"Cruz is recognised by many as the "Queen Of Salsa". Of Afro-Cuban decent, Cruz began singing in amateur contests at the age of 14 in her home city of Havana, Cuba, where she studied music theory, piano and voice at the National Music Conservatory. In 1950 she began singing with the conjunto La Sonora Matancera, and with that group she was a central figure in some of the most glorious chapters of Afro-Cuban music, recording a number of legendary songs, including "Yembe Laroco", "Yerbero Moderno", "Burundanga", and "Caramelo", among many. By the end of the 1950s La Sonora Matancera was the most popular group in Cuba and Celia's alliance with them took her beyond the coast of Cuba; firstly to Mexico for two years, then moving to the US, and performing internationally. While in the group she met Pedro Knight, at the time one of the band's two trumpeters, whom she married on 1962-07-14. (Cruz died just 2 days after celebrating her 41st wedding anniversary.)" (Discogs)
Samenvoeging van twee van Puente's bekendste albums, uit 1957 en 1960, plus bonus tracks, in 2009-remastervorm in Sony's Legacy-serie. "Appearing in vibrant sound as part of RCA's Living Stereo series, "Dance Mania" exploded with a series of tight arrangements, propulsive playing, and the features of new additions in vocalist Santos Colón and conguero Ray Barretto. Puente didn't dilute his sound for Dance Mania -- unlike the many commercial crossover LPs that were released by both established groups and ad hoc studio collectives -- but his hard mambos here were performed at tempos that encouraged dancing by more staid LP-buyers, slightly slower than the high paces of his Tico sides or Palladium shows. Brassy and swinging, yes, and certainly as precise as a great Latin band could get, but not as torrid as Spanish Harlem dancers would be accustomed to. Most were Puente originals, spanning mambo and cha-cha and guaguanco, and Dance Mania built the foundation for great Latin LPs to come." (John Bush, Allmusic)
"By virtue of his warm, flamboyant stage manner, longevity, constant touring, and appearances in the mass media, Tito Puente is probably the most beloved symbol of Latin jazz. But more than that, Puente managed to keep his music remarkably fresh over the decades; as a timbales virtuoso, he combined mastery over every rhythmic nuance with old-fashioned showmanship -- watching his eyes bug out when taking a dynamic solo was one of the great treats for Latin jazz fans. A trained musician, he was also a fine, lyrical vibraphonist, a gifted arranger, and played piano, congas, bongos, and saxophone. His appeal continues to cut across all ages and ethnic groups, helped no doubt by Santana's best-selling cover versions of "Oye Como Va" and "Para Los Rumberos" in 1970-1971, and cameo appearances on The Cosby Show in the 1980s and the film The Mambo Kings in 1992. His brand of classic salsa is generally free of dark undercurrents, radiating a joyous, compulsively danceable party atmosphere." (Allmusic).
Liveplaat uit 1999, een jaar voor z'n dood. Hij won er een Grammy mee. Z'n 20-koppige band zit vol sterren, o.a. Ray Vega (t), Mario Rivera (as,ts,fl) en zanger Frankie Morales. Een energiek latinjazz-briljantje tussen z'n vele releases.
Puento leidt een groot latin-orkest dat uitbundige salsa's, mambo's en andere latinstijlen laat horen.
2 albums, uit 1991 en 1992, verpakt als dubbelaar. Swingende salsa en mambo van de orkestleider/timbalist/vibrafonist met veel ruimte voor jazzy soli voor een uitgelezen rij musici (op trompet, sax, piano en natuurlijk z'n eigen instrumenten.
De koning van de mambo, zelf opwindend bespeler van timbalen. Het altijd goede Rhino legt de nadruk op de jaren vijftig, de tijd van z'n grootste roem en beste werk. Swingende, strak en op 't scherpst van de snede gespeelde dansmuziek.
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