Reviews (3)

What Can You Say?
This is a beautiful compilation. It has everything you need to host a party, and dance the night away. I felt completely transported to another country when i heard this CD. I love it!

HIghly Reccomended
I bought this cd not knowing what in earth to expect...but i love it!It has unique range of dance tracks, vocals, rhythm, sass and brass!I adore this album for all it is!

OUTSTANDING!!!
THIS CD HAS IT ALL (VARIETY)YOU'VE GOT TO LISTEN TO THE WORDS, EACH SONG HAS A STORY TO TELL, I LOVED IT! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Latin    2. Latin Pop    3. Mambo    4. Merengue    5. Pop    6. Salsa    7. Salsa/Merenge Collections    8. Tropical    9. V/a Compilations    10. World Music   

Editorial Review

Leave it to a British band to combine Latin rhythms, Jamaican mento, and ska beats, all dressed in retro zoot suits. The group is fronted by Cuban vocalist Ben Billy and London-born singer Nathan "Natty Bo" Lerner, with Jamaican trumpeter Eddie "Tan Tan" Thornton, Japanese saxophonist Megumi Mesaku, and Havana bassist Ray Crespo. For the most part, the music is a surprising melange ofBeny More-type vocals and upbeat ska rhythms made famous by The Skatalites, as evidenced by the snappy instrumental "Jezebel," the hypnotizing mid-tempo "Soy Campesino," and the humoroustitle track. Also included are the Colombian Read more

Reviews (3)

"Ay Caramba " is Good!
While traveling from Marrakech to Agadir my wife had the Moroccan radio station on, we noticed that the song playing was in English with a Latin beat, after the song was over the DJ announced it as "SKA CUBANO", what impressed me was that the singer sounded like the late Cuban singer Beny More! Later that night while staying in the Agadir Beach Club we heard the song again. We approach the DJ and he informed us that it was a recording from an English man and a Cuban singer who called themselves the SKA CUBANO. I was amazed when I heard the remaining songs it was fascinating. We danced all night to the music, and all the people seem to like the sound. Cumbia, Jamaican Ska, Jazz, and Cuban music altogether sounded great. My favorites are Soy Campesino, Tabu, and Istanbul. All the songs are very good and the back up band is outrageously good. Buy it and experience the excellent combination of this CD. My Mediterranean girl insisted that I write a review.Check it out on the web-site and listen to the songs.

An exciting blend of Caribbean musical cultures
Ay Caramba! is the musical creation of a UK/Cuba collaboration called Ska Cubano, which blends the bouncy ska beat that once took Jamaica by storm in the 1960s with Cuban cultural music. The result is an album with "hand-clapping" songs, rousing rhythm, and a diverse mixture of lively styles. An exciting blend of Caribbean musical cultures, Ay Caramba! is not to be missed. Tracks include Soy Campesino (3:42); Tabu (3:32); Oye Company Juan (3:35); No Me Desesperes (3:35); Big Bamboo (2:59); Tungarara (3:50); Cachita (4:31); Istanbul Not Constantinople (2:34); Marianao (3:51); Chispa tren (3:22); Jezebel (3:20); Bobine (4:56); Cumbia en Do Menor (4:41); and the title piece, Ay Caramba! (3:02).
A musical style that should have been
The fact that the label this artist records on is associated with Putumayo is what initially drew me to it. One listen to the samples and I knew I had to add this to my collection.
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Subjects:  1. Cumbia    2. Latin    3. Latin Pop    4. Latin Pop/Rock    5. Mambo    6. Ska    7. Son   

Features

• Import

Subjects:  1. Afro-Cuban Jazz    2. Big Band    3. Big Band Latino    4. Bolero    5. Cuba    6. Latin    7. Latin Jazz    8. Latin Pop    9. Mambo    10. Salsa    11. Son    12. Tropical    13. V/a Compilations   

Editorial Review

While she came to global prominence as the female singer on the Read more

Reviews (33)

I love this CD...Soulful and Vibrant
My favorite tracks are "Donde Estabas Tu?" and "No Me Lloras Mas".Great music, great beat and rhythm, wonderfully rich and sultry voice.
Excellent representation of this genre
Another wonderful cd from the buena vista social club.Excellent variety of fast paced and slow songs.I highly recommend this cd if you have bought any of the others.

beautiful music
Very laid back CD. This CD really highlights Omara's skill as a singer, she sings with great emotion. Highly reccomended! One of the best recordings out of the "Buena Vista" series. On this recording, thankfully, Ry Cooder is not mucking about, this recording is pure Cuban soul. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Bolero    2. Cuba    3. Cuban    4. Int'l & World Music    5. Latin    6. Mambo    7. Rhumba    8. Son    9. World Music   

Reviews (8)

Pretty good!!
Sounds great and very well put together. But, If you don't like the live concert sound with audience background noise this cd is not for you.

Ahhh, real salsa, the kind you rarely hear anymore!
Every single artist on this CD wears a crown for his/her craft!The days when you could (without fear) stand and dance to the music at the Fania All Stars at Madison Square Garden are gone...but the legacy will never fade.This CD envelops the hearer with the sound of every instrument played and the ballads bathe your ears like a warm waterfall.A must-have for every latino who truly appreciates his/her culture!Pass it on to the next generation.....

Salsa Artistes At Play
Live performances that should please both salsa and jazz fans.The Artistes are evidently having a good time playing with and to the audience, judging by the amount of applause generated at appropriate moments.It all makes you wish that you had been there in Madison Square Garden.
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Subjects:  1. Afro-Cuban Jazz    2. Boogaloo    3. Charanga    4. Cuban Jazz    5. Latin    6. Latin Jazz    7. Latin Music    8. Latin Pop    9. Latin Soul    10. Mambo    11. New York Salsa    12. Salsa    13. Salsa/Merenge Collections    14. Tropical   

Reviews (9)

Great on occasion
(3.5/5 stars) The range of music on here varies from outstanding (the title track, sung by Dean Martin) to the ridiculous ("Choo Choo Cha Cha" and "Rock cha Rhumba"). I'm not really certain what the purpose of putting two versions of "Sway" on here is, though one would have sufficed. The dance lesson at the end of the CD really seems to be filler material, though it does keep in line with the series. Regardless, there are numerous songs to make this entry in the series worthwhile. "You're My Thrill" and "Whatever Lola Wants" are two of the best, while "Gopher Mambo" is a familiar tune I did not previously have in my collection. This would be great to play at a party or while cooking, but it is not something to listen to very often.Don't rush out to buy this, but if you happen to have money burning a hole in your pocket...

South of the Border Lounge Cha-Cha-Cha
If you want to spice up your lounge, this volume contains plenty of spicy lounge classics like "Sway" (two versions, one by Dean Martin and another by Julie London), "Recado Bossa Nova", "The Carioca", "A Nega Se Vingou", "Cha Cha Cha d'Amour", "Desafinado", "So Nice (Sambo)", and "Rock-Cha-Rhumba". Great songs for a hot summer day, trip across the border, or if you just want to imagine being there while having a marguarita.

Cha Cha de Amor is a HIT!
Didn't know too much about the Cha Cha genre, but I knew that I loved smoky retro lounge music -- and oh, boy, was this a hit!You really can't sit still when you play this CD -- and it's got some of the happiest, upbeat grooves I've ever heard.Once you put this in your cd player, it lights up any cloudy day and makes the night sizzzzzzle.This is not a snooze-fest; it's gear, fab and rad! Read more

Subjects:  1. 50's    2. 60's    3. Cocktail    4. Easy Listening    5. Exotica    6. Latin Dance Collections    7. Latin Jazz    8. Lounge    9. Mambo    10. Novelty    11. Pop    12. Popular Music    13. Space Age Pop    14. Traditional Pop    15. V/a Compilations   

Features

• Hybrid SACD

Reviews (5)

voices in the room
Nice jazz sampler should appeal to most tastes in mainstream jazz since it's not too funky or free-style.What's the real kicker here is the SACD quality.Certainly not what I would call a great test cd but still good for amazing friends with the detailed sonics and tight bass lines and realistic voices in the room effects.

Excelent
very good compilation.
Good jazz SACD sampler
I'm not a jazz fan, but purchased this SACD for testing the performance of my new SACD & DVDA player. I own a lot of DVD audio discs, but this one is my first SACD.
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Subjects:  1. Afro-Cuban Jazz    2. Ballads    3. Big Band Latino    4. Bop    5. Brazilian Jazz    6. Changui    7. Cuban Jazz    8. Fusion    9. Hard Bop    10. Jazz    11. Jazz Collections    12. Jazz Music    13. Jazz-Funk    14. Jazz-Pop    15. Latin Jazz    16. Latin Pop    17. Mambo    18. Neo-Bop    19. Pop    20. Post-Bop   

Editorial Review

Queen of salsa Celia Cruz was royalty long before the music was even called that. Read more

Reviews (15)

Unforgettable
This is one of the CD that really moves people who loved Celia. Her voice is so young and strong, amazing interpretation.

Awsome CD, but...
... there are a lot of common tracks with the CD Celia Cruz (Cuban Legend).Otherwise, a Must Buy.

Celia Cruz was THE QUEEN
In this colection you have the opportunity to hear Celia Cruz as a young vocalist and you will instantly understand why she is considered such a legend. Due to the age of some of the recordings the sound quality is not the best but SHE is so good it doesn't matter. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cuba    2. Latin    3. Latin Continuum    4. Latin Jazz    5. Latin Music    6. Latin Pop    7. Mambo    8. Salsa    9. Salsa/Merenge    10. Son    11. Tropical    12. Vocals   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (2)

Should be better known
I had the pleasure of attending a Tito Puente concert a few years before his death. The man loved what he was doing and his concert was full of joyous, dancable music.Salsa is more popular now than when Puente started his career so you would think that more people would be interested in his music.This is the type of cd to listen in the background or to just dance non stop.Too bad more people will not have the joy of listening to his live concerts.

A great first Tito Puente album
Get a great introduction to the early work of Tito Puente, El Rey, the King.Tito Puente, salsa extraordinaire and father of afro-jazz, was an incredible talent who will be long remembered.This CD is the perfect collection to get started with Puente's vast library.Read more

Subjects:  1. Afro-Cuban Jazz    2. Big Band Latino    3. Cuban Jazz    4. Jazz    5. Latin    6. Latin Continuum    7. Latin Jazz    8. Latin Music    9. Latin Pop    10. Leader    11. Mambo    12. Pop    13. Salsa   

Reviews (1)

BENY MORE- "LO MEJOR DE LO MEJOR"
BMG/RCA ARIOLA DE MEXICO has put together a great compilation of Beny More's Mexican tour (1945-1952) and also included some of his RCA Havana recorded sessions with his own band and that of Ernesto Duarte. It is great that "occasionally shelved" hit songs like "Las Posadas", "La Maricutana" and "Loca Pasion, by Beny with Mariano Merceron Orch. were included in this compilation. Although more of these rare sessions with Merceron should've been included, this is a "handy to have" compilation, 40 songs especially for those who are just getting to know "El Barbaro del Ritmo", Beny More and above all, the price is right! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Big Band Latino    2. Bolero    3. Cuban    4. Latin    5. Latin Continuum    6. Latin Music    7. Mambo    8. Rhumba    9. Son    10. Sonero    11. Tropical   

Editorial Review

What sounds like an early-model Casio playing "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" quickly gives way to a classic Perez Prado riff. On top of it all, Lou Bega--born in Germany to a Ugandan father and Italian mother--hoarsely exhorts the floor to "Mambo No. 5." A runaway hit in more than a dozen countries, it's an agreeable trifle, if ultimately not as charming as "Macarena" proved to be a few summers back. Throughout this cash-in album, Bega comes off like a cross between a less clever Tone-Loc and a less inspired Buster Poindexter. If there's a great Europop-Cuban fusion in the making, its standard-bearers will have to come up with more durable trashy fun than this. Read more

Reviews (220)

Good album
I used to line dance to "I Got A Girl" and I always liked " Mambo No. 5" and Lou also does a good song towards the end with a salsa beat to it. A very unique album.

good for kids, I guess
The music is way too "synthy" for me.In many cases the "band" sounds like a synthesizer and a drum box.Many of the lyrics are inane.Lou's voice seems ok.My 8 year old likes it a lot.
As bad as the warnings in other reviews
Mambo #5 caught my ear when listening to the car radio.It is the only passable song on the CD.I couldn't even listen all the way through the others.Just awful.I paid one cent plus shipping for it used and still feel ripped off by Mr. Bega. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Club/Dance    2. Dance Music    3. Latin Pop    4. Mambo    5. Pop    6. Popular Music    7. Rock/Pop   

Editorial Review

A well chosen compilation of 12 songs, "Afro Latino" features artists from both sides of the Atlantic, including some based in the USA. The marriage of African and Cuban rhythm and tradition is incredibly fertile, witnessed by the many different takes on this most sensual and swinging mix from Cuba, Senegal, Angola, Cape Verde, The Congo, and even Peru. From the acoustic guitar-led Quarteto Oriente (playing in Cuba's "oriente" style) to Congo's soukous supergroup Les 4 Etoiles, the legendary Orchestra Baobab and Africando, this is a top flight introduction to the many flavors of Afro-Cuban music. Included from Putamayo's Artist label are the salsa tinged Ricardo Lemvo & Makina Loca and well established Congolese guitarist/songwriter Sam Mangwana, now residing in the USA. Afro-Cuban music has never been more vital, and this collection is a good place to start your explorations. Read more

Reviews (15)

I Don't Know How They Do It
This CD is a masterpiece! It is absolutely amazing, and it has a lot of depth in it. A great piece to dance to or just to listen to if you would like to relax. You can hear the cuban beats as well as the african beats in here. just amazing..
West Africa and Cuba join forces
This CD should have been named Afro-Cubano.The CD starts off with African salsa and son, and then switches back and forth between Cuban son and African son.
Afro-Latino roots at it's best
Well folks this is where it started, the true roots of the Cuban Rhythms and the rest of the Caribbean sounds. Here you will see the close connection to what today it's known as "salsa"; on some songs you think you are listening to Spanish but in reality it's Portuguese Creole from Cape Verde. The rest of the songs are a mixture of African, Spanish, Peruvian, Cuban and Portuguese rhythms. My favorite songs are from Angola, Rudy Mingas " KOLONAL " and Ricardo Lemo & Makina Loca from the Congo "Mambo Yo Yo ", all the rest are good too. On this CD the African continent proves to the rest of the world that salsa originated from them and they can play it just as good! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Africa    2. Afro-Cuban    3. Afro-Pop    4. Cuba    5. Int'l & World Music    6. Mambo    7. Pop    8. Salsa    9. Son    10. Soukous    11. World Beat Collections    12. World Music   

Reviews (11)

Slow down..
Looking at the others reviews I sincerely think you were too much generous or you don't know the music of Tito. I bought this CD and I was desapointed for the lack of energy authenticity by the quality of the arrangements.
Fun dance collection
This collection is a lot of fun percussion with typical Latin mambo beats.It's got enough variety to keep you interested but it's still pretty easy listening.A fun addition to anyone's dance collection.

five stars not enuff
Tito considered himself a jazz artist, not a salsa one.I hate american jazz with a passion(it bores me to tears) but latin jazz has a nice beat to it that i can groove to.This is one of my top 2 or 3 favorite latin albums. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Afro-Cuban Jazz    2. Big Band Latino    3. Cuban Jazz    4. Jazz    5. Latin    6. Latin Continuum    7. Latin Jazz    8. Latin Music    9. Latin Pop    10. Leader    11. Mambo    12. Salsa    13. Tropical   

Features

• Enhanced

Reviews (2)

LA REINA DE LA SALSA!!!!
Even though I have most of these tracks on other cds I still bought this one.The songs are classics.If you are just starting to collect salsa, you should buy this cd.No library would be complete without Celia Cruz, she is truly missed!

Por si acaso no regreso!!!!!!!!! a CUBA
Este disco es EXCELENTE, TODAS las canciones som muy buenas y conocidas, es una seleccion de las mejores canciones nuevas y antiguas y tiene una cancion, que al comienzo no note, pero cuando me di cuenta que existia , el disco se convirtio en LO MAXIMO, para todos los CUBANOS del EXILIO es un MUST HAVE this CD MUY RECOMENDADO, no se arrepentiran ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Cuba    2. Latin    3. Latin Continuum    4. Latin Jazz    5. Latin Music    6. Latin Pop    7. Mambo    8. Salsa    9. Salsa/Merenge    10. Son    11. Tropical    12. Vocals   

Reviews (6)

if this doesn't get your feet moving.......
....then you probably don't have a pulse.Every song is eminently danceable, and the band never sounded tighter.What's amazing is that is not a compilation CD, it was an album released in 1958, a true CLASSIC.

Pure BIG Band Salsa
This is true big band sound salsa, before the name salsa became popular. Originally released in 1958, You can go back and feel how great this music was back then and still feel the how great it still is today. This tells you this is a treasure chest of great music. Just enjoy and dance as if he is playing at the good old days at the Palladium Dance night,in NYC. The recordings allow you to hear clearly every instrument that was played and precise harmony of the full orchestra. Be carefull playing this while driving in the car, you will be force to pull over and dance a few cuts.

It doesn't get better than this!
One of Tito's tightest and most soulful albums, with sharp-sounding horn charts and funky rhythms galore.Recording with the full technical expertise of the RCA studios behind him, Puente's late '50s albums had much richer, better defined sound than competitors on smaller, independent labels, and the brass tones that distort into distorted shrillness on other albums are smooth and clear here.Great material, and a ton of tight session players who were the cream of the crop in the latin dance scene.Highly recommended! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Afro-Cuban Jazz    2. Latin    3. Latin Jazz    4. Latin Music    5. Latin Pop    6. Mambo    7. Tropical   

Editorial Review

In the history of recorded music, there are a few albums that define a genre. Among them are Glenn Gould's 1955 recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations and Miles Davis's hypnotic Read more

Reviews (9)

Percussion Madness
Muy buen album de la serie de la RCA sobre Tito, recomiendo tambien el trabajo CUBAN CARNIVAL de esta misma, es muy bueno aunque soy más del trabajo: PUENTE IN PERCUTION sacado años despues por el sello ALEGRE, en compañia de Willie Bobo y Santamaria nuevamente. Ritmos tradicionales de cuba acopañado por los grandes. Como te extraño Tito.....

The world's best latin-american percussionist- in full swing
In case anyone had any doubts -- at all -- that Tito could play the real, hardcore, pure Afro-Cuban percussion, then this album should settle that question.With Mongo Santamaria and several other percussion heavyweights on board, Tito pounds away on some of the toughest-sounding rhythm work imaginable.The second half of the album gets funkier and more slinky, with a subtle, jazzy bass added into the mix.This is a killer instrumental album, formidable and funky in every aspect.Recommended!

Unbelievable
A truly unbelievable record, and a wonderful introduction to both Latin percussion and the Afro/Cuban folkloric tradition.Though Puerto Rican by birth, Tito was an initiate to the Cuban Santeria religion, and in this album he pays homage to the spiritual and musical roots of the Mambo and Cha Cha styles for which he became most famous.Tito, Mongo, Willie Bobo, Julito Collazo, etc., all play at an unsurpassed level of virtuosity and creativity, maintaining a dizzying array of poly-rhythms that provide a virtual catalog of the West African rhythms that filtered through Cuba to become the Latin music we know and love today.As honest, beautiful, and interesting a record as any Tito Puente made.An absolute must for anyone with even the slightest interest in Latin music, drumming, Cuban culture and experience, Tito Puente, or even rhythm in general.Go get it!!! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Afro-Cuban Jazz    2. Big Band Latino    3. Cuban Jazz    4. Latin    5. Latin Continuum    6. Latin Jazz    7. Latin Music    8. Latin Pop    9. Leader    10. Mambo    11. Salsa    12. Tropical   

Reviews (2)

Excellent
This CD is well worth your dollar...40 impeccable recordings, the Cuban musical genius of Perez Prado, the precise instrumentations of his highly talented Mexican band members, and a great blend of orginal compositions and latin standards.\ makes this a must have album!

They don't make`m like they used to !
Nostalgic with an unmatched rhythm that can not be found in ourRead more

Subjects:  1. Big Band    2. Big Band Latino    3. Cuba    4. Latin    5. Latin Music    6. Mambo    7. Salsa/Merenge    8. Tropical   

Reviews (11)

Friday Night Cocktail Hour
Put this baby on after work on a Friday night. Mix up your favorite beverages and start the weekend right. Great CD for a party or just "chillin". If only we had a road map to get back to these days when life was a little easier. No P.C. garbage, no cell phones or fax machines. Just come home to your wife, mix up the cocktails and do it! Put this CD on, pretend its 1962 and drink it up!!

Really great for dancing and for listening!
I just happened to run across this CD by chance and after listening to a few track samples, decided to buy it right away. I wasn't disappointed - now I play it all the time!The tracks here are a unique blend of musical styles, including jazz, Latin, Brazilian, and early 60's dance music - they all fit under the umbrella of "lounge music" and every single one is great.There are some fun surprises, like a jazzy Connie Francis singing "Bossa Nova Hand Dance" in Portuguese, Dick Hyman's Lowrey organ and bongo arrangement of "Washington Square", and Les Elgart's big band twist version of "Frenesi", which I think is my favorite track.I also love Rene Touzet's Latin-ized "Baby Elephant Walk", Cal Tjader's supremely cool "Soul Sauce" and Perez Prado's rock-mambo "Why Wait".Throw in some great vocal tracks from Mel Torme, Ann-Margret, Nancy Wilson and Mose Allison, plus Quincy Jones, Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 and other fine artists in the genre, and you've got a classic party CD guaranteed to make you feel good every time you hear it.I definitely recommend buying this one!

Shaken, not stirred
This CD features 18 tracks that might have been played at a "cocktail party" back in the 1960s.It is a fun combination of vocals and instrumentals dating from 1958 to 1967.This is the kind of music that was played at parties for adults back then.None of that "rock and roll" stuff here!There is a lot of bossa nova here, plus jazz-pop and various other swinging styles.This is the perfect music to listen to while drinking martinis (not that I ever had a martini).If you are a fan of the lounge music revival, you will enjoy this CD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 50's    2. 60's    3. Ballads    4. Big Band    5. Big Band Latino    6. Bolero    7. Bop    8. Bossa Nova    9. Brazilian Jazz    10. Cha-Cha    11. Cool    12. Crossover Jazz    13. Easy Listening Collections    14. Exotica    15. Hard Bop    16. Jazz-Pop    17. Latin Dance    18. Latin Jazz    19. Lounge    20. Mambo   

Reviews (6)

Truly Livin' la Vida Loca!
In the 50's, every Monday night, Middle America tuned in to see our favorite crazy redhead and this dark, handsome Cuban singing in Spanish, way before Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias in the 90's and 00's.There is nothing new with America's love with Cuban music -- this Cd is a great compilation of Desi's best.There is his "Cuban Pete" (who "doesn't teach you in a hurray like Arthur Murray..")."Cumbanchero" embraces the great spirit of carnival time in Santiago de Cuba (home of "the Conga").If you're interested in classic Cuban music, listen to Desi.

GREAT!
While the disk could be remastered for some of the "picky/more modernesque" folks, this is really a gem of a recording...it sounds like those great recordings did, when original, and frankly, it is a treat to hear a "true" recording in these days of overdone cleanliness.
LUCY LOVED DESI
And you will to. This music conveys the happy feeling of Latin music produced for the American ear from 1946 to 1949. I picked up the album from Amazon after listening to selected cuts offered by the Yahoo Music radio service -- "El Cumbanchero" and "Cuban Pete". The cuts are almost all strong and all are well recorded, especially when you compare the sound quality to those on some other big band recordings that have been reissued.
Read more

Subjects:  1. Jazz    2. Latin Continuum    3. Latin Pop    4. Mambo    5. Pop    6. Popular Music    7. Tropical    8. Vocal   

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (1)

Good one
I don't have this album but hearded it on winamp the musics are very good in fact it has the best musics of winamps latin arquives.My favorite is the first track even knowing winamp does not put the number of the tracks it's easy to know because the melodies can not variate so much in one track and one track does not durates more than one hour.However it's worth buying it. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Afro-Cuban Jazz    2. Big Band Latino    3. Jazz    4. Latin Jazz    5. Mambo    6. Pop    7. Salsa    8. United States of America