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Joe Bataan – Gypsy Woman (1967) (Fania SLP 340)

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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 was years before I realized he didn’t actually sing any of the Spanish-language numbers in his repertoire – those, in the early days at least, … Continue reading

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The Alegre All-Stars – The Alegre All-Stars (1961)

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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 label to form Fania soon after.  It features Charlie Palmieri on piano and Barry Rogers on trombone.  It a big way, it set the template … Continue reading

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Bootsy Collins – Ultra Wave (1980)

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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 of regrets.  To be honest, not even music has brought much pleasure to me lately, nor has putting time I don’t really have into this … Continue reading

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Salah Ragab & The Cairo Jazz Band – Egypt Strut (1974) (2021 RSD Strut reissue)

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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,  change hands for thousands of dollars. It’s seen a couple of CD releases but was reissued as a double LP with extras by Strut Records … Continue reading

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Celia Cruz and Willie Colón – Celia y Willie (1981) (2021 Craft Recordings)

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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 the Cotton Club), but the music on this album fits mostly comfortably with any ‘salsa dura’ recorded during the 1970’s peak of that style, albeit … Continue reading

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Lonnie Smith – Think! with Lee Morgan & David Newman (1969)

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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 was part of a second (or third?) wave of soul-jazz organists that hit the scene in the latter half of the 1960s. Continue reading