Used-Bin Bargains: Puente Caliente, Acid

Our weekly look back at not-so-rare but incredibly essential albums continues by touching on some spicy Latin-Jazz on this frosty January afternoon (at least in Chicago).




Tito Puente - Guajira for Cal (Concord Picante 1987)

Tito Puente – Puente Caliente / Concord Jazz

Born in 1923, Ernest Anthony Puente, Jr. would become one of the most revered and beloved symbols of Latin Jazz under the name Tito thanks to his lyrical playing style with the timbales, vibraphone, piano, congas, bongos and saxophone, his amazing ear for arrangements and his accessible personality. Rooted in Spanish Harlem, Puente’s music career started at age 13 and it seems like he never stopped recording or touring until his death in 2000 when Latin Jazz lost it’s greatest showman and character. He recorded some of his most powerful and realized music in the late 80s with two albums compiled on this compilation, Un Poco Loco and Sensacion, both released in 1987 and featured a masterful blend of Jazz, Latin, Mambo, Afro-Cuban, Big Band and Salsa. Released as a 2-disc set in 2001, Puente Caliente features the two Concord Picante records remastered with pristine clarity highlighting every timbale outburst, vibraphone solo and barrage of sounds from Puente’s octet backed by a full orchestra. Notable guest artists include heralded percussionist John Santos, vibraphonist Terry Gibbs and pianist Sonny Bravo. If you are not familiar with Puente, this is a wonderful introduction into the colorful world of Tito and upbeat Latin Jazz.





Ray Barretto - El Nuevo Barretto (Fania 1968)

Ray Barretto – Acid / Fania

While Tito Puente gained the attention of the mass media, Ray Barretto remained for the most part under the radar though his career paralleled Puente’s very closely. The Brooklyn-born Puerto Rican was first educated in swing rhythms before mastering, and I mean mastering, Latin grooves on his instrument of choice, the congas. A much heralded session musician, during the 60s Barretto recorded with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Lou Donaldson (and every jazz musician who even took a minor interest in Latin-Jazz) and then finding solo success by signing to Fania in 1967. In an attempt to modernize charanga, a fiery Cuban ensemble style (ahem… cha cha cha), Barretto utilized brass instruments with much success and infused pop and jazz into the mix. This 1968 record is a great example of his forward thinking as he crosses the line of Latin and soul music without ever straying from his salsa heritage. Though not nearly as psychedelic as the name suggests, Acid is a wonderful display of musicianship, passion and experimentation as Barretto vibrantly led the way into the NYC and Fania combination of Latin, soul and funk in the late 60s and 70s.