10 Grandes Exitos

Performer: Pérez Prado
Distributor: BMG (distributor)

Notes: Personnel: P�rez Prado (piano). As a budget-line CD, Perez Prado's 10 Grandes Exitos makes for an affordable and fine introduction to the mambo king's career-defining hits of the '50s. Many of the bandleader's signature cuts are here, including the mambo swingers "Que Rico el Mambo" and "Mambo No. 5," in addition to the well-traveled Latin lounge number "Patricia" (used to nice effect for a party scene in Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita). Other highlights include the hyped-up bolero "Cerezo Rosa" and surging brass and percussion workouts like "La Nina Popoff" and "Caballo Negro." As with most Prado sides from this time, 10 Grandes Exitos features super tight arrangements and plenty of timely vocal interjections by Prado himself. This is a great collection for newcomers to Prado's music. For those wanting a more wide-ranging introduction, check out Rhino's The Best of Perez Prado, which includes later hits like "Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White." And for fans looking for more obscure fare, there are some fine Prado titles on the Tumbao label. ~ Stephen Cook

D�maso P�rez Prado, the original Mambo King, served time as an arranger and pianist in several Havana-based bands in the 1930s. By the '40s, the traditional Cuban danzon style was evolving into newer, African-inspired sounds like the cha-cha and the mambo. With an irresistible syncopated rhythm and sensual, brass-heavy melodies, mambo dovetailed nicely with the popular swing music of the day. Prado began to plant the mambo seeds farther away from home, and by the '50s, the mambo craze had taken hold in the U.S. While Prado was not the first musician to play this music, he wrote and/or recorded some of the biggest mambo hits of the era. Though the craze eventually faded, Prado performed and recorded until his death in 1989.

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