Reviews (page 3 of 9)
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
One of the better, if not the best, jazz albums of the 20+ that have come up so far, granted that is a low low bar to clear
There's not a bad thing you can say about this album. Crisp, funky, and danceable. 4.5 outta 5
Not a fan.
Not for me
Beautiful afro-cuban jazz, very enjoyable!
Could be decent background music but nothing I would listen to just to listen to it.
Some great jazz music here. Played very well. Sometimes the panning decisions seemed odd but can't be that picky with albums from the 50s. I wish it had grasped me a little more than it did but this was overall a very enjoyable experience
Was alright, but not really my thing
wild jungle- 6 Congo mulence- 6 or 7 kenya- 6 oyeme- 6 or 7 holiday- 7 or 8 cannonology- 6 frenzy- 7 or 8 blues a la machito- 6 conversation- 7 tin tin deo- 7 minor rama- 6 or 7 tururato- 6 fire
I mean....it's fine, I guess.
Never a dull moment. As far as jazz goes, this is pretty close to the peak for me.
Fine? Instrumental jazzy african music that was good but won’t listen to again.
I much prefer this big-band-adjacent jazz to the elevator-music jazz and cacophony-of-noise varieties.
This album gives me positive vibes and takes jazz to another world. Added this to my library
My exposure to jazz is pretty minimal. This is a pretty fun listen, though.
It was an enjoyable listen.
nah
Obstreperous and shrill trumpets, exposes the age of the recording making it unenjoyable. Would be ok quiet in the background in Chiquitto's. Turned it down halfway through, think I've got tinnitus. Very long half hour.
Good jazz album! I'll def come back to this
It's albums like this that prove the fact that not all jazz sounds the same. Well, that is in relation to other jazz albums. If you just played this album for someone who thinks all jazz sounds the same, they'd probably complain that every song on Machito's Kenya sounds the same. That wouldn't be 100% inaccurate. This album is on the more repetitive side on its own. However, compare this to something lighter like Miles Davis's Kind of Blue or something more in the jazz fusion sphere and you get multiple different pictures painted in regards to what jazz can be. That's pretty cool. This album's nice. It's not super exciting, but it's still good. Even the weaker jazz albums on this list have things for me to enjoy about them. The compositions are good, though I wish the mixing was a bit better. The horns felt a bit too sharp at times. Still, this is a nice and short jazz affair. Not the genre at its peak, but my streak of having never heard a bad jazz album in my life has continued. 3/5.
Oh, what a fun album to listen to! The bongos, the fun atmosphere, the amazing rhythm. And yes, this is an album I didn't know I had to listen to before i died
I LOVE BIG BAND JAZZ Favorite Songs: Congo Mulence, Frenzy, Blues a la Machito
Would not normally listen to listen genre of music but enjoyed its energy and challenge of not dancing a badly choreographed salsa to it ? Perfect for a Sunday morning reading the papers and drinking coffee and eating a hearty brunch
60/100. I think it’s mainly good. That said, parts of it were way too screechy for me, especially in the horn sections. Also, I usually prefer slightly longer tracks on jazz records, just so the music can marinate a bit more.
Not something that interests me
A joyful album which was completely at odds with my mood when I put it on during work. This demands some cocktails and a BBQ, not spreadsheets.
I don't know if this is the first but it HAD to have been one of the most influential of it's kind because this sounds like every single television show from the 50s all the way through the 70s. And I mean that in the greatest way possible.
Ripping horns and bongos
I was expecting not to like this but ended up playing this album three times! Nice discovery!
New to me and great.
There's nothing wrong with this really but I just couldn't get into it no matter how many times I tried.
The alto player was a beast on this. "Cannonball" Adderley apparently.
Crazy that this came out in 1957, it feels much later to us. If all jazz was like this isls listen to a lot more of it. Very cool and innovative fusion of genres.
Wow this was fun!! I want to be in a jazz bar getting drunk off expensive cocktails and eating mussels
Fine. Not in the right mood for this today. Clearly amazing musicians all around, but the songs just didn’t grab me or inspire me to want to listen again.
Fun! Not much more than fun, but fun!
It didn’t knock my socks off, but it was pleasant enough.
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!
Nice and jazzy, but not much else to put here. 3.5 bumped up to 4.
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.
Machito’s Kenya is often praised as a landmark Afro-Cuban jazz album, blending Latin rhythms with big band arrangements. While it showcases tight musicianship and energetic horn sections, this listen doesn’t fully deliver on its promise. The production feels uneven, and the tracks - though vibrant - tend to blur together without much variation. Despite flashes of brilliance from the percussion and brass, the album can feel more like a historical curiosity than a compelling experience start to finish. Technically solid but ultimately repetitive and dated in its impact.
This was an interesting experience, but I have very mixed feelings about Kenya. I love the rhythm section throughout the album; it's just superb. The Afro-Cuban motifs are very catchy too, but I can't say they always blend well with, well, jazz as we know it. Parts of the album are both groovy and expressive, but in others, the wind section ruins the aesthetics for me, as it's just too jarring.
I like jazz, I like this album. It’s got energy flowing and bumping throughout, and sounds really fresh.
Nice background music
Incredibile jazz album
Jazzy bongo beats. 8/10
1950s samba and jazz fused together—what could go wrong? Kenya by Machito is at least upbeat, but beyond that, it didn’t do much for me. I listened to this album two or three times today and honestly couldn’t tell when one track ended and another began—it all just blended into the same sound. This isn’t your stereotypical jazz album; it’s more energetic and packed with horns and percussion, but in the end, it just feels chaotic. There’s a lot happening, yet somehow nothing really stands out. Favourite track: Holiday was quite pleasant, I guess—it sounded like something that could play during a slapstick comedy scene. Least favourite track: Everything else just blurred into nothingness. Album artwork: Cool cover. In summary, this one’s not for me—I won’t be listening to it again.
I enjoyed this record tremendously. It sounds great, it is interesting and there are a lot of interesting elements and sounds thrown in there. I certainly understand why this is a classic.
storbandsjazz med extra afrikansk och karibisk rytmik :)
Toppen! Kul kubansk jazz, finns några jättenice solon och coola arr grejer, blir att lyssna flera gånger :)
Very interesting! Busy and atmospheric.
I had a lot of fun listening to this. It's so dynamic and always seems to offer you something interesting at any given moments.
I quite enjoyed this. Very fundamental, some of the stuff on here was covered by jazz greats, sampled in hip hop, and became the foundation of hits much much later. Cool inclusion on the 1001.
Loved the bongos and horns. Big bright sounds and driving rhythms. Felt very big band swing meets Latin or Caribbean jazz. It was a fun listen, reminded me of a soundtrack to a 70’s spy movie. I enjoyed this way more than I expected.