Willy's NYC Salsa Project is headed up and produced by Willy Torres, Grammy award winning vocalist with Spanish Harlem Orchestra. The project is co-produced by DJ Henry Knowles, and also contains Herman Olivera on vocals.
The album opens with 'A Las Seis', a modern interpretation of the Joe Cuba and Cheo Feliciano classic. It's a nice, up-tempo number which should go down well on most dancefloors if pitched down slightly. Next up is 'Rompe Saraguey', a nice cha-cha number originally produced by Hector Lavoe.
The album then proceeds through some nicely tempo-ed salsa tracks, including versions of Tito Puente's 'Yambeque' and El Gran Combo's 'La Muerte', finishing with 'Fireman', a latin-jazzy number.
Overall, even though the album does contain quite a few cover versions, they are done with style, and the quality threshold remains very high throughout. This would be a good, and very useful, addition to most DJ folders, as there are plenty of solid playout tracks. It's also a solid listening experience in its own right.
Personal favourites are A Las Seis and Lo Que Traigo Yo
Tracklisting;
1. A Las Seis (4:31)
2. Rompe Saraguey (5:32)
3. Baila Con Sabor (4:40)
4. Fajardeño Pa' Mi Tierra (3:14)
5. Yambeque (4:46)
6. Lo Que Traigo Yo (5:15)
7. Si te Preguntan (5:21)
8. La Muerte (4:31)
9. El Ultimo Dia de Abril (4:11)
10: The Fireman (7:29)
