THE HI-FLY ORCHESTRA - Mambo Atomico (2008)

The grooviest work so far from The Hi-Fly Orchestra, a set that moves even farther past the sublime territory of their debut, into a really classic blend of Soul Jazz and Latin rhythms, produced to perfection with a wonderfully solid feel!! Instrumentation here is all live, a blend of sax, flute, trombone, Fender Rhodes, piano, and plenty of percussion, all handled with a feel that takes us back to some of our favorite territory on Verve Records from the 60´s, those wonderful records that blended elements from the Latin underground with some of the harder Jazz leanings of the period, a legacy these guys are happy to add to with their wonderful grooves!!

Tracklisting:

1. Carioquinha
2. Polonesa
3. Crosstown Traffic
4. Mrs.Shing-A-Ling
5. Hi-Fly Stomp
6. Mambo Atomico
7. Afro-Boo
8. Chove Chuva feat. Miriam Aida
9. Gettin' Down
10. The New B!
11. Sp Samba

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QUANTIC AND HIS COMBO BARBARO - Tradition In Transition (2009)

Quantic really blows the roof off with this one, taking us even farther on a musical journey than ever before, and making us bow to his mighty talents in ways we never expected!! The album's a really unique session recorded in Colombia, with help from an international batch of musicians and studio talents, a wicked extension of the Latin grooves that Quantic added to his funky mix a few years ago, but with far more sophistication and live instrumentation than he's ever used before!! This album's not just a simple blend of Salsa elements and funky grooves, and instead, it's a richly complicated tapestry of music, one that not only draws from colombian sounds, but also some of the more sophisticated aspects of other Latin American scenes too, no surprise, given that performers here include Alfredo Linares on piano, Freddy Colorado on congas, Fernando Ovejo Silva on bass, Angel Hernandez on trumpet, and Arthur Verocai on arrangements. Mighty Malcolm Catto is on deck with some heavy drums, and most of the instrumentation here is acoustic, and richly varied throughout. Sublime, amazing, and a record that wins us over way more than we ever might have expected, and dammit, we already had a hell of a lot of respect for Will Holland!!

Tracklisting:

1. The Dreaming Mind (Pt. 1)
2. Mas Pan
3. Linda Morena
4. Undelivered Letter
5. Un Canto A Mi Tierra
6. Mambo Los Quantic
7. Albela
8. New Morning
9. I Just Fell In Love Again
10. Cancao Do Deserto
11. Arianita

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