Kenya

This is bog standard jazz to me, basically what I would think of if asked to imagine jazz music without any further qualification. It's pleasant enough - I'm no jazz aficionado, but I've listened to enough of it on this project to know that the styles I dislike are much worse than this, and the styles I like are much better. So overall pretty middle-of-the-road for me

at the risk of losing my Cuban card, I still don't like jazz.

Lfggggggggggg

groovy

Some serious jazzy jazz in here, as far as my tastes are concerned you really can't go wrong with a full instrumental album

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.

Jazz!!! Yes!!!! I’m fine with anything jazzy so this is a huge win. And this… this is just bursting with life. Obviously you can always count on jazz to be full of life in just the way you want, but this really is sooooo good. The tones on the horns... the mixing on the drums... and even though there's no long songs, each song leaves some kind of lasting impression, with the impressive use of dynamics, arrangements, and the big band style. The afro-cubano style adds a really wonderful extra aspect to the album, and the album's frequent use of intense volume is really beautiful. Only real complaints is the fact that it gets old kinda quickly, and some of the tones CAN get a LITTLE BIT rough on the ears. 8.9/10

a bit repetitive but it was cool

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.

160423 20:55 3.5

Worthy of a GTA soundtrack. 3.5 stars

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

I am really into this kind of music but in smaller doses, like mixed into a funk/soul/jazz DJ set or something. So as much as I like the harshness of the brass and relentlessness of the rhythms does get to me after a while. As I was listening I was imagining how fun it would be seeing this music performed.

Definitely need to be in a specific mood to listen to this but bongo jazz is actually pretty sick. The timing of a lot of the horn stabs is really interesting and I feel there’s something musically to learn from that.

ok one or two of these songs is like yahoo yay fun samba chacha!! a whole album of this made me tense and nervous and not happy anymore :( so idk it’s like one of these songs would get a 3-4 but the whole record made me upsetty so it’s a 2-3 :/

Afro cuban jazz, PE

its ok

Energetic and wild, short and sweet. I could listen to this again later tonight and I just might. No skips. What a delight.

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.

Big drum circle of fun. Reminded me of an old movie soundtrack

Cool, didn’t wow me but sounded good.

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

Amazing jazz

Wonderful album by a legend.

Although a bit disappointing that the project editors chose an instrumental-only album to represent Machito and his band, it's still a fun listen, and impressively well-produced for a 1950s album (although I did listen to the 2000 remastered version, so the original might not be as clean). It's impressive how little information there is on this album, or on Frank Grillo/Machito and his band; the "1001 Albums" entry is helpful, but only to a degree, and I'm still not entirely sure how this album seems more "African"-influenced than other albums or music by Machito and his large band (perhaps the extra drumwork on some tracks?). But I still enjoyed feeling like I was in a Bond movie in Havana/Miami at some club with this great house band tearing it up as the slick spies and agents worked some complicated grift scheme.

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

I can dig it.

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

i like old stuff. Sue me!

Although Latin jazz has played a major role in my big band career, I’d never heard of Machito, and I didn’t recognize any of the tracks on *Kenya*. What I’m trying to say is: this certainly isn’t a bad album, but I don’t see it as particularly significant. On top of that—unsurprisingly—it’s quite heavy on the bongos, which I personally always find a bit annoying after a few minutes. Technically, the musicians are good, but the arrangements are extremely predictable and yet not catchy. Overall, “Kenya” just doesn’t strike a chord with me at all.

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

Enjoyed it, but not my usual go to.

jazz

Sounds like a soundtrack to a dated movie

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

Incredible musicianship and solid tunes. I can imagine being in a nightclub in '50s Havana. The bongo player is a magician!

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.

First listen to an awesome album. Thanks!

Day802 - a nice change of pace from all the sameness. good job machito

Nice music to vibe to. Nothing particularly memorable, but I was shocked to see how old it is - yet how good it sounds. Faves: Wild Jungle, Holiday

Let's enjoy dancing to these sick beats

when the musician has "circa" on their birth date in wikipedia you know it's gonna be good

Great music!!

2026.03.14.

I continue to listen to these jazz records and I continue to not get jazz. I’ll keep trying… That said as far as jazz goes this was pretty good. I liked the bongo percusssion and can definitely see myself tossing this on in the background while cooking or something. But therein lies the problem with jazz for me. It’s passive listening and I like active listening music. Anyway. I definitely hear the 60’s spy movie soundtrack.

It's the Higher Faster Louder Cuban Jazz Band, blasting the bells off their brass horns. Pretty remarkable, exhausting, good fun.

that was dope

Not listened

A different sound but fun to listen to

Loved this album

This album slams. Absolutely fantastic record.

Smooth

One time, in a small town in Cuba, my partner and I met a sort of sleazy American who seemed to live there. He invited us to this local event where we all set around the outside of a small hall while a bunch of dancers performed in the middle. At one point the dancers came to grab partners from the crowd and my partner and I were pulled on to the dance floor. She did great. I tried, I really did, but I was like a stroke victim trying to lift my arm out there. I was sending signals to my limbs and hips but they weren't being received. My dance partner escorted me back to my seat before we had made it through a single song. I bet she was dancing to a song like the ones on this album. I'm not sure what I was doing.

Amazing energy and another reason for this project, I'm not typically seeking out Afro-Cuban jazz albums!

listening to this at the office and resisting the urge to shake my ass to completion

This is fantastic and exactly the type of album I'd hope to discover here.

Didn't listen much. Worth another go!

Spectacular, and not just because it reminds me of the music of Barry Gray.

Not my cup of tea, but I could see the appeal.

Yea Im just that really into jazz. The drummings good. 6.4/10

Fun fun fun :)

Lots of fun

It’s like Latin big band. It’s a great vibe, seems a little kitsch now. Great soundtrack, cabana bar fodder. Would be fun to spin for a party, but doesn’t offer me much else.

More jazz that all sounds the same. Still, it was a fun listen.

Good for background music. Didn’t hate it.

I love the rhythm and jazz on this album. Frenzy is a favorite here. I had no idea who this was, so I'm glad to have heard it. This is a 4, and I'll be perusing the rest of the catalog.

wow so many things happening and I dont know if I like it or hate it hahah

I almost gave this a two because I tired of it quickly, but the musicianship is just too good. I'm just not into uptempo jazz.

I’m not a fan of jazz, I’m not going to listen to the album again but I can appreciate the talent the artists are with the instruments just not my thing

Highlights: Congo Mulence, Holiday, Minor Rama I mean... The description on the album cover says it all. But the Cuban part is way more noticeable than the African. Is it really just the bongo drums or am I missing something? Overall a nice package, but not something worth getting too crazy about. It works as a while and it is indeed a complete record. However it sounds relatively basic and not too special given the fact that, at least as far as I remember, Cuban jazz was well represented at the time. But it is a relatively early release so I guess it was severely influential for the later works. It never begged for my attention and it felt like a chore to sit through it trying to determine what was a highlight and what wasn't. Again, I'm not saying it's bad, just a bit of a bore.

Lift Jazz

Easy to miss what is unique about this album, but the mix of Cuban / Salsa and Jazz is pretty cool. These two styles mix so well together on this album, nothing sounds out of place or forced. Loved the bongo playing.

Big band jazz with Afro-Cuban rhythms? Yeah, this is an incredibly fun album and it’s impossible to sit still while listening to it.

Extremely listenable 4/5

Not my taste

This was really enjoyable background jazz while doing yardwork.

I think I am more of a smooth jazz gal. Clearly talented musicians but not for me.

Kind of love it tbh

It's jazz and it's good, what else is there to say?

I enjoyed this. Nice background music.

Give me all the Afro Cuban beats!

I felt like I was in the opening wedding scene from Coming to America. Not bad but I’ll never listen to it again.

Cool album! I'm a fan of Machito. Could easily have been a sound from 40 years later.

High energy with solid brass and percussion

Latin and lively. A few Latin jazz albums on here but it’s all good. Liked the percussion From Musicboard (OG 1/15/26 [#25] Imported 2/26/26]

3.5

Enjoyable. But I don't have a lot to compare it to. I have no idea if it was innovative. I like it, but I don't love it, so 3 stars. (I did notice that there's not a Wikipedia article about this album; the link is just to Machito. If it were "big", I would expect an article dedicated to the album.)

Fun! Though I wouldn’t say I had any tracks in particular that stood out to me, I listened through the whole thing feeling like dancing. 3/5

Music is ok in a 1950's vibe. The sleeve is not so nice featuring Primitive Masks from Carlebach Galleries NewYork photographed by Lester Kraus and an average type layout. Standard b/w reverse layout by a printer. Roulette 1958 pressing has good, graphic, generic labels.

Glad to see some variety on this list finally. This was fun and lively

Good, if a bit dated.

This was a delight. Its end of Feb 2026 in Dublin and its rained for 60 days, its just stopped and i went for a walk and as jarring as this was with the damp vista, it raised the spirits. It has an old world quality like it came from an old song and dance move. Lots of bounce and style. If i find myself hosting a latin themed black tie soiree at my chateau in the tropics i would reach for this.

Frantic energy but in a cheeky way that still elicits emotion today but when released I’m sure was groundbreaking.

Started out with so much energy, and kept it going! loved it!

So this was…good? Very fun and definitely put me in a good mood. I’m scared to rate this because this album sounds technically difficult to make but I honestly have no idea how impressive it is. Not much to comment here because there are obv no lyrics but yeah. Pretty solid and a nice intro to Latin jazz. Oh also the songs blend together a lot but that’s probably my bad for being just unfamiliar with the genre. Some pretty sick trumpet solos on here. Fav songs: Congo mulence, blues a la machito

Afro cuban jazz, what's not to like?

Honestly could be a great movie soundtrack? Need to listen more to detect the afro-cuban inspirations but it's great Jazz!

Not my thing.

Machito! Another one of my favorites. If you know music & music history you should know how important this man was not only to Cuban music (which is where he's from) but to the jazz world in its entirety! This record is perfection. This thing has swing!

Super awesome the whole time

i really enjoyed this! added to my library for sure.

Very close to giving this a four, I'm glad I discovered it, great music to work to. Some songs slap more than others but overall great beats and an enjoyable listen.

Love Caribbean/afro style jazz. Very find and unpretentious

Those horns are incredible

A bop and a half

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).

Starts off really well, with the brass section going full send in the first song. This came out at an interesting time for Jazz, at the crossroads of Big Band and Latin music being at their cultural peak of relevance before the introduction of crazy experimentation in the genre by the likes of Davis and Coltrane. It's very much an album of the time and a fun listen. Interest in world music was very much present at the time and Afro-Cuban blends both sides of the Atlantic well. It doesn't really push the envelope, but it's a solid album worth listening.

Nothing overly exciting for me. Not bad, just not good either. No stand out songs. Fairly impressive musically, but not really to my taste.

lista znowu plata figle i chce mi pokazac, ze jednak jest reprezentacja czarnej muzyki na liscie, tym razem padlo na plyte kenya od pana machito i jego afro kubanskiej orkiestry, plyta wiekowa, bo az z 58, co slychac w surowosci nagrania, no i samym stylu granego jazzowania afrykansko kubanskiego, ktorego style okresla sie podobno jako cha cha, do tego dochodzi jeszcze mambo i swing, ktore rowniez sa tak samo antyczne i wychodza poza moje zainteresowania jazzowe, ciekawy jest jeszcze czemu wybrali akurat motyw afrykanskiej tematyki, chociaz nie jestem pewny czy wychodzi on poza tytuly i okladke, bo ciezko mi znalezc jakies referencje muzyczne, bo jest to stary kawalek grania, ale gdybym mial strzelac co najbardziej afrykansko mi sie kojarzy na tym nagraniu, to zdecydowanie bebnowanie, ktore ma w sobie cos naprawde dzika energie, zwlaszcza na trakach jak tytulowa kenya czy frenzy, ale glownie jest to przyjemnie garnie podchodzace pod jazzowa popowosc, co tez widac po trakliscie, bo na 35 minutach materialu jest az 12 trakow, co daje popowa dlugosc kawalkow, mnie urzekla ta bardziej szorstka i dzika wersja machito, wiec na plejke doda wspomniane traki kenya i frenzy

Very hectic, good for specific atmosphere but not for relaxing listening :)

C'était franchement très cool ! C'est exactement pour ce genre de choses que je me suis lancé dans l'écoute de cette liste. On a donc du jazz des années 50, par un artiste cubain. C'est bien d'époque et ça a donc comme la pochette l'indique, une saveur largement cubaine, ce qui lui permet, d'après la description de Wikipédia, d'être un album particulièrement influent. Et on comprend pourquoi !

Just a blast the whole way and so easy to just flip back to the start when it’s done. In my two listens, I didn’t care too much for the back half. Really cool cover as well for 1957. Torn between three and four stars. Rating: 3.5

Too much drumming

New genre unlocked for me

fav songs: holiday frenzy blues a la machito minor rama explosive, ecstatic, spirit-shaking 70/100

Best Track - "Congo Mulence"

Some good stuff here too. Nice jazz

Enjoyable but canonic

Well, it's fine. Sounds a lot like 50's TV background music. Not bad to have on, but hardly demanding. Don't know why this is essential -- there are much better (to my ear anyway) Afro-Cuban jazz examples. Buena Vista Social Club immediately pops to mind.

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.

Really enjoyable jazz

Something like this is better listened to on the silver screen than on Spotify. For pure listening, I'm not in the mood for this kind of music most of the time. Like today. 2/5

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

This is very, very fun and I'm happy I was able to listen to it Best Song: Congo Mulence Rating: 7/10 Stars: 4

29.01.2025

jazz! I loved this album all of the tracks were very good added it to my jazz library!!

Top notch, listened three times yesterday, so good.

Don't mind jazz but at points this was giving me Christmas ahahah

Ik heb het album 6 keer geluisterd en ik weet nog steeds niet wat ik er van moet vinden. Ik wil het leuk vinden en dat vind ik ook wel, maar toch weet ik niet of ik het voor mijzelf op zou zetten. Ik vond de percussie leuk maar ik weet niet if het passend was. Ik vraag mij heel erg af hoe ze het hebben opgenomen op een 4 spoor in 1958. Het voelde als een big band jazzband die melodien speelde van een jazzquartet, maar daardoor voelde het als fanfaremuziek, maar wel hele goede fanfaremuziek. Nu nog 3 sterren aar als ik het vaker ga luisteren misschien 4

Niet slecht, er zijn wel veel andere afro/latin jazz muziekanten die ik veel liever luister dan dit. Als je de bongo's wegdenkt is het niet heel bijzonder. Word niet meegenomen kan er niet inkomen. Medium jazz met bongo gimick. Technisch ok.

Ik vond het erg leuk en origineel klinken, bijzonder om te zien dat deze muziek is gemaakt in 1957. Het nummer oyeme heb ik opgeslagen. Jazzmuziek scoort bij mij altijd best hoog omdat ik hier erg van hou, ik geef dit album dan ook 3.5 ster.

🎺

Excellent

I ken

cuban jazz okayyyyyyyy

Good jazz. Much bongo. Fiery. Bueno.

This was something really, really new

It was a welcome change, yesterday, to hear a bright and excited set of mostly original songs, that was intentionally created to be an early, if not first, fusion album of Afro-Cuban rhythms and big band Jazz. 1957! I've been mired in rock-pop-soul-rnb-rap modernity, as the majority of the 1001 Albums project contains. I was happy and pleased in a simple way to hear such an early, whole-album document of not only Jazz, but a crucial ancestor of Salsa, as well. I know it has to do with a lack of listening comprehension when it comes to roots Jazz and Big Band type stuff, so any criticisms or negative-sounding observations I make of this album could easily be faults of mine, rather than of Machito and his band. The most exciting parts of this record, for me, are the songs where I'm not quite sure if the lowest notes are being played by upright bass, or from the low and well-tuned drums of the large percussion ensemble. I listen closely to the band, and sincerely can't tell. The rhythms themselves, as are the songs written and arranged to suit and feature the rhythms, are also special to hear in a time so much earlier than Salsa, Mambo, Boogaloo, Chacha and other Afro-Cuban rhythms and styles that would evolve later. Of other notable excitements, there is a call-and-response quality for the brass, in many of the arrangements, that comes across effortlessly and invigorating, like two friends yelling playfully at each other across a loud dancefloor. There are a number of times in the arrangements, where a sax or trumpet solo will run its allotted bars and end abruptly into sections of an accompanied percussion section. I can imagine on song charts, or led by a bandleader, these moments to present the Afro-Cuban rhythm section in the manner of a solo on a drum kit. In practice, it kind of sounds confused. It's amusing, for sure. Just not in the way that Machito probably intended.

A fun album that needs the right headspace to be fully appreciated. A bit samey but enjoyable.

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

Passion!

01) Wild Jungle - 7,0 02) Congo Mulence - 6,5 03) Kenya - 7,0 04) Oyeme - 6,5 05) Holiday - 6,0 06) Cannonology - 5,5 07) Frenzy - 5,5 08) Blues A La Machito - 6,5 09) Conversation - 5,5 10) Tin Tin Deo - 7,5 11) Minor Rama - 6,5 12) Tururato - 5,5 TOTAL: 6,29 (63/100)

I feel a little bad about this one because I know it's a decent piece of music. But the frantic horn section that shows up in every piece was grating on the ears.

luxurious. big energy. it's very cinematic, very "mr. incredible approaches volcano island in private jet, looks to camera and says 'uh its go time'". occupies a musical niche that it fills out completely, just a multicultural big band potluck. if you described the album to me i think i'd have the same concerns as with other instrumental albums where the whole runtime becomes a sort of unidentifiable music mush, but most every track here has personality to it. i dont know if it's quite as majestic and bombastic as i think it is or there's some weird 20th century nostalgia trip going on, but it really does feel like something special. favorite track is Conversation

Rating: 6/10 This is an artistic and creative ass album from this time that I can appreciate. Got a little tiring for me to finish as it went on, so my highlights would be the first couple of tracks. Will I be going back and playing Machito in my off time, probably not, but it was a pretty good listen

I think this album gave me ADHD. Also who actually thought there was this much jazz produced in the last 60 years. Forget what I think, did Nick like jazz today? I can't wait to find out. I'll cut this album some slack as it was made in the 50s before music was really invented and it was pretty decent, but also almost stressful to listen to and I'm not itching for a second round with it 4.5/10

I was on the fence but you have to reward a jazz album where every song is less than 3 minutes and 30 seconds long. That's restraint I have not seen on this list before and I can actually enjoy this like a non-jazz album

Got me dancing. Also, I remember getting this album from the library back in high school :)

nice old jazz

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

A delightful Afro-Cuban jazz record by a guy who I’ve learned is quite a legend in the jazz world! This album is dynamic, engaging, and genuinely very fun to listen to. I don’t think I’m particularly qualified to make any real judgements on this one from a content perspective, but I know I liked it.

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.

sounds like music youd hear in a lift, shite

Courtney: good, great working music Craig: kinda liked it!

Good but with the album title I hoped for a more African feel.

It has some highlights but generally it's hard for me to connect with this music

More Cuban Jazz. I swear I am getting a lot of that style to rate. This is great stuff though, furious bongos!

Even as I get more and more jazz exposure from these record the site throws my way I still knoe so little. Every jazz record has amazing snippets. And every jazz record has stuff thats doesnt grab my attention. Its a hard thing to put a score on. Are the great peices enough to give it a 5 or do I take into account that no full song is enough for me? Its a tough one. And I always meet in the middle. I never have a bad time but I still haven't had that aha moment. This record didnt do it to me. Maybe the next one will.

AMAZING, enjoyed this more than i ever expected to, immediately relistening!

It was ok for background music whilst I was working

Impressed

Приятное джазовое звучание, идеально подходит для прослушивания фоном под какие нибудь рабочие или домашние дела

Not the type of the music I like at all

well i can put this as background music

mmmmm boring but it can be like second hearing music

I’m not sure what the likelihood of me listening to this album again or its songs is, however I did enjoy listening to it whilst working my way through 1001 albums, it’s a nice break from all the rock. I feel like this music can certainly have its moment if you’re doing the salsa, samba or somewhere in a South American jazz café watching a live performance but I feel its energy is lost when you’re sat at a desk at work, drawing up a fire strategy plan. It’s not bad music and probably is pretty decent but it is very moment specific in my opinion. I do like a bit of jazz but more New Orleans sort of style rather than this more dance type, standout songs however were ‘Frenzy’, ‘Blues a la machito’ and ‘conversation’.

Big band is not the flavor of jazz I tend towards, but this gets a little gritty in a way that's missing from most big band. And the drums! Lots of nice rhythms. But the longer I listen, the less I care; it all sort of blends together into the background the way big band jazz can.

5/10… latin jazz / mambo / *1957

Jeg forventa Fela Kuti men fikk Cowboy Bebop. Frenzy er så lik åpningslåta, Tank!, at jeg tror den må ha blitt brukt som mal. Likevel er det noe som ikke helt sitter for min del. Mulig det er litt for mange tropiske partier med noodling.

Tenkte at jeg var i en golden age Hollywood-film hele plata. Koste meg, men det var ikke helt for meg.

Blåserekke og bongorekke av ragn! Så mye energi!

Correcto

Kenya Machito was the name of Lens 15th wife. They met in Antarctica on Houmous & Chutneys South American tour. 3.5 1/12 Wild Jungle

It’s fine

Enjoyable

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

looked better than it sounded

Over the course of this album journey I've grown a great deal of appreciation for these types of exotic jazz. Turn this on and it just sets a certain type of mood.

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

I think it lives up to the 'Afro-Cuban Jazz' moniker. If that's what you like, then you'll like this.

Unexpectedly really enjoyed this. Late 50s / early 60s movie soundtrack vibes

For a hot jazz album, I liked it much more than expected.

Fun album, infectious vibes. Put this one on and watch everybody in the room start to move

album lindo! minha experiência teria sido ainda melhor se eu tivesse escutado ele em um salão de jazz mas eu gostei muito de escutar ele na minha casa também

Ooh loved it

2.3 2x a few great tracks but overall not my jam

Really can't go wrong with cuban-tinged jazz. Extremely likeable. 4 dancing stars.

Would not have picked it but such a fun album

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

ik verlang naar de zon

Good but not my cup of tea.

🙂

An interesting change from the recent albums but not really my jam.

wava ra, axali da saintereso iyo. 3.5

41/1089 3.4002* It was interesting. I felt like we should be in a cabaret with a thick haze of smoke and a palpable air of light-hearted danger. The entire album was steady and I'd put it on in the background of game night.

Mad Cuban jazz, i like it

Really, really enjoyed this. I’ve had to endure U2, Metallica, Suede and Tom Waits to get to this. It’s almost been worth it. Almost.

I had never heard of Macho/Machito before now, but I had certainly heard of Cannonball Adderley. I wonder if the 1957 is a typo because nearly everything I'm able to find online about this album says it was released in 1958. I like this but a few songs in, it really started to sound like a film score to a '60s movie. "Tin Tin Deo" specifically sounded like something from a Bond film.

05/01/2026 It was enjoyable and relatively fun. Spotify listeners: 106.5k

straight out of a movie

8/10 this was a rlly fun listen and loved learning abt its history

Ah, 1957. L'année où le Sputnik faisait bip-bip au-dessus de nos têtes et où l'Amérique bien-pensante commençait sérieusement à flipper rouge. Mais pendant que la Guerre Froide gelait les relations diplomatiques, ça chauffait sérieusement dans les clubs de New York. Nous voilà donc arrivés à une nouvelle étape de notre chemin de croix... pardon, de notre merveilleuse exploration des 1001 albums qu'il faut avoir écoutés avant de passer l'arme à gauche. Mais tout d'abord remettons les pendules à l'heure. Machito, de son vrai nom Francisco Raúl Gutiérrez Grillo (on comprend qu'il ait raccourci), c'est pas n'importe qui. C'est un peu le parrain de l'Afro-Cuban Jazz et avec son beau-frère, le génial Mario Bauzá — qui est le véritable architecte sonore de l'affaire — ils ont passé les années 40 à marier le be-bop new-yorkais avec les rythmes de La Havane. On appelle ça le "Cu-Bop", c'est un peu comme si Charlie Parker avait décidé de passer ses vacances à Santiago de Cuba et ne voulait plus rentrer. Quand "Kenya" débarque en 1957 sur le label Roulette, le Latin Jazz n'est plus une nouveauté effrayante, c'est devenu la bande-son de la sophistication urbaine. Mais attention, ici, on n'est pas dans la musique d'ascenseur pour touriste égaré en chemise à fleurs. C'est du sérieux, c'est de l'artillerie lourde. L'album est presque entièrement instrumental et c'est un choix audacieux pour l'époque où le crooner était roi. L'idée était de laisser la place aux solistes et, bordel, quels solistes ! On retrouve des pointures comme Cannonball Adderley au saxophone alto. Oui, le même Cannonball qui brillera chez Miles Davis peu après. Rien que ça, ça devrait vous faire dresser l'oreille. Dès l'ouverture avec "Wild Jungle", le ton est donné car le titre ne ment pas. C'est une déferlante de percussions. José Mangual, Uba Nieto, Candido Camero... ces types-là ne tapent pas sur des tambours, ils conversent avec. La section rythmique est d'une densité affolante. Pour un amateur de musique industrielle ou de noise comme moi, il y a quelque chose de fascinant à écouter cette complexité rythmique. Ce n'est pas du bruit blanc, c'est du bruit organisé. Ce qui frappe avec la version remasterisée de 2000, c'est la clarté de l'ensemble. Pour un enregistrement de 57, ça claque. Les cuivres sont tranchants comme des rasoirs et quand la section de trompettes (avec Doc Cheatham et Joe Newman) décide de monter dans les aigus, c'est pas pour faire de la figuration. Ça te décolle la tapisserie. Des morceaux comme "Tin Tin Deo" (un standard co-écrit par le légendaire Chano Pozo) ou "Minor Rama" montrent toute l'intelligence des arrangements de Bauzá. C'est fluide, ça swingue, ça transpire la classe. Il y a cette énergie vitale, ce truc qui te donne envie de bouger. "Holiday" et "Blues À La Machito" tentent cette fusion improbable entre la grille de blues traditionnelle américaine et la syncope latine. C'est techniquement irréprochable, c'est virtuose, c'est brillant. Alors pourquoi, malgré tout ce talent, on reste sur notre faim ? Pourquoi cette note de 3/5 me semble, au final, parfaitement justifiée ? Pour une raison simple, ça reste du jazz tout ce qu'il y a de plus classique. Et c'est là tout le paradoxe de ce genre d'album "historique". En 1957, "Kenya" était sans doute une bombe exotique, une invitation au voyage, une audace rythmique. Aujourd'hui ? C'est devenu le vocabulaire standard. On a tellement entendu ces rythmes, ces arrangements de cuivres, que ce soit dans des films, des pubs, ou repris par des milliers de groupes de salsa, que l'effet de surprise est totalement émoussé. Pour moi et j'espère pour vous, les enfants du post-punk et de l'indie rock, habitués aux structures déconstruites, aux dissonances et aux atmosphères pesantes, Kenya sonne... "propre". Voir trop propre ? Peut-être. C'est une musique qui demande à être admirée pour sa technicité et son entrain, mais qui ne va pas changer notre vie. C'est ce que j'appelle un "album de musée". On le regarde (ou on l'écoute) avec respect. On hoche la tête en disant "Ah oui, Cannonball Adderley, quel phrasé !", "Ah, cette polyrythmie, c'est du génie !". Mais est-ce qu'on a envie de le remettre sur la platine une fois fini ? Pas sûr. C'est un disque qu'on est content d'avoir écouté pour sa culture, pour comprendre d'où vient toute une partie du jazz moderne, mais qui ne va pas changer notre vie. C'est un "bon" album, un très bon album de genre. La version remasterisée lui rend justice et permet d'apprécier le travail d'orfèvre des musiciens. Mais ça reste, in fine, une musique de célébration, d'extériorisation, là où mes goûts me portent souvent vers l'introspection ou la catharsis sonore. Alors je garde le 3/5 car c'est la note du respect. Le respect pour Machito, pour Bauzá, pour ces musiciens incroyables qui ont pavé la voie. Mais on ne va pas se mentir : ce soir, je vais probablement me remettre un petit Godflesh pour me nettoyer les oreilles. Allez, au suivant. La liste est encore longue.

Solid but OK

inevitably a little samey but truly its impossible to not move at least a little while listening to this. expands all the boisterous energy of big band while placing it in a brand new cross-section of cultural contexts and unfolding so many fun musical ideas. its hard to imagine many other records in 1958 sound this good with this much energy and sweat and electricity!!! would be a great party album

absolutely great use of horns and bongos. Its jazz but without the pretentious parts of it. Cuban jazz has such a life to it that provides an energy to anyone listening, you cant help but picture yourself dancing along to this on a sunny day in Miami.

Afro-Cuban jazz is the only jazz I enjoy

Had no idea what to expect here. Ended up reminding me of music for a James Bond movie set in some exotic locale. Also really liked the bongos. Probably never listen again but didn't hate it.

Awesome sax from Cannonball Adderly. I loved the wild rhythms. Great Record Standout Tracks: Congo Mulence, Cannonology, Minor Rama.

"They call me little tough guy and I play the maracas!"

2/3

(double vote)

For some Afro Cuban jazz, this was a pretty good album. I like jazz across the board, but big band ballroom-style jazz has always been my least favorite. Since this album definitely leans into that big band feel, I don’t really see myself coming back to it often, but I still enjoyed it for what it is.

2- Stars (4/15)

Frenetic Cuban jazz. Sounds like it should be a movie soundtrack. Great if you like that sort of thing but does tend to blend into one after a while.

Entertaining, although I don’t have enough vocabulary for this style of music to be able to differentiate one track from the next.

Great style, although I’ll have to take someone’s word for it that this album is better than or responsible for the others of this jazz sub-genre.

3.5*. Fun background music, maybe for a party or gathering of some sort. Rounding up, as I may want to come back to it.

I didn't much care for this album - it reminded me of those old movies with a tropical themed cabaret. I guess it deserves it's place on this list as it was pretty influential.

Pleasant jazz album that’s a decent length. I enjoyed listening to it

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.

Great record, very ahead of its time, but a bit too long for my taste, being it a very specific genre. Great way to start the year. It's more of a 3.5, to be fair.

Nice experience

I'm just not a big fan of this genre, but well done obviously.

Thoughts before listening: From the album cover to the musician's name this is new to me even though it was released 70 years ago. I have been listening to more jazz than ever recently so perhaps this will be right up my alley. Review: Its kind of hard to hate on this. Its solid jazz music played over a tribal style percussion beat. This sounds like the soundtrack music to 50s and 60s crime or spy movies, and at times it also comes off as too polished for its own good. A live recording of these songs would likely be more enjoyable than these 3-4 minute studio cuts. Still though I'll add a handful of songs to the playlist and give this 3-stars.

See? It doesn’t all have to be Brit Pop from the early 2000s.

Super fun jazz!

it’s alright like, good instrumentation, but not my bag

Nice

Ojämnt och spretigt. Tycker inte det jazziga och det rytmiska gifter sig riktigt, så den får problem med vilket ben den ska stå på. Men det är aldrig dåligt.

Trevlig musik. Jag tänker mig en aftonsoaré i någon av Havannas finare hotell och casinon några år innan revolutionen - även om jag ser att själva skivan är inspelad efter den samma.

Jämfört med Sabu som vi hade tidigare gillar jag det här bättre. Rytmen finns fortfarande där men med betydligt mer jazziga inslag. Inte utan att tankarna går till tidig upplagor av Blakeys Messenger.

Det är svårt att få storbandsjazz att låta bra på skiva. Albumet är väl mest med för Machitos inflytande på den amerikanska jazzscenen. Men då tycker jag det finns mer intressanta album i genren; till exempel Afro av Dizzy Gillespie. Skivan slutar väldigt tvärt. Undrar om det är medvetet eller tekniskt avbrott?

I love jazz but I’m not familiar with this combination. But I’m liking this more than I expected!

First of all, I love jazz. Any jazz record will likely review all highly. This one was really cool.

This quickly descended into background music. Didn’t really do much for me at all. Big bland.

3.2

Sounds pretty good, but I don't know enough about Afro-Cuban jazz to rate it.

Not exactly an album I think was a necessary listen, but it was still kind of fun. I'm not a big jazz lover most days. However, I thought this was fun. My band kid heart loved the dynamic horn section, the groovy saxophone, and the drum beats. I can't confidently say this is an album I'll revisit, but it's one I enjoyed today.

Sounds like the soundtrack to wacky adventures in a sixties film.

Bongo Big Band

Tää oli just sopiva instrumentaalilevy. Ihan ok, vaikka en jazzista välitä yhtään.

The blending of Jazz and Afro-Beats is excellent, really high energy. Nice length of album.

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)

High-energy Cuban jazz. Very easy to dance to, and in many ways I enjoyed this more than “standard” jazz, but the album suffered because all the songs sounded nearly exactly the same as the one before it. Got very repetitive very fast. 3/5

505/1001

This was a fun surprise! Hadn’t heard of Machito before this but it’s a highly enjoyable instrumental record that sounds like the soundtrack of a spy film or something.

Can’t find much info on this one. Mostly feels like the accompaniment to a dance troupe that became its own standalone art form. Super lively for sure! Razzle dazzle!

This is one of those albums that as far as for me unfortunately gets lumped into an association with what came after it. But this has pretty much all the hallmark tropes the type of jazz TV and movies would use to give an exotic feel. You can hear it in the John Barry Bond themes, you can hear a bit of it, leonard Bernstein would use music like this in West Side Story to signify The Sharks, Henry Mancini's work employs this sound at times, and I'm even getting some Doc Severinsen's Tonight Show Orchestra vibes. And even though none of that is bad I say unfortunate in that now it just kind of reminds me of those tropes more than it actually gives me a feel for how exciting that music was when it was fresh and new more like how it became, if you will, an audio meme of the sixties. (6.55) ★★★½

Too much drumming, but the horn section is cool. 3.5 stars

I thought Machito was pretty nice, if a little boring. I didn't like it as well as the Sabu album, which is from the same year and had a lot more character. 3.5 stars.

Zesty but also quite backgroundish. I can see Gene Deitch era Tom & Jerry happily jiving and whacking each other over the head to this.

Highly enjoyable afro-cuban blend

Stunningly bright and breezy recording; more swing than a driving-range

Couldn't get through it.

Prett vibey

Not great, definitely not an album I needed to listen to at any point. Big band playing the same punchy notes all together, while impressive I guess, just really isn’t that good. I can imagine this would be cool to see live, because then the band adds an element of excitement to it, and maybe you can hear each instrument better. But the whole band playing a quick melody and then a solo instrument playing a counterpoint just isn’t really a sustainable conversation. The soloist is free to solo, but the band has to play their well rehearsed part. It’s not actually engaging. There were interesting moments in the album where there were some good solos, but those were only like 15 seconds long. There is some good drumming. That punchy blare of the band is just really repetitive and grating. This is a product of its time though and so it’s complicated to judge it now. It’s interesting to think about where this falls in the history of music before recording and after recording. And before advanced microphones and after advanced microphones. I’m guessing the band size grew as venue and crowd sizes grew, not because a big band sounded better per se, or there was something missing artistically or expressively that a smaller band couldn’t do, but more to do with being loud for a big audience. So that makes this something of an artifact, not necessarily a good artwork as far as the album genre goes. This has its roots firmly in music traditions that were meant to be played live without sophisticated sound systems.

A nice taste of the Afro Cuban jazz scene. Great energy

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

Top stuff, put me down a Latin jazz loop that I didn't know I needed. Reminded me to text my Latin friends too for a dance.

I’ll take that mojito in a dark Havana night club any day.

It was fun enough

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

Sounded nothing like Kenya

African latin cuba jazz...enjoyable to listen

Good ol' Machito, whoever he was. He managed to make an album that 90 minutes into it, I started to wonder when it was going to be over so checked Tidal. Turns out, it had ended 55 minutes prior, and I was listening to everyone who had made an Afro-Cuban jazz album since. I assume that's why we listened to it, he made the mold. Anyway, it was fine.

I enjoyed this a lot. It may have something to do with the fact that Chicago is cold and supposed to get a bunch of snow tomorrow. I may be coping here. At any rate, nice mix of arrangements and tempos, so it kept my interest, and transported me somewhere warmer.

3/5 - if I need bongos and horns, now I know the genre to turn to. Giving the benefit of the doubt that this represents the style well, so I’ll give it a 3. This is background music for me, and I won’t be returning for more.

An artist and album I didn’t know but at the confluence of two things I love: big band and latin jazz. I didn’t fall I love with the songwriting/arrangements, or this would be a 5 for me, but the playing is gorgeous.

Perfectly good early afrojazz, though fairly unremarkable. +1 star because I assume that this record was influential, being that it was released before 1960.

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

Not the worst jazz but it was gunning for it

Best Song: Frenzy. With the rapid bongos, this really did feel frenzied. Worst Song: Holiday. Seems like an aggressive amount of trumpet mute. Overall: This feels old in a way that I cannot relate to. Maybe it is great for the genre that it represents, but I found it a long and largely uninteresting 40 minutes.

Wow such africa. Blir lite väl men generellt sett bra grejer

This album is a party!

A fun, vibrant album.

Ooh, another unexpected gem

6.5 / 10

I don't have enough knowledge or experience with this kind of music. It's like the music was a foreign language that I don't understand. I heard the bongos which reminded me of Little Ricky on I love Lucy singing Babaloo.

Listened to the whole album and I still don’t get jazz music. One track reminded me of pink panther films and one made me feel I was in a cocktail bar on a beach somewhere so I’ll give it a 3

Really fun fast paced jazz. Would listen again.

Stundtals lite för hetsigt, men ändå rätt najs

Ganska trevlig genomlyssning, kan definitivt tänka mig att ha på denna musik i framtiden, men inte så mycket starkare känslor för detta än så.

TRUMPTER OC TrUMMOR!

Funkade!

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.

Energising, fun album

Afro-Cuban Jazz from 1957. I'm not a Jazz fan so not really a fan of this album.

A vibe!

FUN!

This is so good! Actually a huge fan now