Fania / Umgd
2008
The Sun Of Latin Music
About This Album
Eddie Palmieri is perhaps the most difficult of all Latin artists to sum up in a compilation -- even a 30-track, double-disc set like The Sun of Latin Music, comprised of tracks from the Alegre, Tico, Coco, Intersong, and Fania labels. Compilation producer Ernesto Lechner writes enthusiastically in his liner notes that "this compilation of classic tunes from the '60s, '70s, and '80s only begins to skim the surface of Palmieri's prodigious output. It is meant to act as a comprehensive introduction...." These assertions are both correct. Palmieri has recorded such an astonishing variety of charangas, salsas, Afro-Cuban sons, boleros, and rhumbas, and forged his own ambitious brand of Latin jazz, that he's impossible to peg. But then, what's on display here is the brand -- Palmieri himself. The set begins in 1962 with his "trombanga" (charanga with trombones) band La Perfecta and their debut album of the same name. The theme song is chosen here, and from the ubiquitous clave rhythmic figure and Ismael Quintana's vocals, one can already surmise why this recording is still regarded as vital in the 21st century. The disc moves through various changes with this band through 1967, until he broke up that band and went off on his own.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,10,11 and 14)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 4,9 and 13)

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