Alegre All Stars＜限定盤＞

プロデューサーでイノベーターでもあったアル・サンティアゴがキューバのPANARTに残された『CUBAN JAM SESSION』('59)に触発されて録音したという、NYラテンのオールスター・バンドによるセッション・アルバム『ALEGRE ALL STARS』('61)が待望のアナログ・リイシュー! チャーリー・パルミエリを筆頭に、ボビー・ロドリゲス、ジョニー・パチェーコ、カコら名手による、どこかルーズでありながらファンキーでスイングにあふれた演奏は今聞いても極上。すべてのラテンファン必携・必聴の一枚だ。

Producer - Al Santiago
Piano, Design Concept, Music Director - Charlie Palmieri
Bass - Bobby Rodriguez
Congas - Marcelino Valdes
Flute - Johnny Pacheco
Guiro - Julian Cabrera
Tenor Saxophone - Chombo Silva
Timbales - Kako
Trombone - Barry Rogers
Vocals - Dioris Valladares, Rudy Calzado, Yayo "El Indio" Pequero

Late in the '50s, Alegre label-head Al Santiago was inspired by the loose, funky sound of the live-in-the-studio Cuban Jam Session LPs on Panart (led by Julio Gutierrez and Nino Rivera), so he organized a similar session with Alegre friends and family, hereafter known as the Alegre All Stars. The music is completely unrestrained charanga and salsa, packed with excellent jamming, infectious singalongs, and, on several tracks, lengthy intros revealing the atmosphere inside the studio (pouring drinks are unsurprisingly the most-often-heard sounds). "Estoy Buscando a Kako" ("I Am Looking for Kako") is a delightful romp; the players repeat a variation of the title preceding each soloist, working their way to the end of the line with Kako himself taking a solo on his timbales. Just this side of anarchic confusion, but with surprisingly few missed notes, The Alegre All Stars is a legendary date -- and certainly one of the few records ever released that credit a bartender. ~ John Bush