COMPACT DISC
SUPERAUDIO
DVD
BLU-RAY
VINYL
DOWNLOAD
AUDIOPHILE: VINYL
TITO PUENTE AND HIS LATIN ENSEMBLE
Mambo Diablo
Craft Recordings/Concord Jazz Picante CR00643 (180g vinyl)
Marking Puente’s centenary, this magnificent reissue from 1985 is a particular delight if you’re partial to Latin rhythms and the sound of vibes and timbales. It is not, however, a purist, ‘world music’ torture-fest but a cool, almost loungecore experience, enhanced by no less than George Shearing on piano on ‘Lullaby Of Birdland’. Puente, of course, did as much as anyone – with nods to pioneers Cugat, Arnaz, Prado, et al – to spread the joys of Latin music beyond Spanish, Mexican, Cuban and other inherently Hispanic audiences. The fun here is that only two of the tracks are Tito’s compositions and one other a bolero,…
