New Cha Cha/Mambo Herd

AMG Review of New Cha Cha/Mambo Herd

Ron Wynn
All Music Guide

Tito Puente and Woody Herman teamed in the late '50s with spectacular results. Puente's blazing timbales and splendid Afro-Latin rhythms were easily adapted into the Herman swing mode. Puente, Ray Barretto, Gilbert Lopez, Ray Rodriquez and/or Willie Rodriquez simply laid down a barrage of beats, rhythmic patterns and textures, while Herman and his band did their solos and unison arrangements directly over them, easing into the intervals and letting the grooves direct them. Herman himself was still wailing away on clarinet and alto sax, teaming with Puente to ensure that the beat never clashed with the frontline. Laserlight's remastering is fine, and they have used the original 1958 liner notes. A pivotal event in jazz and Afro-Latin music.