News & Updates — latin funk

One of the key figures in bridging the Afro-Cuban/mambo worlds with pop & soul, Willie Bobo was a major player long before he made records under his own name. He played congas, timbales, drum kit and was a charming singer and born performer. His '50s success with the likes of George Shearing, Tito Puente and Cal Tjader led to visibility for his own groups in the '60s. Those bands often featured electric guitar instead of piano, a sound that could range from bang-heavy descargas to sweet schmaltz, ultimately creating the template for boogaloo and Latin jazz to come. William Correa grew...

It's the return of the '70s Funk Rock party! For those that like their rock funky and their funk rocking. It's a Mothership connection and long-hairs are welcome. Come to The Rendezvous, Wednesday March 1 to hear Peace & Rhythm DJs (Andujar, Studebaker Hawk & Bongohead) selecting groovy cuts all from vinyl. Spanning the late '60s to the early '80s we'll be spinning funk rock & heavy funk in all its glory: popular and obscure cuts, psycofunkadelia, the funkiest classic rock, danceable post-punk, groovy psych from around the world, Latin-rock, Afro-rock, native rock, hard rock breaks, fusion and more. Funkadelic,...

Happy birthday to Louie Ramirez, one of the great figures in salsa as a producer, arranger, vibraphone player, percussionist, composer and mentor to many. He's been called "the Quincy Jones of salsa" for the diversity of his work and because he worked with many of the biggest names in salsa including Johnny Pacheco, Charlie Palmieri, Joe Cuba, Tito Rodriguez, Willie Colón, Jimmy Sabater, Hector Lavoe, Fania All Stars,Tipica 73, Sonora Ponceña, Ray Barretto, Sabu Martinez, Ralfi Pagan and many more. If rare grooves of funky salsa and boogaloo is what you want then surely you'll find him working on deep...

The "Jimi Hendrix of the accordion", Steve Jordan in fact claimed to play 35 instruments (he even played guitar in Willie Bobo's band in the mid-'60s!). He was also a good singer and could even play the cello. He was born to migrant farm workers in Texas and learned accordion as a partially-blind kid, becoming professional at a very young age although he didn't record until the late '50s. He recorded some great soul, blues and even doo-wop early on (check out his version of "Ain't No Big Thing" by The Radiants). He took his conjunto's music and fused it...

Our friends over at the always-tasteful Paris DJs have put up a downloadable mixtape of some of the grooviest nuggets of recent vintage for your listening pleasure. Yes, the Friends & Family Vol 1 set is your audio update on the dopest sounds of today. Their website has given coverage to so many great contemporary bands of the funk, reggae, soul, hip-hop, jazz and boogaloo scenes that it's like they want to do the work for you, keeping you up to date with the freshest arrivals. All of the tunes selected here are from late 2016 or 2017. They cover...