Un Gran Dia En El Barrio

We all know that Harlem was the home of the fabled African-American renaissance of the '20s and the birthplace of bebop in the '40s. But it was also the spawning ground for Latin jazz, the boogalo, and the Hispanic musical lingua franca also known as salsa. The title of this CD, which translates as "A Great Day in the Neighborhood," was inspired by the famous '50s jazz portrait by photographer Art Kane. It aurally illustrates the overlooked contributions of the Puerto Rican musicians from Spanish Harlem who created salsa and kept Cuban music alive in America during the early years of the Cuban embargo. With the talented Rubén Blades pianist Oscar Hernandez serving as musical director, this band of NYC's top Latin musicians (featuring bongo drummer Bobby Allende, bassist Rubén Rodriguez, singers Jimmy Sabater and Herman Oliveira, and trumpeter Ray Vega) lay down some serious, no-nonsense salsa dura grooves. This clave-powered crash course features some heavyweight selections, including Tito Puente's "Mama Guela," the enchanting Pedro Flores bolero "Obsesión," and the Willie Colón/Hector Lavoe classic "La Llego la Banda." The mambo, cha-cha-cha rumba, and guajira are blended together in a zesty musical dish by these Puerto Ricans in the Big Apple, and it's a dish best served on the dance floor. --Eugene Holley, Jr.