Top
Percussion" and "Tambo." On the former the AFRO outweighs the CUBAN,
especially on the first couple of tracks where there is mostly just
percussion and some call and response vocals. Later there are tracks with
just percussion and upright bass. "Tambo" also has very minimalist
arrangements, but some very unexpected things happening rhythmically and some
really great vibesmanship from Tito. There is a subtlety which I don't hear
on his more recent stuff. Also, the sound quality of these recordings is
incredible. They are both part of RCA's "living stereo" series in the late
'50s and early '60s. If anyone is familiar with these recordings and knows
of anything in a similar vein, please drop me a line. Thanks a lot.

Peace Out,
Matt