Soul Station Feature: Tito Puente - El Nuevo Mambo

This very suave mambo is probably from 1950, or very late 1949, and it finds Tito Puente leading and arranging for a big band, or something similar. It is hard to really tell if there are reeds on this (I think there are, very sparingly) but there sure is a lot of brass. It is the kind of record that I am sure pleased cross-over dancers, as it is smooth and not very demanding in tempo. This is not to say it isn't a wonderful record. More like saying, the Mambo is diffusing into American culture and tastes, and Puente is trying to compete with the success of Perez Prado by recording something not nearly as exciting as Que Rico El Mambo! And in so doing, appeal to an audience dancing at the Palladium in NYC,

DJ Pi/Paul Yamada