DESCARGA! Archives - Guerssen Records

Barretto Para Bailar

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Limited 180gm vinyl LP pressing. Includes bonus track. This release presents the complete original LP Barretto para bailar, which was Ray Barretto’s debut album as a leader. For 40 years, conguero and bandleader Ray Barretto was one of the leading forces in Latin jazz. His hard, compelling playing style graced the recordings of saxophonists Gene Ammons, Lou Donaldson, and Sonny Stitt, pianist Red Garland, and guitarists Wes Montgomery and Kenny Burrell. He is credited for being the first U.S.A.-born percussionist to integrate the African-based conga drum into jazz. This fact has designated him as one of the early “crossover” artists in jazz, skilfully balancing his Latin leanings and his love for bebop throughout a long and successful career.

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Descargas Cubanas

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Legendary composer, arranger, band leader and double bassist Israel “Cachao” López (1918-2008) is universally recognized as one of the most prolific and influential figures in the history of Cuban music. He was a co-founder of the widely popular mambo style in the late 1930’s, and a primary exponent of the “descarga” movement of the 1950’s. Cachao’s recognition as one of the most formidable Cuban musicians helped him to get the chance to record as a leader in 1957. He and his sidemen got together for informal jam sessions at around 4 a.m., after fulfilling their professional obligations. These sessions were known as “descargas”, combining the improvisational and informal characteristics of a jazz jam session with harmonic progressions and rhythms distinctly Cuban. The album Descargas Cubanas, presented here, marked the very first in a series of recorded “descargas,” and includes several legends of Cuban music, such as Alejandro “El Negro” Vivar, Generoso “El Tojo” Jiménez, and Tata Güines.

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Jazz Tropical (Limited Edition)

GuerssenAdmin — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 23:00:00 +0000

180-Gram Vinyl Limited Edition of 500 copies. Described by Matthew Garbutt on AllMusic as “one of Mexico’s national cultural treasures”, the award-winning drummer, composer, arranger, and bandleader Tino Contreras (1924-2021) recorded and performed internationally for more than 60 years. Blending Latin American music with jazz, he created his own original and adventurous sound. In 1957, Contreras formed his first quartet, which reflected an almost bewildering range of influences. Some key albums from this period include Jazz Tropical (presented here) and Jazz a Paris (both from 1962), Jazz Ballet (1963), and Misa en Jazz (1966). All throughout his extended career, Contreras remained a champion of the jazz form in Mexico, winning the National Festival of Jazz award each year between 1959 and 1966. THE COMPLETE LP + 2 BONUS TRACKS -180 GRAM VIRGIN VINYL – LIMITED EDITION

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Cha Cha Y Charangas

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 23:00:00 +0000

First world reissue of this iconic record.
Pianist, composer, arranger and conductor, Bebo Valdés was one of the most influential figures in Cuban music. In 1954 he began recording for Decca, with albums like Your Musical Holiday in Havana and Cha chas y charangas, presented here in its entirety.

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