mikeweil

Puente Goes Jazz (1956) RCA Victor LPM 1312 Personnel: (the album credits list only the featured soloists; I have added a regular band member probably participating) Trumpets: Nick Travis, Bernie Glow, prob. Jimmy Frisaura Saxes: Gene Quill, Marty Holmes Piano: Alvin Gellers - Guitar: Barry Galbraith - Bass: Bobby Rodriguez Timbales, Vibes: Tito Puente - Congas: Mongo Santamaria - Bongos, Timbales: Willie Bobo Tracks: (those marked * were recorded February 6, 1956) 1. What Is This Thing Called Love (Cole Porter 2. Tiny - Not Genghis (Ted Sommer) 3. What Are You Doin' Honey (Marty Holmes) 4. * Lotus Land (Cyril Scott) 5. * Lucky Dog (Puente) 6. Birdland After Dark (Oscar Pettiford) 7. That's A Puente (Ted Sommer) 8. Yesterdays (Jerome Kern) 9. Terry Cloth (Ted Sommer) 10. * Tito 'In (A.K. Salim) This was reissued on CD several times by RCA ( NL/CD 74719) in Spain, under the Bluebird imprint (66148-2), on BMG Classics in Europe ( 74321653692 ), but not in the Tropical Series (too jazzy?): They misspelled the name of the Mongolian emperor on all issues, Genghis is correct, not Ghengis! There were two tracks recorded on February 5, 1956, the second of which appeared on the Night Beat album: Havana After Dark (Chico O'Farrill) Flying Down To Rio (T.B. Harms) --------------------------------------------------------- I just compared the sound of the Spanish CD (no mastering cerdits) with the box set: the latter again has a higher level, but some detauis seem to get overpowered by the sheer loudness. This was a mono recording - some latter day engineers seem to have a hard time having to live with this.

Discs 3 & 4, mabe more ...

Disc 1

Just saw it was reissued on CD twice, on Blue Moon and él/Cherry Red, both c/w African Jazz.

Has Jungle Jazz ever been reissued on CD? I'd like to have that one.

Maybe some packages are placed in quarantene before being forwarded to the recipient.

Brand new, pulled from the mailbox today, fresh from the label: https://divineartrecords.com/recording/froberger-complete-fantasias-and-canzonas/ Terence Charlston never disappointed me, so far.

This weekend's evening bottle:

Once more: Tito was under contract with Tico from 1949 to 1955. A total of 156 tracks were released on 78 rpm records, plus one 12" LP, Puente in Percussion. LP compilations of the 78s were released on the Tico label from 1952 (the first 10" LP). Since Tico was bought by Roulette some reissues may bear the Roulette label. AFAIK the only LP recorded for Roulette was Bossa Nova By Puente in 1962. I have said Puente was allowed to record for other labels during his tenure at Tico. This resulted in the 27 tracks recorded from 1949-1951 for RCA and the LP for Seeco. He was under contract with RCA from late 1955 to 1960, which resulted in the LPs I listed in an earlier post. In between there was the Mambo on Broadway LP with some of the earlier tracks. You must differentiate between recording dates and release dates. But that is not easy as the old LP never stated recording dates. The years after 1960 are more complicated. Short term contracts, (Tico again among them, by then owned by Roulette) - except for the very end with Concord, 1982 until his death in 2000, with some posthumous releases.

That must be this one: Contents are identical to the Spanish CD I have. https://www.discogs.com/Tito-Puente-And-His-Orchestra-Mambo-On-Broadway/release/10686681

Cuban Carnival (1956) Tito Puente's first RCA project conceived for LP was Cuban Carnival. The title is a program and a personal confession, as Puente had chosen Cuban music as his working ground, even though he was born in New York in a Puerto Rican family. His personal style fusing high level jazz arrangement techniques with Cuban rhythm is in full bloom, with screaming brass and hot percussion. This album was respoinsible for Puente's participation in a late 1956 music festival Cuba featuring musicians working in the USA at the time - Puente was astonished that he was not called and told some of his Cuban colleagues who wondered waht had happened and contacted the Cuban organisation responsible. They sent them a copy of this album, which obviously convinced them. The full story can be read in Powell's book. The album also shows Puente's increasing fascination with Afro-Cuban religion, demonstrated by the opening track, dedicated to the important Cuban orishás, Eleguá and Changó. It was the first track he recorded for RCA that passed the three minute mark of his recordings for singles. (For Tico, only the Puente In Percussion LP featured tracks longer than three minutes.) So far I do not have exact recording dates for all tracks. The ones marked * were recorded on April 3, 1956. A note on the CD reissue says "recorded in New York City, 1955 & 1956" - at the moment I cannot confirm any tracks having been recorded in 1955. Personnel: Tito Puente (timbales, vibes) Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, Carlos "Patato" Valdez, Cándido Camero, John Rodriguez (Cuban percussion) Alvin Gellers (piano) Bobby Rodriquez (bass) El Viejo Macucho (vocals on # 10; other vocalists/chorus not identified) Nick Travis, Frank Lo Pinto, Jimmy Frisaura, Gene Rapeti, Bernie Glow, Andres "Merenguito" Forda, Sam Seavors (trumpets) Santo Ruso, Eddie Bert, Robert Ascher, Sam Takvorian (trombones) Jerry Sanfino, Marty Holmes, Ed Caine, Sol Schlinger, Allen Fiedls, José Madera, Dave Kurtzer (saxes & flutes) This is a collective listing, obviously. The regular Puente band has been enlarged (he had no trombones and only 3 trumpets and four saxes in his touring band, Gellers, Rodriguez, Mongo, and Bobo were the rhythm section; plus singers). Tracks: 1. Eleguá Changó (Puente) * 2. Cuál Es La Idea (Puente) * 3. Pa' Los Rumberos (Puente) * 4. Que Será (Puente) 5. Oye Mi Guaguancó (Puente) 6. Yambeque (Puente) * 7. Happy Cha-Cha-Chá (Puente) 8. Mambo Buda (Puente) 9. Cha-Cha-Chá De Los Pollos (Ray Coen) 10. Guaguancó Margarito (Silvestre Mendez) * 11. Cuban Fantasy (Ray Bryant) The 1990 CD reissue in the Tropical Series does not credit a mastering engineer. I compared it to the tracks on the first Complete RCA box set from 2000, which sound louder, a lttle harsher. Maybe they used the digital master from 1990 and tried to "improve" on it - two sudden image shifts of the original mono recording are identical on both issues. Puente's RCA recordings always sound extreme due to the shouting brass, but the 1990 CD is a bit easier on the ear. This CD would have been the opportunity to add the late 1955 / early 1956 tracks tracks never released on LP (or only on compilations), but they missed it.

The November 28, 1955 and January 9, 1956 sessions One of the reasons for Puente signing with RCA may have been that he saw greater potential for recording projects intended for the new 12" LP format - George Goldner at Tico was mainly interested in good selling singles and had to be talked into issuing the "Puente In Percussion" album. But Puente's recordings for RCA obviously started with another four track session intended for single release. It took place on November 28, 1955, say the recording dates in the Complete RCA box sets. - Port Tu Amor (Everlasting Love) (Luis Varona) / Vibe Cha-Cha (Puente) - RCA Victor ‎– 47-6370 - Cuban Nightmare (Puente) / Four Beat Cha-Cha - RCA Victor ‎– 47-6527 One or the other of these tracks popped up on compilations issued many years later; the first two were added to the Spanish CD reissue of the Mambo On Broadway LP; all four were on the two Complete RCA box sets (two in each of them). I do not have personnel listings, although they should exist in the RCA vaults. Musically, they continue the style of Puente's Tico singles. The Complete RCA Vol. 1 has two tracks recorded on January 9, 1956, so far I could not find a single release. The first pops up on a few compilations. - Mambozooka (Puente) - Mama Inez (Moises Simón)

The Bielefelder Katalog had one great disadvantage: Like the Schwann it depended on whatever listings the labels or distributors had sent. So, regularly several labels were not represented although available in Germany. That's why I disposed of them many years ago. There is a big difference between album listing and real accurate, thoroughly researched discographies. Most stuff available on the web belongs to the former category and is of little use.

I do not have full copies of the two RCA box set booklets and thus have no idea about the mastering engineer. The Quatro Box was re-mastered by Mike Fuller at Fuller sound. I am in the process of comparing the sound of the single CD reissues with the copy of the first box that I have, but it will take some time. I will mention the mastering engineer when presenting all the single CD reissues. Not all were made by Baxter.

I will compare tomorrow and post here.

Box sets of Puente's RCA recordings 1949-1960 In the year 2000 BMG issued the first of two box sets covering Puente's "complete" recordings from the time span we are talking about. https://www.discogs.com/Tito-Puente-The-Complete-RCA-Recordings-Vol1/release/14085264 In 2001 Vol. 2 followed: https://www.discogs.com/Tito-Puente-The-Complete-RCA-Recordings-Vol-2/release/3566174 The big problem about those two boxes is that they split all the material in half - you only get about half of the tracks from each album on either box. I only have a copy of the first volume and a track list a friend gave me, which indicates recording dates for each track. IIRC there were no personnel listings, only recordings dates. (Please correct me in case I'm in error here.) I was hesitating to buy the box as I was mad at the label to do it in such a way, and still are. Plus, I have most of the music on single CDs, some with bonus material. It would take a lot of time to compare track lists to see if all added tracks are in those boxes. Plus, they were rather limited and used copies are hard to get at a decent price. Tito would have deserved a better treatment with each album complete in one of the boxes, IMHO. SONY BMG topped it all in 2012 when they released a limited (5000 copies) 5 LP/CD box titled Quatro - The Definitive Collection. It included four albums plus one disc with alternates and outtakes, obviously designed for the LP edition, as there were no bonus tracks added to the albums, not even on the CD version. The latter is nicely done in 8" size, but Joe Conzo's new liner notes do not add much to what the Puente fan already knows, discographical information is listed, but the choice of albums is strange: Three undisputed classics, Cuban Carnival - Night Beat - Dance Mania - are coupled with the Revolving Bandstand LP, which AFAIK saw the light of day only in 1963 and is not considered an indispensable Puente album. It had already been reissued on CD with two alternates which are found on the bonus disc. The Puente completist will want it for the fifth disc. https://www.discogs.com/Tito-Puente-Quatro-The-Definitive-Collection/release/10797081 Neither of these deserves the description "definitive" box set, IMO. I'd rather recommend single album reissues, which are next, one by one. p.s. Just saw there was a second issue of the first box in the same design as the second:

R.I.P. I really like his collaborations with Eddie Jefferson. He was not an innovator, but a good soloist with the right spirit for the music. He played very well on Don Patterson's Muse LP, Movin' Up: And there's a fine Gillespie tribute he recorded. Will give that a spin tomorrow.

Did a long listening sessions with headphones this afternoon, all excellent music, fine performances. Expecially the first two Corrette discs are superb, beautiful music, perfectly played.

So sad .......... R.I.P.