Joe Bataan Gypsy Woman Fania Records SLP 340 Original release, 1967 1990’s CD reissue Emerging out of the hybrid crossroads of boogaloo, R&B, Latin Soul, and the nascent salsa scene, Joe Bataan was defying categorization and bending genres long before it was hip. The first album I heard by him was “Subway Joe”, but it…
The Alegre All Stars – s/t Vinyl transfer in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC | 300 dpi scans | Latin, Descarga, Salsa 1961 Alegre Records LPA-810 || Repress, 1960s/70s || Mono This is the first of several albums made by The Alegre All Stars and the only one with Johnny Pacheco on flute, who left the…
Bootsy Collins – Ultra Wave 1980 Warner Bros. Records BSK 3433 Since the end of summer I have been toiling away in a pretty consistent cloud of funk. Not the kind for which William Collins is famous either, but of the variety that leaves a person questioning their life choices while coughing through a miasma…
Salah Ragab & The Cairo Jazz Band – Egypt Strut Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC & mp3| 300 dpi scans | Jazz 2021 RSD Strut Records , Ltd. ed 3000 copies | Original release 1974 Original copies of this flabbergasting bit of rare groove jazz, released by the Egyptian Ministry of Culture, …
Celia Cruz y Willie Colón – Celia y Willie Vinyl rip in 24-bit/192 kHz | FLAC & mp3| 300 dpi scans | Latin, Salsa 2021 Craft Recordings CR00375 || RSD, limited to 2000 copies || Original release 1981 Vaya The cover may seem to invoke the glory days of the Palladium (or perhaps even…
Lonnie Smith Think! Original release 1969 Blue Note This 2019 reissue, Blue Note 80 Vinyl Reissue Series This week the world of music lost one of the greats of the jazz organ, “Dr.” Lonnie Smith. I regret never having caught him live during his return to the spotlight, as he had quite the career. He…
