Jazz Room Schallplatten & CDs

Review: Fresh, fabulous and funky reissued trax sourced from the collective mind of the historic group Goma Laca, first released a hell of a long time ago sometime in the indeterminate period between 1920 (!) and 1950 on the Goma-Laca label. Now reissued by Jazz Room, 'Cala Baca Menino' and its counterparts 'Ogum' are two stonking Afrobrasilidades, flaunting the effortless vocals of Russo Passapusso and Jucara Marcal, not to mention the quick double-bass and piano caresses of Marco Paiva and Hercules Gomes respectively, plus Sergio Machado on drums and Gabi Guedes on percussion. Under the direction of Letieres, the group produced many records such as this: jazzy arrangements over Afro-Bahian rhythms, with everything recorded live at Estudio Traquitana, Sao Paulo.

Review: This second instalment of Jazz Room's Pure Latin re-releases comes in the form of Orquesta Mayombe's masterpiece, Con Ritmo Del Tambo. First emerging in 1980 and now considered to be a classic example of Nu Yorican El Barrio sound, this is an essential record for fans of Tata Vasquez. Featuring Afro-Cubano jazz heavyweights including Chocolate Armenteros, Jose Mangual, Mauricio Smith, and Orestes Vilato, as well as an astounding seven-person percussion section, it's safe to say this release packs a punch. Travelling through ten dazzling, floor-filling cuts of Afro-Cuban via New York Jazz age tracks, this is a must-have for fans of Latin jazz.

Review: Percussionist Robin Jones was one of the earliest - and eventually longest-serving - exponents of Latin jazz in the UK. While he guested on hundreds of records and was still playing a couple of years before his death at 84 last year, Jones only ever released a handful of albums under his own name. Arguably the best - and certainly most popular amongst Britain's legion of jazz-dancers - was 1972's "El Maja", credited to the Robin Jones Sextet. A scintillating fusion of Afro-Cuban and Afro-Brazillian rhythms laden with sprightly woodwind and brass sounds, jaunty piano, jazz-funk Rhodes sounds and notable nods towards rhythm and blues, the hard-to-find album has now been reissued by legendary London jazz DJ Paul Murphy's Jazz Room Records imprint. It should be an essential purchase for anyone who loves Latin jazz.