Llevatela - Eddie Torres Mambo Kings Orchestra ft. Jimmy Sabater This is my all-time favourite salsa track!!! The rest of my choices are in no particular order as I’d be hard pushed to choose what order to put them in, but this one definitely takes the No.1 spot. It’s taken from the Eddie Torres ‘Dance City’ CD, which has many great tracks on it, but for me this one is the best. It starts off at a mellow pace, then gradually builds up in speed to a really nice track to dance to. I also love the vocals by ‘Mr. Velvet Voice’ Jimmy Sabater, my favourite artist – anything that has Jimmy on vocals gets a big thumbs up from me.
Ay Amor - Charanga Habanera
I first heard this track being played by DJ Sol at a Cuban Pontins Weekender in Blackpool a couple of years ago. I was quick to quiz Sol about the track name, and ordered the CD titled ‘Light’ as soon as I got back home. Although my preference is to dance Cuban style, contrary to popular belief on the salsa scene, I’m not overly keen on too much Cuban music – but I do love this track. I also had the pleasure of seeing it sung live by the Charanga Boys at last year’s Antilliaanse Feesten in Belgium – fantastic!
Delta Mambo – Cache I’m not sure where I heard this track, but I know I loved it straight away. I do remember having a conversation with Angus Peters about it, and after trying to explain it to him he said ‘ahh, that’s by a Canadian band called Cache’. He also told me that the CD it came from was called ‘Blended’ but that it was difficult to get hold of. I searched high and low for a few weeks, but eventually got hold of a copy. The whole album is good so it was money very well spent - thanks Angus for the info :o) Definitely a guaranteed floor filler.
Que Bonito Es Sonar - Jimmy Bosch Another floor filler here, this time from Jimmy Bosch. This track is often played by our own Club Candela resident DJ Diablo and I was quick to buy the CD ‘El Avion de la Salsa’ after he’d told me which album the track could be found on. Many of the tracks on this album are a little to jazzy for my tastes, but this track remains firmly in my favourites.
Oh Kuri - Alex Wilson This track is taken from Alex’s most recent CD ‘Inglaterra’. Many people were playing a couple of the tracks from the sampler CD that was released ahead of the full version of the album. Most DJ’s opted to play the cover of ‘Ain’t Nobody’, which eventually got played to death, but the DJs at Latin Motion nights also occasionally played ‘Oh Kuri’ which for me is pure genius. As soon as I heard it I knew I had to have the album when it was released. Salsa music is constantly evolving with new styles and genres of music being blended with our beloved Salsa, and this mix of Salsa and Bhangra is spot on. Its just a shame that most DJs overlook this excellent track.
Amame o Dejame - Kevin Ceballo I was given this track on a compilation CD that someone had put together, and it was one of those that doesn’t have a track listing!!! Man do I hate that – you can guarantee there will be a couple of killer tracks and you have no idea who or what they are. It took me well over a year to find out who the artist was after spending hours and hours trawling the internet (oh dear I think I might be obsessed!) This little known guy has an amazing and very distinctive voice, and has provided backing vocals for some very famous Salsa stars like Isidro Infante, La India and Andy Montañez to name but a few. He has also had a couple of solo albums, and this track is on ‘Yo Soy Ese Hombre’.
Havana City - Los Van Van Another Cuban track, this one being a gorgeous mellow composition, which is just the job for the last track of the evening. I discovered this track when Moe Flex played it one afternoon at a Latin Fest weekender in Torquay. I already had many Los Van Van CDs at home, but you guessed it…… this track wasn’t on any of them………… oh well, some more internet shopping just had to be done – this track can be found on Llego Van Van.
Mentirosa – Louie Ramirez + Ray de la Paz
This classic old track is the tune that is responsible for starting my obsession with Latin music. I heard it a few times in the early days of my addiction to dancing salsa, but back then I was completely clueless about the music and where to get it from. Again I searched for hours and hours using just a few phrases that I’d managed to pick up from the lyrics. I have a couple of different versions, both by Ray and Louie, but one is a more modern remix, which I have still only found on another of those pesky un-named compilations. The original version can be found on the CD ‘Exitos’. It’s always a pleasure to hear this classic gem being played.
El Chivo de la Campana - Ismael Rivera
After Jimmy Sabater, Ismael Rivera 'El Sonero Mayor' is my other favourite artist. All his stuff is very old but timeless, and I love it – you can hear how old it is by the style of the music and backing singers, but its still fantastic all the same. This track is full of life and even has random goat sounds included……….. very funny! This track can be found on the CD ‘El Sonero Mayor’. I am not able to sit still whenever I hear this track.
Maquino Landera - Son Boricua
Back to my No.1 guy..... Mr. Sabater singing with his band Son Boricua. I have all their albums, each one as good as the last – all killer and no filler! Anything involving Jimmy gets my approval but this track in particular has to be one of my favs – and sadly I don’t hear enough of these guys out on the dancefloor. This track is taken from the album ‘Musical a Cortijo-Rivera’ which is a tribute to Rafael Cortijo and Ismael Rivera.
Ave Maria Morena – Tulile This is another wicked track that was on the same annoying un-named CD that I found Kevin Ceballo on, and again it took me well over a year to track it down. I passed the CD around a few friends and DJs in the hope that someone would recognise it – sadly no-one did but luckily DJ Diablo liked it so much that he also became hell-bent of naming it, and in the end he did just that. Sorry Malc if you spent hours and hours looking for it like me – am real glad that you did tho :o) The album it’s taken from is now out of print but is called ‘La Hija del Rey’.
Caliente, Caliente - Que Barbara This track is taken from one of the early Salsa compilations called ‘Everybody Salsa 2’. I loved it from the first time I heard it, and for me it’s by far the best track on the album. Always a pleasure to dance to and I’ll never get tired of it. It’s even ended up as a ring tone on my phone.
Que Bueno Baila Usted - Oscar D'Leon
This is another timeless classic that you never get bored of hearing, and always a guaranteed floor filler. I reckon everyone has this track somewhere in their collection, and if they don’t…….. well they should have. Anytime a DJ drops this track there’s a mad scramble for the dance floor! This track is most likely on many of Oscar’s CDs but is definitely on ‘Autentico’. There are quite a few versions of this track by various different artists, but for me, Oscar’s is the best one.
Papa Boco – Latin Tempo
And finally……… last but most definitely not least………. Papa Boco (a.k.a. track 11) taken from the compilation album Salsa Selecta. Don’t be put off by the slightly naff artwork of this CD, and always remember you should never judge a book by its cover! This compilation is a collection of older Nu Yorican flavour tracks by artists that had been overlooked for one reason or another. Whilst this type of music is not normally what I like, I had to buy it to get hold of this particular track – and I was pleasantly surprised by quite a few of the other tracks on it. If I was a DJ, this track would go with me everywhere! I also get pictures in my head when I hear this tune...... and anyone else that saw Tiz do a solo show to this track at Pakefield will know what I’m talking about ;o)
"Well there it is, JoJo’s playlist – ok, so I’m not a DJ but if I was you can bet you’d hear me drop some of these tracks."
JoJo assists with promotion of Club Candela in Shrewsbury and is part of the Salsa Central team. www.clubcandela.co.uk
