Nunca Tarde – a round-up of recent new albums (Venezonix, Michael League, Pedrito Martinez & Antonio Sánchez, Plena Libre, El Combo Batanga, Toni Tornado and more)
23 January, 2026Happy New Year! (Have I said that already? It’s quite possible.) This month I’m going against type and custom and practice by writing my round-up of new albums before that of the new singles. I must be feeling skittish and giddy.
Venezonix: Jaspe (self-released)
I’ll start by apologising personally to Andres Ponce, the Miami-based Venezuelan expatriate who goes by the name of Venezonix. His new album came out (drum roll)… in early November, and I somehow managed to miss it. Which is a shame, because it’s a classy mix of Afro-Venezuelan rhythms and electronic music. The album was recorded between Miami, Brooklyn (where he collaborated with musician, producer, vocalist, DJ and audio-visual artist, MPeach) and, in line with other such collaborations, Madrid, Mexico City and Caracas. The title track was inspired by a childhood visit to the mystical Quebrada Jaspe waterfall, which of course also lends its name to the album itself. Jaspe is well worth a visit.
Bebel Gilberto: Tanto Tempo (25th anniversary edition) (Zirigiboum/Crammed Discs)
At the back end of November, Bebel Gilberto’s groundbreaking debut was reissued. I’m not quite sure what the anniversary edition adds to the original, but let’s wipe off the dust of the original CD and celebrate an extraordinary global success that turned João’s daughter arguably into a bigger star than her father. Certainly, I shall celebrate this reminder, because it was the marriage of bossa nova and cool electronics that did as much as an earlier classic, Getz Gilberto, to shift my musical compass towards Brazil. Suba’s beguiling production, Bebel’s gorgeous, smoky vocals, the guest contributions of big-hitters like João Donato and Carlinhos Brown, and the collaborations with such contemporary “Brazilophiles” as Thievery Corporation and Chris Franck and Nina Miranda all combined to create a kind of perfect musical storm. I made sure that I picked up the album of dance-friendly remixes that appeared the following year. An incontrovertible millennial classic. Here’s Bebel performing the title track live.
Various Artists: Cumbia Cumbia Cumbia Vol. 4 (Vampisoul)
December was a busy month for our friends in Spain. Several interesting reissues saw the light of day before Christmas. Pick of the bunch was probably this one. It’s a testimony to just how much fine vintage South American cumbia to which Vampisoul has access. While Volume 2 of the series remains a personal favourite, Volume 4 is just as good as the other three double albums. The 28 selections all come from the Barranquilla-based Discos Tropical label, covering the period 1960 to 1984. Rhythm, exuberance and variety remain the keynotes, and while there are no big names here, who in all honesty needs them when the music is this good?
La Cucaracha Brass: La Cucaracha Brass (Vampisoul)
This compilation of eight brash and very brassy slices of Nuyorican proto-salsa bears the unmistakeable touch of the semi-legendary producer, Bobby Marín, who had the knack of turning what some might call trash into something quite wonderful. With a list of ‘clients’ that included Joe Cuba, Louie Ramírez, Machito and Charlie Palmieri, Marín was hot enough property to be approached by the owner of Mary Lou Records with the notion of reissuing Cool Man, a Raphie Martínez and the National Combo album, under the title of La Cucaracha Brass. In true trashy fashion, it would be issued as a budget release with a title that might fool the punters into thinking it had something to do with the then-popular Tijuana Brass. There were, however, some positive differences. The boogaloo ‘Hey Mama’, for example, was a re-recorded version of the original ‘Do It All Over’ with Marín himself on vocals. The opening ‘Latin Power’ is an explosive instrumental guaracha and descarga, which sets the scene for what follows. So don’t be put off by fear of cheap commercialism, this compilation will leave you feeling breathless and delirious.
Michael League, Pedríto Martinez & Antonio Sánchez: Elipsis (GroundUp Music)
That Michael League, he sure gets everywhere, don’t he? The Snarky Puppy leading light, composer-arranger-bassist-producer and anything else you can think to add, has teamed up with the Cuban conguero-vocalist Pedríto Martinez and the trap drummer, Antonio Sánchez, still fresh after 22 years with Pat Metheny, for this rich and classy combination of heavy percussion and often thrilling Yoruba-based vocals. There are only six numbers, but it’s an intoxicating brew. Elipsis brings together Havana, Mexico City and California-via-Texas in New York and the result is something to be savoured.
Aline Gonꞔalves, Andrea Ernest Dias, Carlos Malta, Eduardo Neves: Obra viva de Hermeto Pascoal – Vol. 1 Flautas (Rocinante)
Here’s another sum-of-all-the-individual-parts affairs. This one celebrates the work of the Brazilian music-master who left us late last year. In particular, it celebrates the flute, an instrument that perhaps above all one associates with Hermeto Pascoal’s compositions. The 19 pieces written between 1982 and ‘85, sometimes lasting as little as half a minute and often involving a quartet of flutes (occasionally enhanced by a trombone), are drawn from the composer’s personal manuscript archive. As a long-time member of Pascoal’s troupe during the period in question, Carlos Malta’s presence adds poignancy to the project and underlines how his leader’s work lives on and continues to speak across generations, borders and categories.
Plena Libre: Legado (La Buena Fortuna Music)
By fairly stark contrast… the Puerto Rican 12-piece outfit or collective recently released their umpteenth album, this one celebrating the legado or legacy of their former founding member, arranger and producer, Gary Núñez. Plena Libre feature frequently in my singles round-ups especially, because they’re just so gosh darn good and just about the hardest working unit in show business. They’ve been ploughing their furrow of dynamic updated plena and bomba rhythms for 32 years now and the new album is as relentlessly rhythmic, brassy and infectious as ever before. If you can last the pace, it’ll put a great big smile on your face as you massage your calf muscles. Here they are with guest merengue star, Elvis Crespo. Put on a po-face if you dare!
El Combo Batanga: Spanish Dogs (Ubiquity Records)
This Madrid-based combo is a new one to me. I’m not sure why; they’re really good and leave a distinct impression of Orquesta Akokán: a similar thrilling sense of dynamism in their music. This combo, though, like to deviate more, tackling timba, funk, boogaloo and Latin soul as well as Cuban son with equal skill and bravado. “Watch Out” reminds me of Sam & Dave, while the pleading, impassioned “Darling” might have come from the repertoire of James Brown before he got on the good foot and stayed there. “Straighten Up” is a joyful Spanglish boogaloo take on “Straighten Up (And Fly Right)” that seems to capture the vibrant essence of this sophomore album. I only hope that they will stray across the frontier into France sometime.
Da Cruz: Som Sistema (Boom Jah Records)
The Boom Jah label seems very apt for the latest release from the European-Brazilian band led by the Bern-based vocalist, Mariana Da Cruz: there’s more boom to the ounce than previously. I have to say that I prefer the old club mix to the synths, drum machines and sequencers in evidence throughout this latest one. They’ve gone all baile funk on me, but there’s no denying either its polish or its contemporary oomph. The publicist, bless him, suggests that Som Sistema “reprograms Brazilian music for the future.” I’m not sure that I’d go that far, but it’s certainly a future-oriented production.
Toni Tornado: Toni Tornado (Vampisoul)
I’ll leave you this month with two more from Vampisoul. I told you that the label had had a busy December. So… Toni Tornado. What a name! You couldn’t script it, unless you were part of The Fast Show team. But for all the occasional voguish gimmick and vocal mannerisms, this is no affectionate pastiche. Originally released in 1972, Toni Tornado’s debut is a worthy addition to the Black Rio movement spearheaded by Tim Maia. Apart from the two inevitable slow tracks, about which I shall say little, the music is urgent and downright funky. Uhh! Good gosh! Get up offa that thang and do the funky Tornado!
Lô Borges: Lô Borges (Vampisoul)
And finally… another eponymous Brazilian debut album from 1972. If the well worn pair of baseball boots on the cover conjure up an introverted singer-songwriter of the era, you wouldn’t be far wrong. Lô Borges recorded it before he turned 20, which is quite something given the quality of the song-writing. It’s dreamy, intimate and melodic MPB, with the occasional psychedelic touch of a fuzzed-out electric guitar. There are shades at times of Milton Nascimento, but it stays most often in the territory inhabited by Toquinho, Tom Zé and the like. With the spirit of a bedroom recording, it also prefigures the music of Sessa, Bruno Berle and other minstrels of today. Your jazz-loving correspondent here is keen on the instrumental groove of “Calibre”, but this primarily vocal album, if at times a little bit of a curate’s egg, is a remarkable mature and worthwhile blast from Brazil’s past.
Right, that’s me. I’m off for a square of 70% dark chocolate to replenish the parts that other foods can’t reach. Coming soon… the round-up of new singles. Ta ta for now.
(Cover photo of El Combo Batanga.)
Follow Sounds and Colours: Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / Mixcloud / Soundcloud / Bandcamp
Subscribe to the Sounds and Colours Newsletter for regular updates, news and competitions bringing the best of Latin American culture direct to your Inbox.