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Continuing what is perhaps the most admirable reissue campaign in Latin music history, The Complete 78s, Vol. 4 is the last in the series, presenting 36 tracks of Tito Puente's earliest recordings as a leader (roughly speaking, the mid-'50s). Originally, Emusica head Giora Breil had commissioned Joe Conzo to compile and annotate a four-volume collection from the dawn of Tito Puente's leadership of a band, a series of 156 songs recorded from 1949 to 1955 and released on the Tico label as 78-rpm records. Although Puente was recording for RCA around the same time (those sides appear on The Complete RCA Recordings, Vol. 1), these Tico songs present a far different side of the Latin maestro, and there are few parallels between the material. Where Puente was recording plentiful swing crossovers for RCA ("Tuxedo Junction" and "Take the 'A' Train" in addition to his early masterpiece "Ran Kan Kan"), his material for Tico found him keeping mostly to what his core audience in Spanish Harlem wanted to hear: plentiful hard mambos with the occasional bolero or ballad crossover and, overall, few direct concessions to mainstream music. This was the equivalent of Duke Ellington on OKeh or Charlie Parker on Dial -- recordings for the hardcore faithful that showed a band as it existed instead of as it wanted to be sold. However, despite assumptions either way, that doesn't necessarily make this a better or worse set than the fruits of the RCA years, and indeed, for a crossover audience whose numbers usually overwhelm the core base, Puente's Tico recordings will be less familiar and even less dynamic. But the level of musicianship was high, with future heroes Charlie Palmieri, Mongo Santamaria, and Willie Bobo heard on Vol. 4. As opposed to previous volumes, this set has far fewer vocals, and none as a feature, just the occasional band vocal or sidelight for Bobo. The final volume in a great series, The Complete 78s, Vol. 4 is a treasure trove for Latin fans.
© John Bush /TiVo
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Tito Puente, Vibraphone, Timbales , MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Gilberto Valdés, ComposerLyricist - Ralph Seijo, Producer
℗ 1955 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, Vibraphone, Timbales , MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Gilberto Valdés, ComposerLyricist - Ralph Seijo, Producer
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Abelardo Valdes, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, Vibraphone, Timbales , MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Ralph Seijo, Producer
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Ramon Monchito, ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Marcelino Guerra, ComposerLyricist - George Goldner, Producer, Recording Producer - Miguel Banguela, ComposerLyricist - William Friedlander, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Estanislaò Servià, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Enrique Jorrin, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Rosendo Ruiz Jr., ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - José A. Fajardo Ramos, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Félix Reina Altuna, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Rosendo Ruiz Jr., ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Nico Jiménez, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Luis Kalaff, ComposerLyricist - Virginia Sorian, Arranger, Work Arranger
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Rafael Lay, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - José A. Fajardo Ramos, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Unknown, ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
JULIO GUTIERREZ, ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, Percussion, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Francisco Fellove Valdez, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1955 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Louiguy, ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist - Mack David, ComposerLyricist - Marcel Ageron, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Cole Porter, ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Bobby Valentín, Arranger, Work Arranger - Tito Puente, Producer, Recording Producer, MainArtist - Luis Reyes Bacallao, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1955 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Rosendo Ruiz Jr., ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Antonio Sanchez Reyes, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Ninon Mondejar, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Enrique Jorrin, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
JULIO GUTIERREZ, ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, Percussion, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1956 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - Paul Francis Webster, Author - Bronislaw Kaper, Composer
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Richard Rodgers, ComposerLyricist - Lorenz Hart, ComposerLyricist - Tito Puente, MainArtist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, MainArtist - José Luis Delgado Pérez, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Tito Puente, Percussion, MainArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Pedro Justiz, ComposerLyricist
℗ 1956 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
Album review
Continuing what is perhaps the most admirable reissue campaign in Latin music history, The Complete 78s, Vol. 4 is the last in the series, presenting 36 tracks of Tito Puente's earliest recordings as a leader (roughly speaking, the mid-'50s). Originally, Emusica head Giora Breil had commissioned Joe Conzo to compile and annotate a four-volume collection from the dawn of Tito Puente's leadership of a band, a series of 156 songs recorded from 1949 to 1955 and released on the Tico label as 78-rpm records. Although Puente was recording for RCA around the same time (those sides appear on The Complete RCA Recordings, Vol. 1), these Tico songs present a far different side of the Latin maestro, and there are few parallels between the material. Where Puente was recording plentiful swing crossovers for RCA ("Tuxedo Junction" and "Take the 'A' Train" in addition to his early masterpiece "Ran Kan Kan"), his material for Tico found him keeping mostly to what his core audience in Spanish Harlem wanted to hear: plentiful hard mambos with the occasional bolero or ballad crossover and, overall, few direct concessions to mainstream music. This was the equivalent of Duke Ellington on OKeh or Charlie Parker on Dial -- recordings for the hardcore faithful that showed a band as it existed instead of as it wanted to be sold. However, despite assumptions either way, that doesn't necessarily make this a better or worse set than the fruits of the RCA years, and indeed, for a crossover audience whose numbers usually overwhelm the core base, Puente's Tico recordings will be less familiar and even less dynamic. But the level of musicianship was high, with future heroes Charlie Palmieri, Mongo Santamaria, and Willie Bobo heard on Vol. 4. As opposed to previous volumes, this set has far fewer vocals, and none as a feature, just the occasional band vocal or sidelight for Bobo. The final volume in a great series, The Complete 78s, Vol. 4 is a treasure trove for Latin fans.
© John Bush /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 36 track(s)
- Total length: 01:33:22
- Main artists: Tito Puente
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Fania
- Genre: World
© 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc. This Compilation ℗ 2009 Craft Recordings, a division of Concord Music Group, Inc.
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