Many of us know about Craft Recordings’ stellar series of jazz and blues reissues — including the wonderfully revived Original Jazz Classic and Bluesville lines — but not enough people, I suspect, know about Craft Latino: “home to one of the largest and most prestigious collections of Latin music master recordings and compositions in the world.”
From official press materials we learn: “Its rich and storied repertoire includes legendary artists such as Antonio Aguilar, Joan Sebastian, Pepe Aguilar, Celia Cruz, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Ray Barretto, La Lupe, Ruben Blades and the Fania All Stars, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Musart, Fania, TH, Panart, West Side Latino and Kubaney, among many others.”
For those of you familiar with the challenges of finding original pressings of vintage jazz, soul and blues albums — often pressed in limited quantities in erratic distribution patterns back in the day — know that the same is true for these now-classic Latin jazz and soul recordings. And like soul and jazz, Latin albums were often popular party records making it very very difficult to find anything even close to clean originals. It is common for collectors to collect even beat up copies they find out in the wilds of record stores, thrift shops, flea markets and garage sales (this writer included!).
Clearly a good reissue series was overdue and fortunately Craft Recordings has generally done a great job preserving its archives. All albums in this series are pressed on 180-gram black vinyl (some color variants available online at Craft’s website) and feature original album art, tip-on style covers and period-accurate labels. All-analog remastering is by the acclaimed Kevin Gray of Cohearant Audio with vinyl pressing at the highly respected RTI facilities. All titles are available for under $30 at Amazon as well as many independent record retailers (click on the titles to jump to Amazon).
Johnny Pacheco: Cañonazo (Fania Records)
What can one say about the first album that started Fania Records in 1964 release? Co-founded by modern Latin music and salsa pioneer Johnny Pacheco, this album introduced his new label, a new band and fresh interpretations of popular Cuban songs from the day (including the label’s namesake, “Fania”).
Celia Cruz & Johnny Pacheco: Celia & Johnny (Vaya Records)
Pairing of Cuban singer Celia Cruz with legendary Johnny Pacheco was a brilliant alliance, resulting in a trio of immensely successful albums together. This is the first on from 1974 on Fania subsidiary Vaya Records. With Cruz’s voice front and center, this was the album which thrust her in to the international limelight as “The Queen of Salsa. A lovely album of duets which sounds timeless.
Joe Bataan: Riot! (Fania Records)
Reportedly the biggest-selling Latin music album when released 1968, I picked up my copy of Riot on Record Store Day by “King of Latin Soul,” Joe Bataan. Latin soul fusing elements of mambo, doo wop, pop, soul and R&B with Latin jazz, this is the hit making sound of inner-city release, letting off steam, and at points reflecting the challenges of the times. The title track was a gold selling hit single back in the day!
Ismael Rivera Y Sus Cachimbos: Traigo de todo (Tico Records)
Fifth solo album from prolific singer Ismael Rivera, 1974’s Traigo de todo features his impassioned vocals voice against infectious pulsating salsa rhythms and tight horn sections. Craft reports that “His impact on the salsa genre (which for Rivera would often bend towards jazz, thanks to his gift for improvisation) proved so influential that greats such as Celia Cruz would cover his songs, before he was ultimately inducted into the International Latin Hall of Fame.”
Roberto Roena Y su Apollo sound (Fania Records)
Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound’s 1970 Fania Records debut, they were reportedly considered one of the best salsa bands in Puerto Rico. And I can hear it as these tracks smoke!
OPA: Goldenwings (Milestone Records)
I was amazed when this Uruguayan progressive jazz rock fusion gem was reissued (for the first time in 50 years!). I only discovered it in the past several years due to their affiliation with Brazilian jazz legends Hermeto Pascoal and Airto (both on the album). Hard to find in good condition, this 1976 album blends Latin rhythms, synthesizers and lush harmonies into a masterful debut.
Mark Smotroff is a deep music enthusiast / collector who has also worked in entertainment oriented marketing communications for decades supporting the likes of DTS, Sega and many others. He reviews vinyl for Analog Planet and has written for Audiophile Review, Sound+Vision, Mix, EQ, etc. You can learn more about him at LinkedIn.
Anton
March 22, 2025 at 7:48 pm
Music coverage on this site has really picked up since you came onboard.
Solid coverage of albums most Hi-Fi magazines would never cover.