Learn Ray Barretto - 2007 Que Viva La Música

Produced solely a curt fourth dimension after his death, artist/ray-barretto-mn0000341422">Ray Barretto's A Man together with His Music tells the flush of a immature conguero who went from sitting inward on New York's after-hours jam sessions to becoming a Latin music solid name, the around influential conguero of his lifetime. It's a long story, spanning ameliorate than 45 years together with quite a few records, together with it's surprising that the Fania label could cram it into a two-disc set. Beginning inward his boogaloo years, amongst famous cuts similar "El Watusi" together with "Soul Drummers," the collection demonstrates that artist/barretto-mn0000341422">Barretto's habits of rule-breaking together with genre-fusing were manifestly formed early. These tracks exhibit a sophistication that the bulk of the boogaloo genre did non share. Moving on to artist/barretto-mn0000341422">Barretto's salsa/Latin jazz experimentation, "Abidjan" together with "The Other Road" are a will to his ongoing creativity. There are, of course, a number of his indispensable hits included, similar "Indestructible," "Vale Mas un Guaguanco," together with "Guarare." The absence of whatever of artist/barretto-mn0000341422">Barretto's genuine jazz run is noticeable together with curious, but considering the rootage of this collection (Fania), that is understandable, if somewhat disappointing. There are guaranteed to live on to a greater extent than than a few collections set together immortalizing the late, groovy principal conguero/bandleader. For those who favor his salsa side, A Man together with His Music is certain to please.

Well-known inward jazz circles for his early on run as a ubiquitous sideman amongst the likes of Gene Ammons, Kenny Burrell, Lou Donaldson together with Red Garland together with for fronting his ain basis degree Latin jazz ensemble during the finally decades of his life, conguero Ray Barretto was as of import as i of the leading figures inward the AfroCuban music ordinarily known as salsa. Affectionately known as "Hard Hands ("Manos Duras ), Barretto too had a sensitive finger on the pulse of the Puerto Rican community together with his many albums for the Fania label during the '60s-70s were cardinal to the soundtrack that accompanied the ascent consciousness together with pride of his people.

The two-CD fix Que Viva La Musica chronicles Barretto's impressive artistry during that revolutionary era, amongst the kickoff disc focusing primarily on his run melding Latin music amongst elements of AfroAmerican progressive pop together with soul together with the minute documenting his pop advancements inside the traditional Latin trip the calorie-free fantastic music genre. The kickoff disc begins amongst several tracks of Barretto's pre-Fania run for Tico together with UA Latino, starting amongst 1962's "El Watusi (the conguero's Billboard-charting Gold Record) together with progressing through a history of his crossover hits, amongst lyrics inward both Castilian together with English. Reflecting the influences of James Brown, Sly Stone together with Motown, the disc is a gumbo of trip the calorie-free fantastic party music that rocked the barrios of New York for to a greater extent than than a decade together with although around of the songs on the fix could live on described as catamenia pieces, many of them are ripe for reevaluation. The music on disc two, on the other hand, is timeless inward every sense of the word; as relevant together with innovative as when they were kickoff recorded. Each of the program's xiii cuts ("El Hijo De Obatala , "Guarare together with the championship track, to refer a few) is a classic featuring driving rhythms together with socially powerful lyrics amongst soaring horn solos that should satisfy the around demanding of jazz listeners.

Barretto himself was an avid discophile who learned much observing jazz producers together with engineers together with his ain productions were of the highest quality. Indestructible (1973) is i of his greatest albums, amongst pristine audio that allows i to hear the subtle intricacies of the Latin beat section. With wonderfully manful atomic number 82 vocals past times Tito Allen together with coros from Hector Lavoe together with Willie Colon (among others) the Castilian lyrics holler out amongst a ability that fifty-fifty those who practise non empathise them tin feel. The band—jazz soloists similar Artie Webb together with Manny Duran on flute together with flugelhorn, pyrotechnical trumpeters Roberto Rodriguez together with "Papy Roman together with a smoking beat department amongst pianist Edy Martinez out front—is i of Barretto's strongest units. The music flows through an engaging sequence of songs whose varied forms together with rhythms are well-explained inward Bobby Sanabria's illuminating liner notes.

In improver to his run as a leader, Barretto was a founding fellow member of the Fania All-Stars, the legendary Latin super grouping that traveled the basis spreading the gospel of salsa inward stadium concerts. Live at the Red Garter, Vol. 1 & 2 documents the band's 1968 maiden surgery at the intimate Greenwich Village lodge that would later on acquire The Bottom Line. The band nether the direction of flutist/percussionist Johnny Pacheco consisted of a revolving cast of characters that included pianist Larry Harlow together with trombonist Willie Colon together with too featured invitee artists Tito Puente together with Eddie Palmieri. Barretto is heard throughout together with his composition "Son Cuero Y Boogaloo kicks off the minute volume, but the jam-session-like atmosphere together with the less-than-perfect audio stand upward inward contrast to the conguero's ain excellently produced dates.

The belatedly groovy Ray Barretto's recordings for the Tico together with Fania labels stand upward for an extremely of import chapter inward the history of Salsa together with this compilation offers a fine (if incomplete) overview of his illustrious career. Hopefully, Emusica Records (Fania's novel owner) volition reissue all of Ray's Tico together with Fania CDs. Most of his major hits together with trademark tunes are hither together with no self-serving Barretto fan should live on without this groovy compilation.

Track listing:

Disc 1
01     El Watusi    2:40    
02     El Bantu    2:18    
03     Senor 007    2:13    
04     Do You Dig It    2:29    
05     Soul Drummers    3:50    
06     Hard Hands    2:27    
07     Together    2:36    
08     Right On    2:45    
09     Acid    5:06    
10     Abidjan    4:50    
11     Power    6:09    
12     The Other Road    6:03        
13     Lucretia the Cat    5:35    
14     Cocinando    10:09
15     Arrepientete    5:15    
   
Disc 2
01     Que Viva La Musica    5:28    
02     La Pelota    4:17    
03     Indestructible    4:14    
04     El Hijo De Obatala    5:03    
05     Guarare    5:37    
06     Vale Mas Un Guaguanco    4:21    
07     Ya Vez    5:43    
08     Tu Propio Dolor    4:13    
09     Fuerza Gigante    4:41    
10     Rhythm of Life 6:37    
11     Manos Duras 5:12    
12     Prestame Tu Mujer 6:14    
13     Aguadilla 4:09