You want swing? We’ll give you swing, brother. The mega-mambo Palladium Orchestra is musically directed by José Madera. Madera, a Puente orchestra veteran, is joined here by the sons of Latin music big-band royalty: Tito Puente Jr., Machito Jr. (Mario Grillo), and Tito Rodriguez Jr. in what is not simply a marketing effort. These three men are all capable timbaleros, and this live recording from New York’s Blue Note, March 6, 2004 tore down the house.
Playing the tunes that the three originals were famous for are heavy hitters like Louis Bauzo, Oscar Hernan- dez, Héctor Colón, Eddie Montalvo, Jerry Madera, and Chis Washburne to name a few. Most of the thirteen tracks are high voltage mambo-jazz instrumental tracks like “Cuban Fantasy,” “Mambo Inn,” and “Palladium Days.” There are also tracks that require vocals like “El Cayuco,” “Mama Guela,” “Complicacion,” and “Chevere.” For these, the vocalists Luisita Ayala, Sammy Gonzalez, and Herman Olivera do a simply superb job.
There seems to be a resurgence, as of late, for the sounds generated by the bands of the ‘50s and ‘60s. The Big 3 Palladium Orchestra, with it’s screaming horn section, frenzied rhythm section, and its high-octane, bone-crunching arrange- ments is, by far, the most hard-core tribute record I have heard in a long time. A guaranteed dance-club oor burner.
Source: Descarga.com • Review by DJ Alert