Benny Velarde & Orchestra: Ay Que Rico / Very Tasty (Fantasy 3343)

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Audio Clips

The La Playa Sextet: The Exciting New La Playa Sound (United Artists 3357)

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Rudy Macias And His Charanga Orchestra: Pachanga If You Please (Crown 5237)

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Hector Rivera And His Orchestra: Let's Cha Cha Cha (Wing 12197)

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Orquesta De Federico Ramirez Y Dos Pastoras: Satin Latino (Discos Corona 1033)

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Conjunto Ingenieria: Conjunto Ingenieria (Gramacko 2016)

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Side A

Cal Tjader Quintet: Tjader Plays Mambo (Fantasy 3221)

Cachao Y Su Tipica: Camina Juan Pescao (Duher 1603)

All of the songs on this album start slow and don't really pick up until about a minute and a half (or more) in, so the sound clips don't really do the album justice. Still, the record is overall kind of a snooze, which is unfortunate.


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Side A

Hector Rivera And His Orchestra: Viva Rivera! (Epic 3804)

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Vladimir And His Orchestra: New Sound In Latin Jazz (Alegre 854)

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Carlos Munoz Y Su Sonora: The Mag All-Stars Vol. 3 (Mag 2279)

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Dax Pacem Orchestra: Dax Pacem Orchestra (Amaral 1010)

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Sabu Martinez: Sabu's Jazz Espagnole (Alegre 802)

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Monguito "El Unico" Y Su Conjunto: De Todo Un Poco (Fania 386)

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Celia Cruz: Mi Diario Musical (Seeco 30010)

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Bobby Montez and his Quintet: The Music Of Lerner and Loewe (GNP)

This is pretty much a one-tracker LP, so here it is: "The Parisians"

Orlando Marin 45s on Fiesta: "Lucky Cha Cha Cha" & "Carmelo"

For some reason, the cha cha cha musical form seems to lend itself to corniness (unlike, say, mambo), and when it comes to 50s cha cha cha, the songs are usually either brilliant or boring (and there are lots more boring ones), so it is easy to develop an aversion to the style before actually hearing the good stuff.

The two Orlando Marin songs below are both late 50s cha cha cha tracks that stand out by employing a percussion sound that is markedly louder than what one might hear on an average cha-cha track. This heavier sound is achieved largely with the cowbell, which is right up front and getting worked for everything it's worth on these two songs. The plodding style in which the songs are played also adds to their uniqueness. I would compare the sound to a busy construction site, where the clang of metal on metal, metal on wood, and metal on concrete are central to the daily soundtrack. In other words, these dudes are putting in work.


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Randy Carlos Y Su Conjunto: [Gozando Con] Randy (Fiesta 1417)

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Randy Carlos and his Orchestra: Having A Ball (Fiesta 1221)

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Randy Carlos and his Orchestra: Pachanga Con Cha Cha Cha (Fiesta 1313)

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