Orquesta Hermanos Palau "La Ola Marina 1939-1941" (Tumbao)
Cool early recordings, with the fiery, flambouyant Cascarita on vocals. Sometimes the arrangements are a bit staid, but the vocals are great -- Cascarita delivers these humorous, upbeat tunes with a decidedly Cab Calloway-ish brightness. Muy chistoso and worth checking out.

Palenque "Soy Montuno" (Palenque Records, 2004)
A fine set of lilting, rhythmic Afro-Cuban sones from an expatriate singer-guitarist now living in the San Francisco (CA) Bay Area... German Donatien is originally from the Sierra Maestra, and brings that region's rich musical heritage to bear in the fine set of eight original dance tunes, each laced with delicate tres guitar lines, a sprightly flute and playful call-and-response vocals. Nice to see that the style travels so well, so far away from the island! (Available through the label at www.palenqueson.com )

Eddie Palmieri "Vamonos Pa'l Monte" (Tico, 1971)
A strong album that gets into some deep, spacy grooves, clearly influenced by earlier waves of acid rock and psychedelic music. Sleek, classic 1970s salsa/latin jazz, with Palmieri and his band stretching out on some nice, soothing, unhurried jams. Ismael Quintana sings lead vocals, with Alfredo Armenteros on trumpet, and Charlie Palmieri listed as a "special invited guest" (in case anyone thought, maybe, he'd crashed the party?), filling out some of the organ riffs. This one's a goodie, tilting, not surprisingly, towards the jazzy end of the spectrum.

Eddie Palmieri "La Perfecta II" (Concord, 2002)
This disc starts off with several good, old-fashioned salsa sizzlers, and gradually works its way into jazzier terrain. Even on the Latin Jazz tracks, Palmieri keeps a certain muscular aggressiveness to his work, super-swinging and melodically rich -- all in all, pretty nice stuff!

Eddie Palmieri "Ritmo Caliente" (Concord, 2003)
Another surprisingly strong album from this Latin jazz old-timer... This disc starts off with a bang, with swift salsa tunes like "La Voz Del Caribe" and "Grandpa Semi-Tone Blues" showing that Palmieri's still got the fire in the belly, and a band that can match his passion. He moves steadily into a jazzier, smoother mode, but it's all top-flight material. Even after all these decades into his career, Palmieri still seems like a force of nature: nothing can slow him down or make a dent in his soulfulness and love of the music. If you're a fan of modern Latin Jazz or salsa, then this is an album you'll appreciate.

Cesar Pedroso "Pupy, Y Los Que Son, Son" (Pimienta/Universal Latino, 2002)
Rock-solid Cuban-style "timba" son, recorded with strong, tight arrangements throughout. I was never a big fan of Los Van Van, whose music I found kind of goopy and more inclined towards the softer end of the jazz-latin fusion. But out on his own, pianist Pupy Pedroso keeps things tough, bringing in elements of rap and other, harder modern styles, rather than the soft-jazz colorations favored by the Los Van Van crew. This is a pretty nice record, especially considering how long Pedroso has been around -- he first made his mark as the composer of Celia Cruz's hit song "Azucar," which was originally recorded in the 1960s(!). Worth checking out.

Peruchin, Jr & The Cuban All-Stars "Guajira Con Tumbao" (EGREM, 1998)
Despite the promising title, and this guitarist's descent from Cuban music royalty, this album is in fact a set of pretty slick, pretty brash -- and ultimately rather bland -- big band-ish Latin jazz. I guess it's okay, but it was a little too swanky for me.

Ignacio Pineiro/Various Artists "Festival In Havana" (Riverside, 1955)
Bassist/bandleader Ignacio Pineiro, of the renowned Sexteto Nacional, organized this stark set of rumba recordings back in 1955, matching the lead trumpet of Oscar Velasco with a rippling percussion line and a keening Guaganco vocal chorus... Fans of the folkloric Munequitos De Matanzas will find this disc similarly compelling, though others may find it a bit harsh-sounding. Interestingly, it's the rhythmic "middle" that's missing here: no bass or any other stringed instruments, which places full emphasis on Velasco's horn work as the sole lead instrument. Still, it's cool stuff from the pre-Castro era, and unlike most of the dance-oriented recordings of the time.

Guillermo Portabales "Al Vaiven De Mi Carreta: 1937-1943" (Tumbao, 1996)
Sleek, graceful acoustic guajiras from the WWII era. Portables is pretty much considered the creator of the genre, along with other seminal balladeers such as Nico Saquito and Compay Segundo. This collection of early recordings is a delight, especially the small ensemble recordings towards the end of the disc. Highly recommended. If you like this, you might also want to check out more recent recordings by old-timers such as Nico Saquito and Eliades Ochoa.

Guillermo Portabales "Promesas De Un Campesino" (Tumbao, 1999)
More gorgeous guajiras from one of the great stars of the genre. This CD collects two different sessions, one recorded with Noro Morales in 1956, and the other in 1961, following Portables' return from Puerto Rico to Cuba following the Revolution. The stuff with Morales is peppier and more dance-oriented; the '61 radio appearances are with a smaller group and highlight more of the trademark guitar runs that make this music so fabulously wonderful. Highly recommended!

Omara Portuondo "Sentimiento" (Escondida, 2005)
Folks who were turned on to Ms. Portuondo's romantic style when they saw her sing that sizzling duet in the Buena Vista Social Club movie will find this disc useful in helping fill in her backstory a bit... This features vintage recordings from the early 1970s, and the '80s and '90s as well, providing a sweeping cross-section of her pre-BVSC career. I have to admit, I found much of it a bit too florid for my tastes, and while I do like romantic Cuban material, the straight-up boleros kinda turn me off... But this is a good introduction to Omara's ouvre, and is certainly recommended for anyone who wants to delve into her older stuff. Good, concise liner notes as well... Worth checking out!

Omara Portuondo "Buena Vista Social Club Presents..." (Nonesuch/World Circuit, 2000)
If you saw the BVSC movie, then you were doubtless struck by Portuodo's dazzling romantic duets with Ibrahim Ferrer. She has made many albums before this on various Cuban and Latin American labels, but this domestic U.S. release is pretty spiffy. too. There's the typically luch Buena Vista sound, and plenty of heartfelt singing by this beloved Cuban diva. Ruben Gonzales plays piano throughout; Pio Leyva and Ferrer pitch in on a couple of songs (including a nice version of the standard, "No Me Llores Mas." Nice stuff.

Omara Portuondo "Flor De Amor" (Nonesuch, 2004)
The smoky, sensuous and septugenarian chanteuse of Buena Vista Social Club fame, Cuba's Omara Portuondo returns with another fine set of silken romantic ballads, much in keeping with her long back catalogue. Certain songs stood out for me, such as "Junto A Un Canaveral," but the whole album sounds pretty nice. Several artists who have been in the recent Nonesuch/BVSC orbit accompany Portuondo here, including guitarist Manuel Galban, bassist Cachaito Lopez, Barbarito Torres, and tres whiz Papi Oviedo. It's a class act.

Chano Pozo "The Life And Music Of The Legendary Cuban Conga Drummer" (Tumbao, 2001)
This lavish 3-CD set covers the career of Chano Pozo, the live fast-die young percussionist who is frequently cited by jazz historians as the focal point in the birth of latin jazz. Pozo joined Dizzy Gillespie's seminal bebop orchestra late in 1947, quickly becoming a featured soloist and helping Gillespie break "latin jazz" into the North American mainstream. Pozo was only with the band for about a year: in December, 1948 he was shot to death in a brawl in New York City. This box set collects the bulk of Pozo's recordings and has a big book that includes interviews with Mario Bauza, Dizzy Gillespie, Machito and others who were around to see Pozo in his fiery prime.

Chano Pozo "The Real Birth Of Cubop" (Tumbao, 2001)
For a more modest look at Pozo's career, there's this excellent set of live recordings made with the Dizzy Gillespie orquestra in 1948, just before Pozo's untimely death in NYC. There's plenty of charming spontenaiety, including homages to the goofy showboating of Cab Calloway, some lighthearted improvisations and some really impressive aural effects, underscoring the tremendous power of Gillespie's band. A cool look at the lighter, less pretentious side of bebop jazz.

Perez Prado -- The Mambo King

Tito Puente -- El Rey de las Timbales