Cañonazo

One doesn't have to try very hard to find amazing amounts of latin music on the internet. The majority of this is salsa. And I mean this in the narrow sense of the word as it is accurately described here. Personally I am inclined to prefer the music of pre-salsa times, and for this I refer you gladly to the listentoyourears blog (which in my opinion is on a level of its own*).

Strangely the salsa artists I like always turn out to have Cuban origins. Apparently the son & rumba roots are difficult to lose. This is the case with both Papaito and Monguito, who have unfortunately both passed away (in 2000 and 2006). They both feature on this classic collection from the SAR label with two songs. The remaining tracks are by another artist with Cuban roots, SAR-(co)founder Roberto Torres, and by Conjunto Crema (no Cubans there, I think).

Cañonazo seems a bit exaggerated, but it's certainly an enjoyable collection.

SAR 1041 (new link November 10, 2012)

*despite the use of rapidshare....

Musica Exotica

Dave van Dijk, one of the pioneers on Dutch radio of black music in general and latin and african music in particular, has died yesterday. He had been ill for quite a while.

For a lot of music lovers in the Netherlands in the 1980s Dave's radio show "Musica Exotica" was the first introduction into new and exciting music styles. Although broadcast initially in the middle of the night (but always live!), the show soon gathered a loyal group of followers. Dave's expertise lay primarily in latin and salsa music, so he invited others to his show with knowledge of other music styles.

Dave was also responsible for a impressive series of live recordings.

To commemorate this radio legend I would like to share this lp from Côte D'Ivoire featuring one of Dave's favourite salsa artists, Monguito El Unico.

This one's for you, Dave.

Sacodis LS 48 (new link April 12, 2015)