«An amazing band that recorded in London in the 1970’s and had the British all excited about Latino Rock. But of course, it was one of those items nobody could get hold of, despite asked for it in every store you ever went to. Even in London where, by chance I came to live, nobody had heard of them. I never got the chance to hear the record either in Venezuela where most people get rid of their

«The story of Kassav’ (the name comes from cassava, which is a mixture of manioc paste and coconut) began in 1979 when Pierre-Edouard Décimus, a member of a dance orchestra since the sixties, decided to revamp and modernize the music he had always played along with Freddy Marshall, another musician from the Antilles. They adored popular carnival music, and so Decimus tried to adapt it to modern

«Massive Boogaloo album, with loads of catchy grooves all the way through! Pete & his band were one of the best of the Latin soul era, & this album's certainly one of their strongest. Includes 'Guagaloo', 'Pete's Boogaloo', & 'Do the Boogaloo'. Hard funky & very upbeat all the way through. If someone asked you what the definition of Latin Soul was, this would be the album to play for them! A

«Hugo Fattoruso, born in Montevideo, Uruguay, began his musical career as a prodigious and somewhat reluctant piano student at the age of four. By the time he was nine his father Antonio formed El Trio Fattoruso by drafting Hugo’s younger brother Jorge on drums, with Hugo on accordion and Antonio on "inverted bucket bass" (using a broom as the neck, and a cord as the instrument’s single string).

«Ismael Ledesma was born in the town of Lambarré ( Paraguay) en 1962. He played his first notes on the harp with his father when aged five years old. His career as a musician started in his mother’s group, Los Madrigales, which appeared in different evening concerts in the town of Asunción, in various private and social events. At the end of his secondary school studies Ismael was invited to

Benny Moré, Rolando La ‘Serie and Tony Camargos have had considerable success in Cuba and the world over in the 50s. Omly Benny Moré is still famous today and considered a Cuban music god. The three musicians were regrouped in this compilation for their highly similar voices and repertoires. Maximilian Bartolomeo Moré (1919-1963), “el barbaro del ritmo”, was born to a modest African family

«Well, this music does come from the Andes, but it's not representative of the wide range of Andean music, given that there are only five artists on the disc, and one of those, the late, great singer and songwriter Victor Jara, only appears once, with "El Tinku." Like Jara, the other groups here have their roots in the time before the Chilean military coup of 1973. Among them is the venerable

«Rogerio Tavares is undoubtedly one of the greatest new talents to play Spanish guitar. This exceptional debut album somehow manages to mix the traditional side of Brazilian traditions with modern influences. His superb mastery of the Spanish guitar is evident on nearly every track, but unlike many players he brings in very light touches of electronica to help fuse the sounds. Galope is an

«Gladys Moreno es, sin duda, la intérprete más notable de la canción boliviana. Nacida en Santa Cruz de la Sierra, con su voz transformaba en clásicos las canciones que interpretaba. [...] Las décadas de 1950 y 1960 marcan el período más notable y activo de doña Gladys, con permanentes giras y recitales a lo largo y a lo ancho de Bolivia; período que también es el de sus más difundidas

«Our musical “voyage” begins with the traditions of Cuban music, passing then through Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela, going back to its Hispanic origins. The strong acoustic impact and jazz language our music carries with it, takes us in a direction we could perhaps define as “Acoustic Latin Jazz” or “World Latin Jazz”. A characteristic of Alta Madera’s sound is definitely the absence of

Max Cilla is the master of the traditional flute; his country [Martinique] calls him “Le Père de la Flûte des Mornes” (“The Father of the Mountain Flute”). The mountainous regions in the French West Indies are called the “Mornes”. The term also refers to the deep countryside, “the big forests”, which inspire mystical dreams and feed the imagination of storytellers and poets. The “Mornes” used

«A fine songwriter and gifted singer with charisma to burn, Jimmy Cliff is one of the most talented musicians to come out of Jamaica. His best work was done with legendary producer Leslie Kong, and several of those songs are available here, including "Wonderful World Beautiful People," "You Can Get It if You Really Want It," "Many Rivers to Cross," and "Vietnam," all of which are indispensable

«Nilo Espinosa may not be the best-known player in jazz circles – or bossa nova, disco, funk, Latin soul, boogaloo, and rhumba – though he is one of the best at playing all of them (often in the same ensemble). Espinosa is a Peruvian sax and flute-playing legend who has been hard at it since 1959, when he was getting a conservatory education. In 1962 he made his debut with the Neptuno Orquesta,

«While Antonio Carlos Jobim is an essential figure in the music of Brazil, he also created a significant place for himself in American music as a great songwriter and a key figure in the tremendous popularity of bossa nova. Apart from his unique melodic gift, what makes Jobim’s work memorable is the complexity of mood he could evoke - the touch of sadness that colors the brightest bossa nova, the

«The islands of Guadeloupe were colonized by the French in 1635. Under their watch the indigenous Carib Indians were routed and African slaves were brought onto the islands and forced to work in the burgeoning sugar industry. Several hundred years later, soon after the French abolished slavery on Guadeloupe in 1848, the island’s plantation owners had workers from one of France’s East Indian

«The Quarteto Novo was a seminal group with a strong Northeastern accent. They brought the tradition of that region of Brazil and mixed it with the bebop jazz language, the result so influential that it broke cultural and physical barriers throughout the planet. […] Certainly modern, distinguished proponents of that genre, like Egberto Gismonti, have the Quarteto Novo to thank for that. In 1966,

«Omara Portuondo is the grand old lady of Cuban music. While her early recordings made her a star in Cuba, her participation in the 1996 album and video documentary, The Buena Vista Social Club, brought her to international attention. Her solo album, The Buena Vista Social Club Presents Omara Portuondo, released in 2000, reinforced her status as one of Cuba's greatest musical ambassadors.A native

A rare (and great) collection of lusophone music from Portugal, Brasil, Mozambique, Capo Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Guinée-Bissau and Angola. «A Sara Tavares um dia lançou-me o desafio. Porque não fazer uma compilação com a participação de artistas que actuariam no Festival Musidanças desse ano.Desafio feito, desafio aceite e assim em 2006 surge este CD Musidanças, que mostra a música de

«The Maytals were key figures in reggae music. Comprised of leader Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, Nathaniel "Jerry" Matthias, and Raleigh Gordon, all natives of Kingston, the Maytals are said to have been the first group to use the word “reggae” in a song title with their Leslie Kong-produced “Do the Reggay.” Formed in the early '60s when ska was hot, the Maytals had a reputation for having strong,

A great party record (two-disc set). Have fun! «Radio One and Worldwide DJ Gilles Peterson is an authority on world music, and Brazilian music is the most happening global sound of the moment. This album has been compiled using Peterson's vast knowledge of what's been turning up the heat in clubs and on the radio. This is a two-disc edition, one containing Brazilian heritage and traditional