Mongo Santamaria - Afro-American Latin (2000)

My favorite Afro-Cuban album. The liner notes need little elaboration:

Conguero god Mongo Santamaria's Chango mojo is so profound, so ancient-to-future-spirit-cosmic, so muthafunkin' low/high/wide-you-can't-get-under-over-around-it, that it be its own zeitgeist.

Recorded in studio and live in 1968 & 1969, not released until 2000. Santamaria died in 2003 at the age of 85.

Tracks: My least favorite tune is probably the first track, Obatala, so I usually start on the track 2 when listening to this disc. However, that's the only track I skip. Favorite tracks are Mi Reina Guajira (with a tasty trumpet solo by Lew Soloff), Sheila, and Mama Papa Tu. The award for Best Track Title goes to Naked If You Want To.

Personal Memory Associated with this CD: Sitting in Jim's backyard (which he had dubbed "Jaime's Cantina") smoking cigars, drinking beer, and listening to this CD.