ALEGRE ALL-STARS

INSPIRED by the famous Cuban Jam Sessions of the 1950s on Panart, a Puerto Rican sound engineer in the Big Apple, Al Santiago, decided to set up his own label, Alegre, and had a smash hit first album with Johnny Pacheco. The sales of this album encouraged Santiago to follow his own tastes and create an all star group in Nueva York under the leadership of Charlie Palmieri. Extended descargas, or jam sessions predominate with a cacophony of percussion, jazzy brass and super tight vocal harmonies. These recordings became legendary as much for the hilarious banter between tracks as for the outstanding musicianship throughout. Big band Latino does not come any better than this. Simply essential. from http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk