Search - Tito Puente :: Live at 1977 Monterey Jazz Festival

Finally the NY Salseros in California!

Juan N. Montenegro | Chicago | 05/03/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The top NY salsa bands rarely traveled out of town at the beginning of the Salsa craze of the 1970's. The obvious place to go, and a real sign that the music was booming outside New York, was California. Willie Colon, Hector Lavoe, and Eddie Palmieri were the first to go. I was out there for that one, at the Hollywood Palladium one night and at a little Latin club the other night. What was the name? I remember that Palmieri didn't like the way the piano sounded and threatened to walk.



Getting back to this CD, this hidden gem was not released (that I know of) when it was recorded, but hey, who cares! We have it now! An energetic if not frenetic Tito Puente meets and greets his California audience, and this might have been his first big gig out West! The band is great, but as with most old live outdoor recordings, it's gone with the wind.



For a great Puente live recording listen to LIVE AT BIRDLAND from 1999. You won't believe this thing.



But this 1977 Puente live recording is still a nice historical item. I am sure the guys in the band had the time of their lives in that California sun."