Algo Nuevo – Y Que Bien
Algo Nuevo – Pastel En Descarga
Algo Nuevo – Con Aji Guaguao
I first came to hear music from Juan Pablo Torres and his group Algo Nuevo when i was about to leave the Bay Area for LA. I was getting materials together to cut a demo for KCRW, and even though I hadn’t been a DJ there for a couple of years, I was able to use the studio (and most importantly the library) at KALX to get it together. While I was looking for new sounds, I came across a collection of music out of Cuban put out by the Waxing Deep label called Si Para Usted. Almost 4 years later I still regard the comp. as one of the best Latin Funk collections out there, perhaps precisely because it is so difficult to come across these records in the US, what with that embargo still going on. Algo Nuevo’s “Son A Propulsion” leads off the comp. and everytime I hear it my head is still blown!
Recently I finally tracked down the LP that track is featured on, 1974’s Super Son, and was very pleased with the rest of the record as well. The whole album has a very mid tempo and slightly laid back funk vibe to it, like the kind of music I’d imagine B-boy low-rider aficianados (is there such a thing?) chillin’ out with (especially “Con Aji Guaguao”!). While I first thought the title “Super Son” was just a way to describe the music on this particular record, it’s quite possible that it’s a reference to either a dance style or the specific fusion of latin-funk and cuban son rhythms. The band frequently locks into a groove, with some trademark Cuban ritmo and some surprisingly fuzzy guitar and wacked out synthesizer. Above it all is Torres’ mighty trombone. From what I’ve been able to gather from this discography there are a couple other records that likely feature similar sounds and similar players which I now will do my best to track down as should you.
Cheers,
Michael
…p.s. I wasn’t going to post up “Son A Propulsion” because it’s on a fabulous compilation that everyone should own, but just in case you don’t…here you go: