Kenya

I don’t say this lightly, I thought I didn’t like jazz. This album corrected me. This album taught me that jazz really has a shade for everyone. The way this album effortlessly combines so many different sounds and genres as if it’s something that already exists and they’re not completely inventing new music on a conceptual level. Honestly this isn’t just me favorite jazz album of this list, this very well could be my favorite jazz album of all time. It’s so much fun and it has so much energy. It honestly reminds me of a huge movie score where everything to smallest minute detail is exactly where it needs to be. I guess I’m saying this album is total perfection (for jazz album).

Some good stuff here too. Nice jazz

I was dancing from the first song and didn't stop until the end. Absolutely fantastic and fun record that will be going into my rotation.

FINALLY SOME JAZZ!!! I do really love a good bit of jazz, I cannot even lie to you. I loved this a lot very fun listen... Feeling a 4.5 but rounding up!

yeah okay i'm gonna do it. i'm gonna give my first five stars. i fucking love jazz man this rips. i'm gonna listen to this forever actually. incredible time had

Great way to start a Monday morning! Upbeat and funky.

Passion!

I’m not generally crazy about big bad. But this is undeniably awesome!

Yeah. Hell yeah. This is just excellent afro-Cuban jazz, no more, no less. This is the kind of album that makes me really glad to have undertaken this project. The horns! The drums! This reminds me of the music the Cuban guys who lived across the street from me in Tampa used to play at their fish fries every Friday evening. 10/10

Love it! Took me back to a time when I wasn't born yet.

Blåserekke og bongorekke av ragn! Så mye energi!

Loved it. Couldn’t help but dance. My cats also loved it

6/1001 Only losers can dislike this, this is peak International Person of Mystery music. If you never wear sunglasses indoors after dark, you cannot comprehend how good this is and you are not allowed to have an opinion on this record. 5/5

Ooh loved it

There is honestly no bad words that can be said about this joyous energy supplement. One of few albums that just makes you smile.

Feels like someone took my ears off my head and asked them for a dance. What an amazing album. Will definitely listen to it on repeat from now on.

As far as the Jazz that this list has presented to me, this was insanely unorthodox and unique in the best of ways. I've said before I find Jazz a hard genre to rank as it's all artistic merit of how the orchestration makes you feel and THIS makes me happy. 1958 is certainly a long long time ago and yet this album still captures a feel of joy and carries notes of the genre I would expect to hear 10 or even 20 years down the line. While I love how the influence of African music is presented I would've loved a little more of it as it feels only limited to the percussion. A completely warranted addition to this list, this 35 minute big band blessing is a great album that totally blends beautifully and allows the bongos to bring everything else to life. Traditionally drumming in jazz is a real pace setter and pace breaker but this is a real step left in that fashion and I really like the change. The bongo solos on songs like Frenzy and the opening track that play between lush bursts of brass are pleasant indeed. I think this is an album I'll grow to like more and more as I not only digest more of the genre but gain better perspective. I continue to struggle with the full artistic presentation of Jazz in general but this feels like it's opening doors, and that's more than worthy of a 5 and not just for sounding excellent almost 70 years later. Best songs: Wild Jungle, Oyeme, Holiday, Frenzy Worst song: N/A Rank compared to everything else so far: 9/23 (Below Mothership Connection, above LA Woman)

Really liked it, Latin jazz without overdoing anything. Instrumental too

Highly enjoyable. The combo of intense percussion and big band was very pleasing. Easy 5 star

Wasn’t expecting much - but man was that good. Just close your eyes, lean back, sip a Mojito and you’re transported to the Tropicana with Ricky Ricardo. Good stuff

This album is a party!

TRUMPTER OC TrUMMOR!

I've listened to a lot of jazz -- mostly hard bop. I always thought I disliked latin jazz. Now I realize, i just never heard good latin jazz. I spun this album three times in a row. it's so good! and here we find my first five star album: an album that opens up a genre to me. One that i listened to multiple times, loving every minute, and will continue to put on going forward.

This is so good! Actually a huge fan now

There's not a bad thing you can say about this album. Crisp, funky, and danceable. 4.5 outta 5

Never a dull moment. As far as jazz goes, this is pretty close to the peak for me.

This album gives me positive vibes and takes jazz to another world. Added this to my library

I was expecting not to like this but ended up playing this album three times! Nice discovery!

Wow this was fun!! I want to be in a jazz bar getting drunk off expensive cocktails and eating mussels

I don't think an album has ever won me over as quickly as this one did. Like, besides albums I already know and love, this is absolutely the fastest I've ever decided an album was a 5. And normally I'd never wanna jump to a conclusion just like that. I wanna give these albums their time! Give 'em space to breathe and let them present themselves. After all, an album can have a promising start but waver significantly in the back half — or vice versa. Or maybe it's bookended by bad, but in the middle there's a shining nugget of something truly wonderful — or vice versa. In short, unless you hear the full thing, you'll never **truly** get a sense of it. And I know I've betrayed that thinking on some occasions. I ain't claiming to be perfect. But generally, I wanna reserve judgement until I've gotten right to the end (unless you're Kid Rock, and then I was always gonna toss you out on your ass). But this album — wooooohhh, boy. Talk about making an entrance! From the first second — BLAM! It socks you right in the face with lord horn and congas! It's exhilarating! It's a rush! It's maybe one of the best damn parties you've ever been to! And this thing **just started**! It's like a young Brando, woo! I mean, seriously. I might sound like I'm exaggerating here, but I am not. This is such an amazingly fun album. It's a nonstop rush of horns and congas — oh, the **congas**! The horns and soloists are all great,but goodness me, the **congas**. They're the secret sauce! And, see, I couldn't even get through that sentence back there without stopping to gush about some part of this album! I just can't get over how much I enjoyed this thing. Why didn't anyone tell me 50's Afro-Cuban jazz was such a rush? And, look, to be fair, I'll grant you: I can absolutely hear how this would be tiring to someone. Not every song is at the same frenetic tempo of the first one — it's not Tito Puente's 'Dance Mania!', y'know — but if you don't jive with that first song . . . maybe the slower tunes'll do it for you? Otherwise, I can't even imagine you how'd hear this. All I know is, you'd be missing out. I wanna keep going on this, I really do. I wanna write at least a good 1k words about how much I dug this album — but I can't. You really just need to hear it for yourself, if somehow you've stumbled across this review on this website and haven't already. Heck, if you have, listen to it again! It's just awesome! And you owe it to yourself, y'know? Jus' . . . wow, that's it, I'm done. I'm outta words. So lemme just close here by agreeing with the liner notes on the back of the record: indeed, I **did** find 'Kenya' to be a highly exciting and provocative listening pleasure. A pleasure for sure!

It’s obviously a 5. I think it’s probably a 10. Just a spectacular jazz album with some Latin / Cuban influence, really. They make this shit sound so easy, and it’s probably full of deeply layered big band performances & harmonies full of intricacies that I could only barely keep up with. This thing is a ball of brass-driven energy with frenetic percussion & horn stabs & melodies & counter-melodies galore. For 1957, even with a 2000 remaster, I’m stunned at just how coherent & how deep this thing feels. This is an album where the music more than speaks for itself, and you just need to go listen to it to really feel it. It’s a 33 minute fireball that never really hits a bad point, and I’m just stunned that this is as good as it is. If I have one nitpick (and it’s a very minor one), it’s that the album could’ve probably ended on the superb climax that is “Tin Tin Deo” for a 10-track masterpiece, but even with the album going for 2 songs past that, they’re both still remarkably good. If they had come in earlier, and still let the album finish on “Tin Tin Deo”, it’d still be perfect. Hell, I think it might still be perfect regardless. I’m riding the high of this thing right now, so maybe my energy will simmer down on it in the future, but my immediate analysis is that this is about as close to a perfect jazz album as there could be, at least for my tastes. A total stunner, one of the best jazz albums we’ve had on the list so far, and an easy, easy 5. Probably a 10.

Incredibile jazz album

A near-perfect Latin Jazz album. Drop off Holiday and Tururato and you’ve got a winner on every track. Incredible musicianship throughout. And I hate jazz.

Great fun, awesome big band jazz with bonus furious bongo action.

godo mi è piaciuto molto

Bingo bango bongo big band cuban jazz

Amazing

Feels like it’s made for a movie. Vibrant, beats and rhythm. A real party album. Loved it.

Give me a Mai Tai and a tiki lounge

♪┏(・o･)┛♪ ～(■_■)～♪ ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪

If you give me an old school instrumental Latin record, chances are it'll be a 5

Loved it!

Enjoyable with bongos and brass. What I think of as jazz music in the movies (a la Indiana Jones). 5 stars

This album is Da Bomb!! Never even heard of it or Machito himself. I was opened up to whole new jazz music genre. Thr percussion is awesome and so is the sax playing. I loved it ❤️ 💙 💜 💖 💗 💘

Great recording. I felt like I was in a night club from a great Hollywood movie of the 40s.

Slaps so fucking hard. I do love a big band “orchestration”, and learned some cool stuff about Machito

Never heard of Machito before but I’m a sucker for this type of Carrib jazz. Great album

I really enjoyed this album. Pure vintage jazz.

I loved this album. I have since looked up more like music. Thank you for introducing me to this genre.

man this was a really fun album! high energy, very dancable, super classic sound. this is the sort of stuff i love to get in this project, something i probably would never have gone out of my way to listen to, but something that is just a really great, fun to listen to album.

Bangs. I've been curious about 1950s jazz so it was nice to see this come up.

Sublime.

A recent review of mine for another album that featured salsa music was lukewarm. But this… add some really great Latin jazz into the mix and this genre is elevated exponentially. I found myself putting this on a few times after my initial listen and it just filled the space with a comforting tone like it was humming out of an old radio.

Loved this one.

Tunes to make you groove.

This was so great. I just kept bopping to this on the beach today. Loved it!

YES!

9/10

This was a great album! It's a wonderful example of the style.

So much fun! Love the vibe!

Enjoyed this one from start to finish.

Man I just loved this. What a fun album. I had to see what everyone else on here thought and it made me so happy to see how popular it is with people who've done this project. I had a friend in high school who composed Latin jazz and this brought me back to when he was sending me demos while composing and how that was really my first exposure to this kind of music.

I just love jazz that has Latin influences.

Man this album goes hard. Incredible Afro-Cuban jazz record. Really enjoyed getting this today.

I can't say I've heard of Machito before. Born Frank Grillo, he was a Latin jazz musician who refined the Afro-Cuban jazz sound and helped pave the way for salsa. That much is evident on this album he composed with several percussionists and guest musicians. Throughout Kenya, the driving force of these tunes is the syncopated rhythms from the bongos, timbales, and congas that make them pop and danceable. The fiery intensity that can ebb and flow throughout this album, paired with the horns playing such eccentric lines, makes for such an engaging listen. Machito knew how to get the audience to run through different emotions with his compositions, whether it's the laid-back vibe of "Holiday" or the frenetic busy-work of "Frenzy". Not to mention how well-produced this was for 1957, with the brass and percussion mixed such that neither felt overpowering. Honestly, I couldn't find much to complain about this album. If such a jazz album can maintain my enjoyment throughout the runtime while retaining its Afro-Cuban identity, then that is a memorable and worthwhile listen. Much respect to the legend that is Machito.

Excellent album, all bangers, no skips.

Didn’t think I’d be rating any instrumental albums as 5 stars, but this album is just incredible. The layers of percussion keep the energy up continuously. The layers of brass sound so bright that they just cut through everything, right into your soul.

The good stuff

Love jazz, love this.

Best enjoyed with headphones

Badass Latin sound - don’t know what you haters are on about

Great for working

Incredibly solid for the genre

If you ever wanted a jazz album that sounds like the lost soundtrack to a ‘70s spy thriller—complete with car chases, rooftop escapes, and smoky underground clubs—Kenya is it. From the very first notes, the album bursts to life with fiery brass, intricate percussion, and a groove so infectious it feels impossible to resist. The Afro-Cuban rhythms are the backbone of the record, with congas, timbales, and bongos creating an unstoppable momentum, while the horn section punches through with sharp, commanding blasts that add urgency and drama. And then there’s trumpeter Mario Bauzá, whose playing is downright electrifying, cutting through the mix with soaring, razor-sharp lines that push the excitement even further. His melodies dance over the complex rhythms, giving the music a thrilling edge that feels both sophisticated and untamed. Beyond its cinematic energy, Kenya is a masterclass in Afro-Cuban jazz, seamlessly blending tight, big-band arrangements with raw, pulsing rhythm. The interplay between the horns and percussion is mesmerizing, constantly shifting between explosive outbursts and locked-in grooves that make every track feel alive. The call-and-response moments, the driving montunos on piano, and the syncopated basslines all contribute to an atmosphere of controlled chaos—everything feels carefully arranged yet completely spontaneous at the same time. It’s vibrant, it’s exhilarating, and above all, it’s the perfect mood lifter.

Huikea jazz-levy! Menoa, meinikiä ja rytmiä. 5/5

This really isn't for me at all but I fucking loved this album

Absolutely incredible melodies over a phenomenal rhythm section.

short and sweet, incredibly fun album. i put it on at work and before i knew it i was halfway through it.

Unbelievably cool

animated and absurdly fun to listen to, this album will make any person strut and shimmy like they were carmen miranda. as is standard with big band jazz albums around this time, it has a strong emphasis on clever and complex pop beats and insane brass hits. compared to others I've listened to, this one has a much stronger latin flare; the rolling congas will make even a senile 90-year-old shake their bum like mad.

that was WONDERFUL! Loved every minute, latin/jazz/ salsa have a special place in my heart - best music to clean your house to

Incredible

Super energetic Afriacan beats over very smooth Big Band Jazz. Pure late 60s charm. Sexy and fun.

Hell yeah

Super rad. The hard panning is sometimes a bit tough but if I can do it for the Beatles I can do it for this. Other than that, very nice, my wife.

Fun, jazzy feel

Not the jazz I like to listen to with whisky, but, the kind that's fun to dance to.

5/5

This was great! I think the only one I like better is Dave Brubeck, but it is super close depending on my mood.

Fabulous. Nothing like some good jazz to get you going.

I had to relisten a few songs but this album is a banger. Maybe it's average tempo is too fast but it is have the flow and the vibe.

Simply fantastic Latin jazz album!

A real treat!

Cinco Estrellas!

Fabulous. Makes me want to invite over Kramer and Newman to make sausages in the kitchen

Fantastic and timeless. The 1950s were a great time for all genres of music. Then Mitch Miller showed up and ruined it all.

A very musical album, all of the songs has a fun beat and groove to them. In particular I liked the upbeat energy of Wild Jungle and the more relaxed rhythm of Holiday. Definitely an album I'm going to save.

Loved it. Very different but good for resetting the brain into a less stressed state

wow! future cuban afro jazz for the win. horrrrnnnsssss! more hornsssssss! toot toot!

Not my thing but was nice!!

Oh fuck yes!! This is music at its finest. If you had to listen to just 1 record before you die, this is the one. Infinity/5

It’s so dynamic and exciting and creative. I’m honestly mad at myself that I’d never heard of Machito before this.

Love discovering records from this era. Great background music for cocktail time, just like my grandparents intended.

Super fun jazz, fat horns and awesome rhythm. Really good 4.5/5

Where has this been my whole life? I resent that I didn't know about Machito. I may need to have words with my high school jazz band director. The horns are immaculate. The percussion precise. The groove impossible to ignore. It's joy to listen. MORE JAZZ PLEASE.

Really enjoyed this. The percussion is fantastic. Expecting jazz and (for my cretin tastes) and a this blasts at you and maintains a frenetic pace throughout.

very squeeky but i could totally imagine this as a soundtrack for a movie. only because it reminded me of lalaland.

Love it!

Pretty amazing

I love this one! It starts relaxing, gets more stressful in between, and cools down till the end again.

Great horns and songs.

-this is so delightful omg. I listened to this album a couple years ago before I was really interested in jazz but holy shit I love it sm. The high energy, the cultural fusion, every single song on here is exciting af -Favorites are Wild Jungle, Congo Mulence, Kenya, and Tin Tin Deo

Afro-Cuban goodness. damn near 70 years old and pure fire!

Super fun!

Heck yeah! This album makes me feel like I'm on vacation. A little dancing, a little bourbon, some appetizers... I know what I'm doing after work today!

Un disco de jazz con muchas influencias caribeñas. Suena a algo de calypso

Hard to fault this craic. Big band latin jazz glory

Very nice! IMO, it gets boring & a little monotonous after awhile though.

I loved it. I've said I don't like big band music, but I think it's the vocals that I don't like. I'll look up more of his work & Latin Jazz in general

As soon as I hit play on this, I had a massive sneezing fit. Not saying I'm allergic to Afro-Cuban beats, quite the opposite! This music makes me imagine a time of cigars, pencil skirts, and Ricky Ricardo accents. These jams pre-date Desi Arnaz and certainly paved the way for mainstream US popularity. Nothing to sneeze at, whatsoever!

It's jazz, but not the jazz I know. The pace and rhythm are fast-paced and almost hypnotic.

Absolutely loved it - was loads of fun all the way through

This is what I came here for. This stuff is awesome, and I probably would not have come across it otherwise.

I love this so much. So full of life!

Very fun, high energy album. I'm biased but feel like I need to give anything non-anglo-centric a higher rating. but this is such a fun album. Love these kinds of discoveries.

💖 holiday 🗣️ 9️⃣

Never heard of Machito, but absolutely loved the vibe of this album. Afro-Cuban jazz.... so enlightening and fun!

I wish I could hear this with new ears. It sounds like dated big band, but when actually listening the movement and timber is incredible. I wish I could hear it live. Amazing album, cultural aging has really let it down.

Thought this was gonna be perfectly rated as soon as it started, and I was right. I absolutely adore Afro-Cuban jazz but have found it a little hard to get into and learn about and finding out about one of the more seminal records of the genre through here is just awesome. Finding out that Cannonball Adderly was part of making this album as well makes sense as to why I loved this one in particular so much he's easily my favourite alto player as every single time he plays he exudes so much joy, and is the best possible reminder that, at its core, jazz isn't some stuffy music snob genre and it's actually about smiling and dancing and connecting through the music you play. And honestly that kind of sentiment feels intrinsic to this album, that the musicians would have known was not destined for the success of the jazz stars but was made for the love of the genres and cultures that were brought together by people that simply love music

WOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH!!!!! 5/5

Lost my notes. Wow, what an album. Texture is rich and bright throughout the entire album. Not a dull moment. The bongos or whatever drums are used drive each song forward. Standouts: Wild Jungle, Congo Mulence, Holiday, Conversation, andTin Tin Deo.

Þetta er mjög töff jazz og skemmtilegur. Gæti hlustað á aftur og aftur. Held ég hendi í fullt hús.

Not much I can say here, I think this album is perfect and expect many future listens.

Loved this album. This type of Jazz I can get on board with

hell yeah

This is great! Utterly infectious Afro-Cuban big band jazz from 1957 with a great remaster that sounds as fresh as if it were recorded yesterday. This really put a buzz in a dull Thursday for me!

Afro-Cuban big band jazz. Raises your temper immediately by at least two steps (on any scale). Sounds very fresh given the year of the first release, but I have to admit that I listened to the 2000 remaster.

it has been wayyy too long since I’ve heard some good jazz - 10/10

That was a treat. Ended up listening to it twice. Adding it to the folder of things that get randomly played when I'm doing housework.

Excellent Cuban jazz, it helps that I was making salsa while listening to this.

What a great record! I enjoyed it so much and had never heard of it before. I will definitely listen to it again!

Jazz is such an under appreciatied style of music in the main stream music world

Exciting and beautiful music

A lively and at times very spicy showcase of Afro-Cuban Jazz - Great, no nonsesnse arrangements for that classic big band sound. The congas, the wailing saxes and trumpets - wonderful. Congo Mulence is great, Holiday has a nice melody, but Minor Rama is my favorite.

This would be an amazing party to go to live!

When you end up listening ALL day to Cuban jazz, you have to rate it a 10!

This was fun! It was a great background for some light afternoon chores

Excellent Afro-Cuban Jazz

This is my favorite style of jazz. Its so high energy and I love the trupets and sax throughout. Cool thenes and great throughout.

High energy from the first note! Dance party.

Right up my alley

Cuban Jazz. Awesome.

Good vibes

Really brilliant, one of the best Afro-Cuban albums I've come across. This is going to enter my regular rotation

Beautiful Latin Jazz. The arrangements are just so interesting. Thoroughly enjoyed this one.

It’s interesting to hear these Afrocuban compositions in the frame of midcentury big band. Great playing, very timeless.

Primo sausage making music

Checked all the boxes for a jazz record for me. I think this will definitely enter my short list of jazz records to replay

The depth and quality of collaborators on this album is mind-blowing. I'm not anywhere close to a jazz aficionado and I recognized quite a few names. Their influence is definitely felt. Wall-to-wall wailing. Best track: Tin Tin Deo

Well, I am a fan of jazz, and Latin music, so this is a wonderful fusion of those things!

This album is a great Afro-Cuban jazz statement. The horns are bright and expressive, yet the shimmer and flash is undergirded by a fantastic rhythm section. The melodies and improvisations are top notch as well. Overall, this album is a joyful and nuanced look at Afro-Cuban jazz.

This music is joy. It makes you feel happy and like dancing.

Had me shaking

Soothing

Bursts out of the gate hard and fast and just keeps going. High energy mad joy good time fun. I especially love Machito's song endings: a good all horn blast bwaaah! or on the classic doo-weee-youuuu or horns up bwaah! saxes down duuuh or how the whole album ends on just a hard single BOP! Great stuff. Full marks.

When I want jazz, I specifically means THIS. Fast-paced, heavy brass, loud, rhythmic. So much good stuff out of this album. I’ll be coming back to this anytime I want to listen to this genre. The trumpet solos A+++

Another great example of why this project is so fun. Despite loving jazz, I'd never ventured into Afro-Cuban Jazz and yet it's really fun. A cool blend of American big-band, with African rhythm, and Cuban melodies. Some complain that it's a bit one note, without enough variety, but I find the tempo and tone changes sufficiently exciting while maintaining a consistent theme for the album. It's an album for cooking, then enjoying a nice meal, then chilling with a cocktail, and maybe having a little dance. 06/04/23

Wonderful album, definitely going into the library

Exactly what I want to listen to when I'm two whiskeys in and cooking with friends.

I love this so much. Makes me realize I have no musical talent though…

Super lively and fun! I listened to this a couple of times in a row at work and will absolutely be returning to it. This is exactly what I was looking for from this site.

I'm not really a jazz aficionado, I've listened to a good amount of the classics I suppose, liked most of them pretty well. This one hits a special spot for me though. It's energetic, dancey! I think describing it as old-timey big-band Afro-Cubano jazz gets the main idea across. Very Salsa like, with brash and kinda noisy brass and also... Bongo solos! I never thought I would be hyped for yet another bongo solo! But I was! Listened to this twice in a row and I still wanna listen to it again! Apparently I dig Latin jazz. 5/5

This is an excellent example of this sort of thing.

Loved it. The jazzy vibe was fitting with what my mind needed.

Супер-джаз, єбєйший

Great big band Cuban style. Loved it!

Amazing album that is impossible to resist.

This is only the second jazz album I've gotten on here, and it's another 5-star album. I love the frenetic energy of this with the soulful Cuban drums. Truly every song is amazing from start to finish. I loved this album so much that when Spotify started playing recommended tracks when it finished, I just started it over. This will be a regular part of my jazz rotation from here on out.

what a fun album, loved it

Fully enjoyable listen. Tin Tin Deo is a personal fave.

This is some spicy jazz I like it very much December 15, 2022

Afro-cuban jazz. Dig it. Besides Tin Tin Deo, which I was familiar with, all of the other tunes were great. Band is tight, locked in and this does not sound like it was recorded almost 70 years ago. Good music should be timeless like that. Seven man percussion section. Damn! Cannonball Adderley is on this?! Holy crap! Definitely something I am going to come back to.

This is hella sexy.

I know I sound like a broken record (HAHA) but can we have more of these albums and fewer generic forgettable boring 1980s post punk scottish wastes of my time? I have nothing to say about this album that isn't just a tired superlative. It's so good and restores my belief in the power of music.

This one is going in the regular rotation. Listened 4 or 5 times yesterday. I loved everything about it. Damn good album.

Finally, after Tom waits and experimental miles Davis, I got a jazz album that I really really like. John Coltrane was pretty good but it can’t compare to the high energy afro Cuban stuff that’s on this album. I think this is also one of the oldest albums I’ve gotten. Conversation and tin tin deo are my favs

Had me dancing with my daughter. Excellent cuban jazz

Fajne

Overraskende bra!

This album is fuuunnnky. I haven't listened to much jazz outside of pop culture stuff, so this album was really nice to listen to. Although not every song completely grabbed me, I was vibing with the whole album. Plus it's a nice length, if it was longer I might have gotten sick of it. Favorite song: Holiday Worst song: N/A

Probably more of a 4.5 album.

relaxing

很有趣的一张爵士专，很欢乐，很丰富。总会给我一种迪士尼老动画的感觉。整个专辑声音都很满，可是听起来却一点都不累。没有任何不喜欢的单曲，很不错。

Perfect album to smoke this j to. 🤣

jazz cubano hey

Jazzy

Sassy. Loved it.

So enthusiastic and light and breezy.

More please!

This was surprisingly enjoyable, for someone who doesn't necessarily enjoy jazz. I like how each song is short and sweet, gets to the point. I will definitely be listening to the album again.

Love it. Afro-Cuban jazz is fantastic. This is what this list is all about.

cool

Love that sound

5.0 - High energy, sophisticated afro-cuban jazz. Perfect for entertaining or when you need fun background music. The brass section is especially bright and the rhythms are rich.

Amazing groove

Солидно

Thoroughly enjoyed this

just fun jazz

Fantastic.

One of those genres I practically never listen to yet every time I do, I love it. Listened to this and then just kept listening to the mix that followed all day long. Such uplifting music

increible

A surprise 5 stars for this gem on Cuban jazz. Listening to it driving on a gorgeous sunny day may have biased the final verdict, but in those circumstances it’s perfect

Excellent Afro-Cuban jazz. I could throw this on any day of the week and it will make me want to get up and dance.

I love, love, love this.

Afro-Cuban Latin Jazz. Oof. Style, panache, and now added to my collection.

Wow

I did not expect this to be so amazing!

Really really cool jazz! I loved this album

There were a couple of songs that sounded real similar to others, not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Overall it was a nice listen with some beautiful instruments.

So far its a BANGER. All I could ask for on a Monday. I want to be in a smokey jazz club listening live. Making eye contact with the curvy bodacious woman in the red dress across the room. This albums the closest we'll get to teleporting and time traveling.

Oh boy, I was excited to have this one. I had not known of Machito before, so this was a new one for me and it was instant love. "Wild Jungle" came on with instant energy, immediately clearing out any sullen 90s/00s alternative cobwebs from the brain. Yeah, baby! The horns! The percussion! We are all dancing like mad! Then "Congo Mulence" comes in cooooooool. We're sitting down to sip our Cuba libres and catch our breath. I love the piano and bass to the percussion rhythms. "Holiday" with the muted trumpet makes me very happy. I laughed out loud when a song called "Frenzy" came on. It was a word that had already come to mind listening to this album. I loved "Blues a la Machito" and "Conversation" ...and all the other songs too. I also have to add that the remastered album sounded amazing. I found this joyful and fun!

Just a couple of bars in and I am in love... Big band sound with latin rhythms. After three listens, I still love this album!

Yes! I've listened three times all the way through and just started my fourth. This is exactly the kind of thing I was hoping from this project. It would never occur to me to seek out some Afro-Cuban jazz and, even if it did occur to me, I'd have no idea where to start. I love this! It's like a dance party in my kitchen. The crisp horns and percussion set my soul aflame and get my hips a-shakin'. I can't even pick any favorite tracks. I enjoyed every minute.

afro-cuban JAZZ

so cool so funky so jazzy so good

Love it - short big band late 50s jazz. Afro rhythms. Cuban Latin jazz. Cannonball Adderley. Superb.

i love it

Ya like Jazz? Thoroughly enjoyed this album. Gave me The Mask vibes. Definite boost in productivity while this was playing.

lot of rythm, fun to listen to

Joyful, impressive, upbeat.

Classic

Boogaloo magic

It's interesting that this is the first album that I had listened to in full before considering this is likely one of the least popular albums on this list. That being said, I think it definitely deserves to be on here. It's a classic afro-cuban album and has some great tracks. I'm impressed by all of the trumpet players because it sounds like 90% of the notes they play are above the staff. Sometimes it's a little abrasive mostly because the recording equipment is obviously not up to 21st century standards but generally I think the arrangements are interesting and high energy. The percussion is also incredible throughout and is certainly integral to the style. Plus there are some amazing solos like all of Cannonball Adderly's solos. There are also some beautiful melodies on songs like Kenya that are reminiscent of jazz standards. Favorite songs: Congo Mulence, Kenya, Holiday, Cannonology, Frenzy, Blues a La Machito, Conversation, Tin Tin Deo

Fav Song: Wild Jungle

So fun and upbeat! Felt like I was in a Latin club while working on the couch!

I think what makes this album great is very apparent on the surface. This is a fun, dancey, big band latin jazz album. Great performances, loved all the percussion, and clave rhythms. Nothing to really dive too deep into, just put it on and dance. Sounds incredible, great recording and mixing, not dated at all

Solid, fun jazz. I will be revisiting, nothing super new but Ive grown so fond of jazz while listening through this list I have a soft spot for it... 4/5

So fun. So dancy. I felt like I was in a musical or an old cartoon the whole time. What a wonderful example of this genre.

Very fun

Really enjoyed this. Jazz vibes with some cool Afro percussion performances. This was a vibe. 4/5

Not bad.

new genre unlocked🔓 , almost a 5!

good stuff that I'm sure will get better with more listens 4/5

uh yeah, yeah, thats some, thats some adhd shit, man. but when you are noodling for too long it gets a bit boring. 4/5

A Great Afro Cuban listening experience, Tin Tin Deo my absolute favorite!!

I always like checking out world music, especially Jazz. This is tight.

Freaking loved this

This was a deliciously spicy album. I thought it was great the mixture of Afro Cuba with jazz. Could move up to a 5 likely, but we’ll stick with 4 for now

Good stuff! Dance music from a different era. Yes, our Grandparents went to Raves too!

Enjoyed this a lot! It was a great Sunday morning album

Fun. I had never heard of this group or album.

Good vibes

++: Wild Jungle, Congo Mulence, Kenya, Oyeme, Cannonology, Frenzy, Blues A La Machito, Conversation, Minor Rama, Tururato +: Holiday, Tin Tin Deo 8,5/10

Ótimo jazz com percussão africana. Não há muito o que dizer, é um disco bom que faz o tempo passar rápido. Produção bem limpa para sua idade. 4/5

mooie blend tussen big band en Latino vibes...

Listened while on the way to the Amazon. Cool experience. Good album. Really loved it.

Excellent Jazz album for my morning walk in the rain.

La verdad esque le saben bastante

I usually don't like latin music, but this had some incredible melodies and fantastic playing

Maybe it's that I'm (lightly) hungover, maybe it's my general lack of patience for jazz, but it took me a couple tries to get into the album. When I did I found it was a fun high energy album with a funky spy movie vibe. Sometimes the horns toed the line of annoying but I think the joy and the shortness of the songs meant nothing actually crossed the line. Favourite song: Minor Rama Least: Holiday

Groundbreaking for the era.

Love some jazz, hadn't heard this type of jazz before but I loved it. It was exactly what I needed on my drive home after a crummy day at work.

Man muss sich definitiv die ersten paar Minuten reinhören, vorallem weil es Jazz ist. Aber ich denke, dass es trotz dessen sehr gut klingt und für sehr frühes Jazz sehr gut und einflussreich ist.

I like this

Nice

Classique

Artiste inconnu. Big band instrumental avec des morceaux très entrainants et d'excellents chorus. Même si je ne suis pas fan en général des big bands (-1), j'ai pris plaisir à découvrir l'album. Il rejoindra probablement ma collection. =>4/5

Reslly lovef the sound of this one, seems more westernised and accessible than Fela Kutis afrobeat stuff, but I like them both equally. For sure going to enjoy this one again

I enjoyed it a lot!

Mega solid album. Great tunes. Great recording for 1957. Absolutely killed it here. I would certainly give this one a dozen more spins.

Super fun, quick listen. Probably wouldn’t have listened to this without the list telling me too, but that’s the beauty of this thing

This felt so consistently good and nostalgic, whilst still managing to be surprising. Surprised at how much I could like an all-instrumental album.

Mojave Music Radio

A wonderful and bombastic jazz album.

Jazz decente

Perfect for work on a Friday morning. Glad I took a break from this project so I listened to this one today.

Hot Cuban jazz served up by a great band and featuring a lot of African influences. Enjoyed the hell out of it but all of it sounded the same. Still was great background music for a Sunday afternoon.

Hell yeah

Music with brass always works well for me.

solid ass jazz. shoutout cuba, i pray for them

muy muy bueno me llamo mucho la atencion escuchar jazz pero afro cubano fue una gran experiencia. Me encanto 8.5/10

Such a good time, I'm a sucker for a good drum beat so I will be relistening in the future.

Albums like this is why I love this challenge. I would have never even known this existed let alone give it listen if it didn't pop up. It turns out, I love Latin jazz. Who knew?

Great for exposure to Afro-Cuban jazz. Good vibes throughout.

Such an excellent direction to take the big band sound in. All the bongos and hand drums giving this music so much flavor. Horn arrangements that are much more fluid and adventitious than its American counterparts. Sometimes slow and swanky, sometimes wildly frenetic. Fun from start to finish. “Frenzy” was my favorite, an aptly named song where an upright bass is the only thing interrupting some insane percussion for a minute there. 4/5 the intro bongos on “Tururato” sound easily similar to those of “Thank You” by Dido

Listening to this while walking to work through the alleyways of Soho makes me feel like I'm a supporting actor in a 1970s Michael Caine film. Any minute now he's going to pop out from a dingy corner and hand me a briefcase and a few sharp words of advice: "Listen son, you're on your own now. And you're already out of your depth.". I hear a noise; a bin is kicked over. I look behind me then run with the briefcase. A group of kids appear from nowhere and laugh at me. I turn back. A roughed-up Geordie steps out in front of me. He's 7 feet tall. I freeze. He throws me down into a pile of bin bags and vegetable peelings. A cat yowls and runs off. I look up. "Next time, keep your nose out of it" he says in his thick brogue. He throws his fag-end down on my coat and grabs the briefcase. He walks off. The camera pans back to Michael Caine, who grimaces and walks off down Dean Street. "Frenzy" continues to play. The opening credits roll.

Entrancing, groovy and charming. Some of the more percussive sections were perhaps mostly intended for people who dance (that's not my case), but aside from that, it was a great experience.

Very cool sound.

Cool and repeatable. I love that his daughter and son are in the band.

Amazing jazz

Wonderful album by a legend.

Enjoyed this sprightly horn-heavy Latin-style big band music.

Wild Jungle - 8/10. Great Latin Jazz. Congo Mulence - 8/10. Awesome. Kenya - 9/10. This tune rocks. Oyeme - 9/10. Great trumpet lines, awesome percussion. Holiday - 8/10. Smooth and fun. Cannonology - 9/10. Too cool for school. Frenzy - 9/10. This one cooks. Blues a la Machito - 10/10. Bad-ass. Conversation - 9/10. Slick and cool. Tin Tin Deo - 9/10. Great tune. Minor Rama - 8/10. Great. Tururato - 10/10. Swinging beat with tight horns. No notes. Overall Rating - 4.42/5 (8.83/10). Jazz, and especially Latin Jazz, will always be a favorite of mine. This album really swings.

This was cool

In my opinion this is a great album, never expected to hear Jazz combine with latin music Fav song - Conversation 4/5

Really enjoyed this, great background music and a lovely mellow vibe

The appeal of fiery big band Latin jazz on a beautiful Spring Sunday morning at the beach with all the windows open cannot be overstated!

yeah some good jazz 4.5

I think it's the first jazz album I fully listened to. I liked it. And I like the song titles.

Listening to a record like this makes you wonder if real recorded music ended at the advent of the overdub. Because when you hear just how TIGHT this band is, and you realized they recorded it all live in the same room, you can't help but develop a profound admiration for the astonishing musicianship on display. The percussionists are especially jaw-dropping. I’m far from a connoisseur of Afro-Cuban jazz, but this record feels like the platonic ideal. If it falls short anywhere, it’s in the failure of the horn soloists to elevate the material beyond its by-the-numbers execution.