Track Listing

1. Dajomy Blue
2. Sentimiento De Un Latino
3. Watermelon Man
4. Agua De Cuba
5. Long, Long Summer
6. Here, There And Everywhere
7. Manteca
8. Salsa Latina
9. Milestones
10. Asi Son Bonco

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #286146 in Music
• Released on: 1999-04-06
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
Latin-jazz fans have another treat coming in the form of percussionist Francisco Aguabella. A native of the Matanzas region of Cuba, an area steeped in African tradition, Aquabella emigrated to the U.S. in 1957 and became an essential ingredient in the evolution of Latin jazz, influencing everyone from Mongo Santamaria to Poncho Sanchez. Agua de Cuba makes it easy to see why Aguabella's been so influential, with a handful of cover tunes, ranging from Herbie Hancock's "Watermelon Man" to Miles Davis's "Milestones" to a ballad rendition of the Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere." Collectively, these songs sound like they could be the imaginary result of Grant Green, John Patton, or Lou Donaldson journeying to Havana in around 1968 or so. The real fire, though, comes on Aguabella's own more distinctly Afro-Cuban originals like the title cut, "Dajomy Blue," and "Salsa Latina," where syncopated Cuban montunos mesh with intricately woven congas and percussion for an exhilarating and irresistible result. --Ezra Gale

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Top Notch
One of the finest latin-jazz records I've ever heard, with plenty of Latin and plenty of Jazz! This harks back to the Dizzy Gillespie-Chano Pozo collaborations. Fine blowing straight out of a Blue Note session along with a tight and grooving rhythm section, although the pianist and bassist go unnamed in the liner notes. On top of the great playing is the perfect choices Aquabella makes in selecting the rhythms that go with the tunes; he's a real leader in both his playing and his arranging. True state of the art of where the music is at.