BROWN SUGAR Latin Breakbeats, Basslines & Boogaloo (Harmless/ Fusion III) Rating: NNNN Rating: NNNN
In this impressively deep collection of primarily Nuyorican mid-60s boogaloo, Brown Sugar compiler James Maycock sidesteps the overly familiar genre classics and digs up some fabulous joints not confined to those in the archives of the powerhouse Tico, Fania and Cotique labels. With swingers on tap like Peruvian percussionist Coco Lagos (pre-Black Sugar), Ray Terrace, the Latin Blues Band with Luis Aviles, Tito Ramos, the Cesta All-Stars (really Joe Quijano fronting the Alegre All-Stars), trumpeter Ralph Robles and singer La Lupe, there’s lots to dance about.
