Ray Barretto Que Viva La Musica 180g LP

Que Viva La Música just turned 50 and features Ray Barretto at his peak of the "Hard Salsa" era. Recorded in 1972, the recording features his original Salsa band including Adalberto Santiago and Orestes Vilato before their storied breakup. The album contains the track "Cocinando" from the famed documentary Our Latin Thing, which alone makes the record worth the price of admission.

Other key tracks include "La Pelota" and "Que Viva La Música," an ominous crescendo of soulful percussion and wailing trumpets, followed by the warmth of Adalberto's soneos and the tune's exuberant chorus.

Now available remastered for the first time in decades.

While trying to write this blurb, I found myself stopping after every other sentence as I could feel myself getting pleasantly distracted by the screaming horn lines and the hypnotizing percussion work by Barretto, John Rodriguez and the great Orestes Vilato. The only way it could be made better would be if the band was physically in the same room as me as they rip through these tunes. This LP sounds as close as one could get to that fantasy in 2023.