Who likes LATIN JAZZ?


NOT ME, at least not for a long time now (other than JOBIM- i am referring more to cuban, afro-cuban, etc. material) but rather suddenly (within the last month or so) i started to enjoy the upbeat nature of alot of the tunes as well as the sophisticated rhythms and the exceptionally talented players. plus it so happens that a bass player named CACHAO just passed away (last week), and there were numerous musical tributes on the radio (miami). the more tracks they played, the more i appreciated the musicianship of this extremely talented player, allegedly the composer of 3000 songs. in addition, Cal Cjader, Tito Puente, Paquito D'Rivera, even Mongo Santamaria, and many others got my anglo foot tapping. i don't dance particularly well, and am not going to take mambo lessions; but the music is interesting enough even when seated. the only thing that sometimes turns me off is if the percussion, particularly too many bongos doing a "how fast and loud can you play" segment, dominates a particular song. but it doesn't happen all that often (thank goodness!), and i can go back to listening to alot of other instruments interpreting the music such as fiddles, marimbas, bari saxes, etc. SO, who shares my new-found interests in this medium, and does anybody here have any recommendations if i wanted to put together a collection of cd's representing "the best of the best"? for starters, i would have to say
CACHAO'S master sessions #1 and #2 would definitely be on my list, along with Cjader... can anyone name some cd titles for me? thanks!
french_fries
i would suggest that this discussion belongs to anyone who loves american jazz in all of its virtually countless forms, and then turns a corner one day and really starts to dig something that, at first listen, seems to sound mainly like dance music. i've always liked calypso, reggae, socca (sp?) that my friends from trinidad, jamaica, and the bahamas have introduced me to, but the salsa/mambo stuff didn't hook me until fairly recently. now i'm putting the bill evans and milt jackson cd's aside for a bit while i explore this new material, and i'm really getting into it. so much so that i wanted to get as much feedback as possible about the who's who in this music. once the names of some of the records
are out there i can integrate them alphabetically between j. coltrane, joni mitchell, hank mobley, planxty, and bob wills. so thanks again, and i'm glad to see many others here that listen to latin jazz as well as mainstream jazz and classical music. (and folk, and rock, metal, electronica...)
So, i would like to know more about the different forms of latin jazz, and i came across some terminology that i don't understand. perhaps someone here can explain and elaborate on these spanish descriptions:
1.danzon 2.guajira 3.descargas 4.salsa 5.mambo
I'm sure there are many other forms especially as it relates to different countries, i.e.columbia, puerto rico, etc.
i don't always know what exactly i'm listening to, but it gets really good, just like the stuff i'm more familiar with from n.orleans, st.louis, chicago, l.a., n.y. (oh, and texas of course...)
If you like jammin latin jazz..Look at a well recorded compilation disc called Mo Horizons by some mo horizons.
This cd gets my feet tappin no doubt.
I love it! I have to admit, I do get a turned off by the, for lack of a better description; call and response shouting chants of band members that can't really sing. Perhaps it's something beyond my cultural sensibilites?