Tito Puente & His Latin Ensemble - Mambo Diablo (Concord Picante, 1985)

This post is by Scott and Dan

Tito Puente (tim, vib, perc); Mario Rivera (ts, ss, fl); Jimmy Frisaura (tr, flhn, v tb); Ray Gonzalez (tr, flhn); Sonny Bravo (p); George Shearing (p, 1 trk only); Bobby Rodriguez (b); Johnny "Dandy" Rodriguez (bgo, perc); José Madera (cga, perc)

Recorded in May 1985

The cover photo of Mambo Diablo captures the exuberance of the leader, as well as his "silver fox" good looks. Born in 1923, he lived a life filled with recordings and performances up until his death in 2000. 

According to Wikipedia: 

"During the 1950s, Puente was at the height of his popularity and helped to bring Afro-Cuban and Caribbean sounds like mambo, son, and cha-cha-chá, to mainstream audiences. Puente played popular Afro-Cuban rhythms so successfully that many people mistakenly identified him as Cuban." Actually, he was born in New York City to parents of Puerto Rican heritage. 

Dan can attest to Puente's popularity in the 1950s. It was a time when Americans discovered Latin American music, which appealed both to jazz lovers and pop audiences. Puente was regularly seen on TV variety shows and his albums were best sellers. Those were the years before Cuba, a land rich with rhythms compatible with jazz, became Communist in 1959. 

Having achieved fame and fortune, Puente might have felt entitled to become a pop icon and spend the rest of his life on tram lines milking his reputation. But he was always a restless achiever and so continued his professional career for another 40 years, leaving behind dozens of classic jazz and pop albums. 

Mambo Diablo is one of his best. It includes two of Puente's original compositions: the title track and "China." It also includes the jazz classics "Take Five," "Lush Life," and "Lullaby of Birdland" as well as Mulgrew Miller's "Eastern Joy Dance." All of the tunes are treated with Puente's special sauce of percussion, mainly timbales and vibes. The horn players, none of whom are well known jazz artists, deliver exactly what's needed to complement the leader's front line. On "Lush Life," Puente delivers a poignant performance which might easily have been found on a Bobby Hutcherson album. 

Most Latin jazz tends to be joyful. Mambo Diablo is the product of a joyful man who was duly celebrated during his lifetime.