The Essential Ray Barretto: A Man and His Music

Performer: Ray Barretto
Producer: Dean Rudland (Compilation)
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Since Fania began remastering and reissuing its vast catalog on CD, and putting together some of the most killer compilations of Latin jams ever heard, they've discovered an entirely new audience from the beat and crate diggers who could seldom find the original LPs on Tico or its own named imprint. That said, there is a consistently irritating fact that is true with most of those comps: there isn't any documentation in the liners provided for track attribution. They have the sound right, a lot of them look attractive enough, but not knowing where specific tracks came from can be frustrating for those of us music geeks who want to get really obsessive. That rather major complaint aside, they are priced right and sound as good as they can given the technology they were working with in analogue. The Essential Ray Barretto is, thankfully, not a case in point. Spread over two discs, containing 28 monster jams, this is all killer, no filler. Dean Rudland did a fantastic job of compiling these tracks from Barretto's output for Tico/Fania aesthetically rather than chronologically, though it may initially seem that way. Disc one begins with "El Watusi" from Charanga Moderna, and "El Bantu" from On Fire Again. He even includes the title jam from Se�or 007, an album Barretto didn't particularly like, but it's a smoking tune. There are a couple of tracks from the classic Acid, which was his first album on Fania proper -- "Soul Drummers" and the monster freak-out title number. The bands Barretto assembled at this time were simply stellar, combining jazz, Latin, soul, funk, and Afro-Cuban music in equal parts; eventually adding the burning salsa groups he ran. Cuts from Hard Hands, Indestructible, Rhythm of Life, The Message, Todo Se Va Poder Que Viva La Musica, such as "Guarare,""Inmdestructible,"and many others are represented here. There's a great bio liner essay by Robert Padilla, and other essays by Aurora Flores and George Rivera. Also there's a small section with first-hand remembrances by friends and bandmates. There is only one problem : that this wasn't three or four CDs, or a box set devoted to everything Barretto did for the label; because as awesome as this set is, it simply introduces the man's work. Those who buy this will be compelled, driven, and haunted until they pick up the actual full-length titles these cuts were drawn from. Thankfully, many are available on CD. The Essential Ray Barretto is simply brilliant stuff at a righteous price. ~ Thom Jurek Produced only a short time after his death, Ray Barretto's A Man and His Music tells the story of a young conguero who went from sitting in on New York's after-hours jam sessions to becoming a Latin music household name, the most influential conguero of his lifetime. It's a long story, spanning better than 45 years and quite a few records, and it's surprising that the Fania label could cram it into a two-disc set. Beginning in his boogaloo years, with famous cuts like "El Watusi" and "Soul Drummers," the collection demonstrates that Barretto's habits of rule-breaking and genre-fusing were obviously formed early. These tracks show a sophistication that the majority of the boogaloo genre did not share. Moving on to Barretto's salsa/Latin jazz experimentation, "Abidjan" and "The Other Road" are a testament to his ongoing creativity. There are, of course, a number of his indispensable hits included, like "Indestructible," "Vale Mas un Guaguanco," and "Guarare." The absence of any of Barretto's genuine jazz work is noticeable and curious, but considering the source of this collection (Fania), that is understandable, if somewhat disappointing. There are guaranteed to be more than a few collections put together immortalizing the late, great master conguero/bandleader. For those who favor his salsa side, A Man and His Music is sure to please. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez

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