Who likes LATIN JAZZ?


NOT ME, at least not for a long time now (other than JOBIM- i am referring more to cuban, afro-cuban, etc. material) but rather suddenly (within the last month or so) i started to enjoy the upbeat nature of alot of the tunes as well as the sophisticated rhythms and the exceptionally talented players. plus it so happens that a bass player named CACHAO just passed away (last week), and there were numerous musical tributes on the radio (miami). the more tracks they played, the more i appreciated the musicianship of this extremely talented player, allegedly the composer of 3000 songs. in addition, Cal Cjader, Tito Puente, Paquito D'Rivera, even Mongo Santamaria, and many others got my anglo foot tapping. i don't dance particularly well, and am not going to take mambo lessions; but the music is interesting enough even when seated. the only thing that sometimes turns me off is if the percussion, particularly too many bongos doing a "how fast and loud can you play" segment, dominates a particular song. but it doesn't happen all that often (thank goodness!), and i can go back to listening to alot of other instruments interpreting the music such as fiddles, marimbas, bari saxes, etc. SO, who shares my new-found interests in this medium, and does anybody here have any recommendations if i wanted to put together a collection of cd's representing "the best of the best"? for starters, i would have to say
CACHAO'S master sessions #1 and #2 would definitely be on my list, along with Cjader... can anyone name some cd titles for me? thanks!
french_fries
Latin Jazz is wonderful!

Here are a few personal favorites:

Buena Vista Social Club, Eponymous
Afro-Cuban All Stars, "A Toda Cuba Le Gusta"
Chano Dominguez, "Hecho a Mano"
Marisa Monte/Carlinos Brown/Arnaldo Antunes, "Tribalistas"
Maria Rita, "Samba Meu"
Pablo Moura, "Pixinguinha"
Velha Guarda Da Portela, "Tudo Azul"

A great online resource for Brazilian Jazz and world music is http://www.slipcue.com. The site is run by a DJ who has interesting and wide ranging musical taste.

Enjoy!
Yo Fool!
Percussion, drums* and foot stomping, are the very foundations of Latin and Jazz.

Check the Buena Vista Social Club (ignore the stupid slide guitar whining in the background) and another excellent CD is Introducing Ruben Gonzalez.

If you don't like these stick with Yanni.

*timbalas, bongos, congas, hollowed out tree trunks, cans, sticks, bones,bells, skulls,etc.
Any body heard of spanish harlem orchestra?heard a tune on the radio coming home from work...they were jammin!!!
well, i thank (some of y'all) for the suggestions. funny though, i never said i didn't like LATIN PERCUSSION- otoh i think it's great, indispensable, especially the incredible variety of different sounds you hear on these recordings.
what i DID suggest is that when (specifically) bongo players start playing too long and too loud, it sounds like they are showing off rather than playing music and trying to integrate their sound with the rest of the group. this does not happen alot AS I BELIEVE I SAID ALREADY, but it was one of the reasons it took me a long time to learn to appreciate ALL of the nuances and complexities that this musical genre possesses.
so to those of you who are limited in reading comprehension skills, i would suggest that you not find offense in statements no one made. i'm trying to learn as much as i can about new and different types of music, and not seeking out those with nothing constructive to offer.