Perez Prado ~ Cuban Originals

Pérez Prado may not have invented the mambo, but he invented the style of mambo most people remember. The Cuban-born Prado had his first success developing his high-octane variation on the son montuno in Mexico in 1949. His angular arrangements with chugging rhythms were too radical for the Cuban recording establishment, but not for the Mexican film industry. Prado became the musical director sought by leading producers, and his soundtracks attracted deserved attention back home--leading to a fruitful collaboration with vocalist Beny Moré. Many of the songs here bear the stamp of Prado's cinematic sweep, like "Sabor a Mi," where a picaresque muted trumpet scales peaks of throbbing brass, or the bombastic annunciation of "Besame Mucho." Because he was so ambitiously modernist, his oeuvre still sounds fresh today. A lightning-bug version of "Flight of the Bumblebee" casts off impressive solos with the nonchalance of a clown juggling while turning cartwheels. Gaudy and irresistible, these instrumentals--including two of Prado's earliest mambos--cross-pollinate swing era big band music and Afro-Cuban rhythms with the delicacy of a cymbal crash. Extra bonus: two songs prefiguring Prado's No. 1 American hit "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White."

tracks:
01. Besame Mucho (3:10)
02. Peanut Vendor (El Manisero) (2:59)
03. Maria Bonita (2:43)
04. Historia De Un Amor (2:48)
05. Sabor A Mi (2:07)
06. Frenesi (2:00)
07. Granada (4:30)
08. Cu Cu Ru Cu Cu Paloma (2:50)
09. Mambo #5 (2:46)
10. Lupita (2:52)
11. Esperame En El Cielo (2:51)
12. Mambo Del Politecnico (3:16)
13. Flight of the Bumble Bee (2:45)
14. Cerezo Rosa (3:03)
15. Que Rico El Mambo (3:05)
16. Mambo #8 (3:08)

Perez Prado ~ King of Mambo

Universally known as the King of the Mambo, Pérez Prado was the single most important musician involved in the hugely popular Latin dance craze.

Whether he actually created the rhythm is somewhat disputed, but it's abundantly clear that Prado developed it into a bright, swinging style with massive appeal for dancers of all backgrounds and classes.

Prado's mambo was filled with piercing high-register trumpets, undulating saxophone counterpoint, atmospheric organ (later on), and harmonic ideas borrowed from jazz. While his tight percussion arrangements allowed for little improvisation, they were dense and sharply focused, keeping the underlying syncopations easy for dancers to follow.

Prado played the piano, but was often more in his element as the focal point of the audience's excitement; he leaped, kicked, danced, shouted, grunted, and exhorted his musicians with a dynamic stage presence that put many more sedate conductors and bandleaders to shame.

With this blueprint, Prado brought mambo all the way into the pop mainstream, inspiring countless imitators and scoring two number one singles on the pop charts (albeit in a smoother vein than the fare that first made his name) as the fad snowballed.

He was a star throughout most of the Western Hemisphere during the '50s, and even after his popularity waned in the United States, he remained a widely respected figure in many Latin countries, especially his adopted home of Mexico. Prado is often best remembered for his softer, more commercial work, which has an undeniable kitschiness that plays well with modern-day lounge-revival hipsters.

Unfortunately, that has served to obscure his very real credentials in the realm of authentic, unadulterated Latin dance music, and to this day he remains somewhat under-appreciated.

tracks 1

tracks 2

01. Ciliegi Rosa (Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White) (2:26)

02. Mambo Jambo (Que Rico El Mambo) (2:21)

03. Patricia (2:21)

04. Mambo N. 5 (2:09)

05. Maria Bonita (2:47)

06. Mambo N. 8 (2:05)

07. Cu-cu-rru-cu-cu-paloma (2:52)

08. Isle Of Capri (1:48)

09. In A Little Spanish Town (2:33)

10. Adios Pampa Mia (2:06)

11. Moliendo Cafe (1:51)

12. Always In My Heart (2:44)

13. La Raspa (2:34)

14. Taboo (2:19)

15. Perfidia (2:33)

16. Quizas, Quizas, Quizas (Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps) (2:18)

17. Frenesi (2:01)

18. You Belong To My Heart (2:43)

19. Alma Llanera (2:24)

20. Aquello Ojos Verdes (Green Eyes) (3:02)

21. Rockambo Baby (1:41)

22. Ay Ay Ay (2:15)

23. Tico Tico (1:49)

24. Mama Yo Quiero (2:05)

25. Adios (3:13)