Rough Guide to Salsa Dura NYC - Various Artists
“Salsa dura” isn’t simply a genre of music. It’s a feeling, born of a certain people in a certain time. In this case–the sounds of dancehalls and hotel ballrooms of the Bronx, Spanish Harlem and Brooklyn in the 1970’s. The lively Rough Guide to Salsa Dura NYC attempts to encapsulate that energy in an hour’s worth of music. A heady task, but the collection does a good job of highlighting the premiere showmen of the genre. It’s being kept alive today by all the classic and contemporary artists featured on the disc. Los Soneros Del Barrio, who formed in 1999, showcase tight grooves during “Babaila;” and bandleader Eddie Palmieri, whose career spans more than half a century, offers the sublime “Lo Que Traigo Es Sabroso II.” Elsewhere, Jimmy Bosch’s appropriately titled “El Embajador” (”The Ambassador”) commands respect; and Joe Quijano & His Conjunto Cachana do right by the standard “I Get a Kick Out of You.” Horns blare, voices wail and you can practically see the twirls across the dance floor.The only quibble is a common one in the genre: a lack of female voices. Thankfully, Las Estrellas Cobo’s “Don Ramon” features the confident swagger of Yousie Barbara.
