Annotated Listening

Hear that cowbell, steady and strong? Some people process it as a dance rhythm. For others, it’s a kind of seasonal alarm: Time to tune up the outdoor sound rig and get ready for grilling season. Consider this playlist — of peak Latin jazz moments, mostly from the ‘60s and ‘70s — to be a motivational nudge toward relaxing in the great outdoors.

Cachao y Su Ritmo Caliente - “Oye Mi Tres Montuno” (Cuban Jam Session in Miniature: Descargas)

We start with one of the foundational figures in of Latin-jazz, the great Cuban bassist Israel “Cachao” Lopez, who helped create so many infectious rhythms, and whose informal gatherings of hard-charging Havana musicians inspired generations of players from around the world.

Santana - “Toussaint L’Overture” (Santana III)

A blazing uptempo excursion from the period when Santana’s band was like a heat-seeking missile, transforming everything in its path. Worth it for the percussion alone.

Antonio Carlos Jobim - “Aquarela do Brazil” (Stone Flower)

This tune’s head-bobbing samba pulse is a zillion miles away from brash Carnival samba – it’s understated, and minimal, and defined by a sense of breezy lightness. A reminder of serenity that can calm jangled global-pandemic nerves.

Willie Bobo - “Diferente” (Bobo! Do That Thing!)

The great percussionist leads arguably his best New York band – with a young Chick Corea on piano – through a spirited crosstalking jam.

Horace Silver - “Nica’s Dream” (Horace-Scope)

With earthy, sophisticated and yet singable tunes like this, pianist and composer Horace Silver pretty much created his own wing of Latin jazz. Later, we’ll hear his more famous “Song for My Father.”

Stan Getz, Charlie Byrd - “Bahia” (Jazz Samba)

This small-group session was “proof of concept” for the subsequent Getz/Gilberto album that made Stan Getz a star. Where that album was all bossa, this track catches a languid, dreamlike mood that evokes sunset over the water in Bahia.

Tito Puente and his Orchestra - “Hong Kong Mambo” (Dance Mania)

With this instrumental, the bandleader and percussion master shares a lesser-known aspect of his art: Serious chops on marimba.

Willie Colon - “The Hustler” (The Hustler)

Another slice of classic Fania from the late ‘60s, this track begins with brawny trombone-heavy brass (Willie Colon, the arranger and composer, is also a fierce trombonist) and includes a torrid piano solo from the criminally overlooked pianist Markolino Diamond.

Frank Emilio Flynn - “Eva” (Frank Emilio Flynn Plays Frank Emilio Flynn)

Blind pianist Frank Emilio Flynn was a fixture of Cuban music for six decades, and as a result his repertoire encompassed the romantic bolero, pop songs of the 1950s and quaint examples of the old-time danzon. In his hands, though, the danzon is not so quaint.

Bola Sete - “Eu Quero um Samba” (The Guitar of Bola Sete)

Here’s an early slice of instrumental samba from guitar virtuoso Bola Sete, who is best known for his 1966 album at the Monterey Jazz Festival. This track showcases his evenhanded rhythmic poise – and features a mildly strange middle section that detours into early rock.

Cal Tjader - “Mindoro” (Amazonas)

From one perspective, this album updates the Getz-Gilberto playbook for the fusiony ‘70s: It finds an established jazz talent, mallet virtuoso Cal Tjader, gathering a crew of Brazilian progressives – Hermeto Pascoal, Airto, Egberto Gismonti – for extended journeys through choppy, bracingly modern samba grooves.

Baden Powell - “o Astronauta” (Tristeza)

You think the jazz guitar people have all the chops? Listen to the impossibly fast and exactingly precise fingerwork from Baden Powell on his stunning (and simple) tune “O Astronauta.”

Herbie Hancock - “Cantaloupe Island” (Empyrean Isles)

Encountering the deeply funky original after years of hearing US3′s cleverly sampled hit rendering “Cantaloop,” you might be surprised by the lowkey intensity of the groove, particularly from the incendiary drummer Tony Williams.

Mongo Santamaria - “Afro Blue” (Mongo, Afro Roots)

The stripped-down original studio recording of “Afro Blue” puts listeners right inside the churning rhythm and the tune’s equally hypnotic theme. Though he recorded it many times over the years, this version is the tune in its purest form.

George Benson - “El Mar” (White Rabbit)

The ever-tasty George Benson and another CTI all-star band (Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham) explore all kinds of fitful time changes and polyrhythms on this under-appreciated Benson original.

Chick Corea and Return To Forever - “Captain Marvel” (Light as a Feather)

This blistering samba is a mini-clinic in the art of playing at super-fast tempos. The music’s flying, yet everyone here, particularly pianist Chick Corea, plays with Jedi-mind poise and control. Astonishing.

Cal Tjader & Eddie Palmieri - “Black Orchid” (El Sonido Nuevo)

One of several collaborations between vibraphonist Tjader and pianist Palmieri, this catches an idyllic sunny-afternoon mood, spiced with Palmieri’s characteristically tense chordal flourishes.

Wayne Shorter with Milton Nascimento - “From the Lonely Afternoons” (Native Dancer)

This fantasia in triple meter finds saxophonist Wayne Shorter and singer/composer Milton Nascimento casting a mood that’s at once ruminative and alive with forward motion. (From one of the most spectacular collaborations of the 1970s.)

Sergio Mendes & Brazil 77 - “After Sunrise” (Primal Roots)

After his long hitmaking run, Sergio Mendes explored the folklore and traditions of various Brazilian regions. This album connects age-old chants with the vivid, almost too-bright colors of Brazil ‘77.

Milt Jackson - “Sunflower” (Sunflower)

This beautifully recorded set features an all-star band – joining vibraphonist Jackson are Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham and Freddie Hubbard. Trumpet master Hubbard recorded his title tune several times, but never with more passion than is evident here.

Ray Barretto - “A Deeper Shade of Soul” (Acid)

On this classic from the heyday of the Fania label, there’s no need to ask for “more cowbell.” This undulating son montuno groove is anchored by the bell, and when it’s established with this kind of authority, the band led by the torrid conguero Ray Barretto can go anywhere.

Sambalanço Trio - “Consolaçao” (originally released on Samblues)

Among the most adventurous of the piano trios that were everywhere in Brazil during the mid ‘60s, this group led by pianist Cesar Comarga Mariano – who later became the musical director for Elis Regina -- brings a feisty, rhythm-forward approach to this haunting minor-key samba standard.

Elis Regina - “Chovendo Na Roseira” (Elis & Tom)

One of the world’s all-time most expressive vocalists swan-diving through one of composer Antonio Carlos Jobim’s most challenging tunes. Included here as a graceful “ear break” from all the groove.

Eddie Palmieri - “No Me Hagas Sufrir” (Eddie Palmieri)

In addition to an astonishing vocal from Cheo Feliciano, this contains one of the most explosive, harmonically adventurous piano solos in all of Latin-jazz.

Richard “Groove” Holmes - “St. Thomas” (American Pie)

This blazing-fast ride through Sonny Rollins’ calypso tune “St. Thomas” shows just how intense the Hammond B3 organ can be, when it’s played by a master like the late Groove Holmes. Dazzling.

Kenny Burrell - “Chitlins Con Carne” (Midnight Blue)

There were lots of these soul-jazz-meets-hard-bop sessions in the early ‘60s, and most of them were chasing the low-key conga-spiced simmer that Burrell and his crew perfected here.

Dom Um Romao - “Ponteio” (The Complete Muse Sessions)

This brisk track merges the shuttling side-to-side feeling of samba with elements of its near-twin, merengue, and then adds chattering percussion improvisation and a wonderfully airborne melody. Perfectly energetic exit music for the end of an evening outdoors.