Best Reissues of 2019
20 December, 2019There are never any shortage of Latin reissues, with this year featuring a gamut of Brazilian music getting another vinyl pressing, as well as a varied selection of Peruvian, Cuban and Colombian albums once more getting their moment in the spotlight. From heady Afro-Peruvian rhythms to avant-garde Brazilian grooves, classic cumbia and Cubop originators this is our collection of some of the best reissues of 2019.
Albums chosen by David Bugueño, Andy Cummings, Gabriel Francis, Humberto Loopz, Adailton Moura, Mark Sampson, Russ Slater and Pablo E. Yglesias
Zé Eduardo Nazário – Poema da Gota Serena (Brazil)
Ground-breaking album of experimentalism that also contains moments of infectious grooves. This one was released in 1982 but still sounds fresh.
Azymuth – Águia Não Come Mosca (Brazil)
Early album from Brazil’s jazz-funk greats. Captures them in a glorious moment of discovery with the funky grooves they became known for alongside batucada freak-outs and yet sublime off-kilter gems.
Chano Pozo – Rumbero Mayor (Cuba)
Much-needed compilation of tracks by the almighty Chano Pozo, inventor of “Cubop/Afro-Cuban jazz”. Indispensable for any Latin jazz fan.
Eumir Deodato – Os Catedráticos 73 (Brazil)
Catchy organ-led music from the Brazilian keyboard maestro that would have made a perfect soundtrack for a classy spy-spoof like Joseph Losey’s Modesty Blaise. Groovy baby, groovy!
Conjunto Miramar – Cumbias con El Miramar (Colombia)
Classic cumbia from the 60s, pared to the bone and about as good as it gets.
Leonardo V. Boccia – Homenagem (Brazil)
Pioneering fusion of early electronic equipment with Brazilian rhythms from a little-known Italian composer. This is one of those rare albums that really needed to be brought to a bigger audience.
Miguel Flores – Lorca: Lost Tapes (1989-1991) (Peru)
Buh Records continue their showcasing of Peru’s most ambitious electroacoustic composers with this latest release from Flores, an album inspired by the life and work of the Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca.
Polo Montañez – Guitarra Mia/Guajira Natural (Cuba)
These two albums represent the brief but memorable archive of a Cuban artist stolen by tragedy from his passion and from burgeoning renown.
Chocolate – Peru’s Master Percussionist (Peru)
Chocolate, of Perujazz fame, here digs deep into his Afro-Peruvian rhythmic arsenal, conjuring up incredible passages of rhythm that even collides head on with his group, Perujazz, at the end for some avant-garde debauchery.
Trio Mocotó – Trio Mocotó (Brazil)
Trio Mocotó’s eponymous album underlines the key role that the trio played as Jorge Ben’s backing band in fusing samba and rock to form what was known, unsurprisingly enough, as samba-rock.
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