Togashi-Yamashita Duo - Kizashi

barabara sounds sez:

Here's another duo out of Japan, but this time featuring piano and drums/percussion. Neither Yosuke Yamashita or Masahiko Togashi should need introduction — they're among the greats from the golden age of Japanese jazz and improvisation. This session laid down in 1980 is short (just 38 minutes) but very sweet, with some lovely inventive playing. And that is probably why this has gone through a couple of CD reissues (this rip is from the first ie non SHMCD) though currently OOP. The duo also recorded a live concert of the same material later the same year.

Kizashi [ 兆 ] means a sprout or bud, but can also mean a sign or omen — not in a mystical sense but apparently as a premonition of the future direction of jazz in Japan. Looking back, I'm not sure that means very much. But at the time it was exciting, the final fling of that golden age.

Sabu - Palo Congo

barabara sounds sez:

Sabu leads a thundering Afro-Cuban percussion session, with the great Arsenio Rodriguez among some equally impressive backing musicians. High spots in this set are Aggo Elegua and the outstanding title track, both channeling the Santaria ritual. If you're looking for more typical latin sounds, then Tribilin Cantore could be the one: Arsenio's fluid guitar lines set out a blueprint for a generation of Zairean/Congolese grooves. Laid down in 1957, the original Blue Note release was in mono; this rip is from the stereo CD reissue. Whichever way you hear it, this is powerful music.

dusty sez:

One of the most unique sessions ever cut for Blue Note — an album of very traditional Afro-Cuban jamming, led by percussionist Sabu Martinez! The music on the album's comprised mostly of percussion -- plus some occasional guitar, bass, and vocals shouted by Sabu, and group members that include Arsenio Rodriguez, Ray Romero, and Willie Capo. The whole thing's incredibly haunting — and about as different from the average Blue Note hardbop set as you could get! Titles include "Simba", "Aggo Elgua", "Tribilin Cantore", "Asabache", and "Billumba-Palo Congo".

hipwax sez:

The emotional kinship between the world of this recording and the world of jazz seems so strong at times that the distance between the worlds seems no wider than the pavement of West Fifty-Fourth Street which separates the Museum of Primitive Art from the Museum of Modern Art. Yet the step from Afro-Cuban music to jazz is a long step, for the European elements of jazz are always in the foreground, while here the latin elements of "latin" music are often imperceptible. It is mostly Africa that we hear in this recording: some rituals dedicated to African Gods, a good deal of singing and chanting in African antiphonal style, and all the instruments, whether obviously African like the quinto, a Cuban version of the slit signal drum, or as apparently European as guitar and bass, played like their African proto-types in African musical tradition. Still, the kinship is there to hear, for Afro-Cuban music shares with jazz the intense motor excitement, the rhythmic fluidity that Andre Hodeir calls vital drive, and the striving for ecstatic communion which supplies much of the motive force.

Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino - Concepts in Unity

barabara sounds sez:

Infectious. Brilliant. A classic. Probably the greatest latin/salsa album of all time. Don't believe me? Ask those in the know...

descarga.com sez:

An absolute classic, virtually impossible to find in its original double LP format (both LPs make up this single CD). Some consider these sessions, which are some of the finest examples of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Puerto Rican artistry, to be the embryo of Conjunto Libre. Manny Oquendo, Andy and Jerry Gonzalez, all Libre veterans, are central to this production... It's thrilling, it's lovely, and it's a must-have.

This is an absolute must. This 1975 release is important in many ways. It was the first Latin recording ever to be reviewed by 'Down Beat' magazine (the #1 jazz periodical), which thus recognized the music as an art form to be taken seriously. It also showcased the reaffirmation of a group of New York based Latino musicians to preserving the deep roots of the culture. We also get to hear the embryonic beginnings of the careers of Manny Oquendo & Libre, Dave Valentin, Jerry Gonzalez & the Fort Apache Band, as well as folk legends like 'Chocolate' and the late Virgilio Marti. Produced by the ubiquitous Rene Lopez and Andy Kaufman, this recording oozes soul and sabor. " (Bobby Sanabria 98/99 Catalog)

amazon sez:

The legendary Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino was composed of the finest New York Puerto Rican & Cuban musicians, who combined their own traditional music with the Latin sounds heard on the streets of New York City.

dusty sez:

A landmark set of highly percussive tracks! Back in the mid-70's, when Salsoul was still recording Latin music and not disco, they put out this great double album of traditional Latin percussion playing by the new revivalist Grupo Folklorico, which featured Virgilo Marti and other great New York Latin percussion players of the time. The album's a totally stripped-down mix of tracks that manages to swing all the way through — grooving in mode that has lots of the descarga touches of the 60s scene, and the mix of traditional and newer styles of the 70s years. This CD includes all the tracks from the double album, including "Cuba Linda", "Choco's Guajira", "A Papa Y Mama", and "Adelaida".

GRUPO FOLKLORICO y EXPERIMENTAL NUEVAYORQUINO are:

Andy Gonzalez bass and leader; Manny Oquendo timbales, bongos and percussion: Jerry Gonzalez trumpet and percussion; Gene Golden congas, bata drums and percussion; Nelson Gonzalez tres; Oscar Hernandez piano; Eddy Zervigon flute; Jorge Luis Maldonado vocals; Pedro “Pedrito” Martinez vocals, bata drums and percussion; Reynaldo Jorge trombone; Eddie Venegas trombone and violin; Abraham Rodriguez vocals, bata drums and percussion; Tony Rosa congas, bata drums and percussion; Guido Gonzalez trumpet; plus surprise guests.

Song titles:

Cuba Linda; Choco's Guajira; Anabacoa; Adelaida; Luz Delja; Carmen La Ronca; Canto Asoyin; Canto Ebioso; A Papa Y Mama; Iya Modupue