Mirror to the Soul, a compilation that pairs a 2xCD set with a two-hour documentary made up entirely of clips from the archive of British Pathé, brings together music, film, and writing to provide a perspective on the Caribbean that encourages cultural links and connections. It's more about curation than it is about crate digging.

Omara Portuondo, Eliades Ochoa, Francisco Repilado (Compay Segundo), Ibrahin Ferrer y Rubén González, all legendary figures of the Cuban music scene, shine in the recording world for their invaluable contribution to the success reached by Buenavista Social Club. This collection offers us five compilations on 5 CD’s, each dedicated to these five legends. They include selected themes of anthologies previously published from these great artists. It also includes a booklet with wide comments of noted musicologists deepening the history of each one of these figures and their significance in the Cuban musical context.

Universally known as the King of the Mambo, Pérez Prado was the single most important musician involved in the hugely popular Latin dance craze. Whether he actually created the rhythm is somewhat disputed, but it's abundantly clear that Prado developed it into a bright, swinging style with massive appeal for dancers of all backgrounds and classes. Prado's mambo was filled with piercing high-register trumpets, undulating saxophone counterpoint, atmospheric organ (later on), and harmonic ideas borrowed from jazz. While his tight percussion arrangements allowed for little improvisation, they were dense and sharply focused, keeping the underlying syncopations easy for dancers to follow. Prado played the piano, but was often more in his element as the focal point of the audience's excitement; he leaped, kicked, danced, shouted, grunted, and exhorted his musicians with a dynamic stage presence that put many more sedate conductors and bandleaders to shame. With this blueprint, Prado brought mambo all the way into the pop mainstream, inspiring countless imitators and scoring two number one singles on the pop charts (albeit in a smoother vein than the fare that first made his name) as the fad snowballed. He was a star throughout most of the Western Hemisphere during the '50s, and even after his popularity waned in the United States, he remained a widely respected figure in many Latin countries, especially his adopted home of Mexico.

Music from and inspired by his films - 3 double-CDs in a deluxe limited edition boxset. Each of the double CDs was released earlier and has own catalog number. Rediscover the best of QUENTIN TARANTINO's filmography including the films "Kill Bill", "Pulp Fiction", "Inglorious Basterds", "Reservoir Dogs" or "Jackie Brown", through this splendid 6CD box set from the Music Brokers label. We will find here only the official music with artists including Nancy Sinatra, Urge Overkill, Joe Cocker, Johnny Cash, Serge Gainsbourg, Guy Mitchell, The Coasters, Woody Guthrie and many others!

The boogaloo is an infectious and little-defined dance that dominated American dance records in the mid-60s. It was the joyous place where young black and Latin youths met and made sweet music. All previous Boogaloo compilations have focused on the Latin aspect, “Let’s Do The Boogaloo” looks at how the music crossed over between the two. The boogaloo craze started in Chicago with a record by Tom & Jerryo, but it proved to have an enduring legacy with its hit-making potential running from 1965 through to 1968 – much longer than any other comparable dance. Our earliest records – The infectious ‘Ready Steady Go’ by Prince & Princess, produced by Rolling Stones producer Jimmy Miller – kicks us off with a frenetic beat and some Latin horns. It is the perfect boogaloo crossover. Elsewhere we feature big sounds from both the soul and Latin side of the music. Club classics by the likes of Hector Rivera and Roy Lee Johnson, and obscurities by The PS 54 School Yard and Shirley Butler. The musical aspects of this compilation hail from as far apart as Texas and Detroit and Philadelphia and LA, where we found the previously unreleased Bob & Earl Band ‘Boogaloo’.

It was a musical cocktail born in a marketing meeting: Two parts easy listening, one part jazz, a healthy dollop of conga drums, a sprinkling of bird calls, and a pinch of textless choir. Serve garnished with an alluring woman on the album jacket for best results. Liberty Records co-founder Si Waronker called it Exotica; the soundtrack for a mythical air conditioned Eden, packaged for mid-century, tiki torch-wielding armchair safariers. In the five years after Exotica—Martin Denny’s 1957 landmark Liberty debut—arrived, hundreds of other ethnographic forgeries washed up in record racks all over the U.S., bearing titles like Sophisticated Savage, Sacred Idol, Chant of the Jungle, Polynesian Paradise, Exotic Paradise, Taboo, Primitiva, Forbidden Island, Afrodesia, Hypnotique, Percussion Exotique, and a barrel’s worth of other portmanteaus. “All of those ica and itiva endings I came up with because I thought I was being cute,” Waronker said. “And I don’t know why, but nobody got wise.”

The third in a new series from Jazzman featuring selections from Greasy Mike, the notoriously shady Super Spiv from the dark underworld of super rare records! After many years in hiding, we've finally persuaded Greasy Mike to open up his vinyl dungeon, and we were first to raid it! We have left no box untouched, no crate unrummaged, no pile unpilfered! Just the greasiest and grimiest, the most shocking and sordid 45s have made it onto our black wax long player vinyl editions. Watch out for more!!!

Songs from the Street, the boxed set that stretches back to "Sesame Street's" 1969 debut, is the kids' record of the year, if not the decade: Big Bird and the gang might've pulled it off themselves–for a crew of fix-it store workers, shopkeeps, and goofball monsters, the talent quotient's off the charts–but when you've got this many names to drop, they've got to land somewhere. What impresses most in three discs is the lack of a single thud. Cab Calloway, Pete Seeger, and James Taylor mosey in on disc one; Johnny Cash, BB King, and Tony Bennett take seats on the stoop for disc two; and the Dixie Chicks, Gloria Estefan, and R.E.M. raise the brownstone roof on disc three–and that's leaving out stars like Lena Horne, Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, and Trisha Yearwood. When it comes to inspiring preschoolers and their parents to sing the praises of rubber duckies, bein' green, and the people in their neighborhood; "The Street" gets busy. –Tammy La Gorce

Our newest recording project, Vieja Escuela, is an 'old school' tribute to our ancestors and mentors featuriing these four legendary guests: supreme Cuban vocalist Ernesto Oviedo (1935-2019), master Cuban rumba composer and percussionist Raul de la Caridad Gonzalez Brito 'Lali' (1949-2022), pioneering Nuyorican Latin Jazz trumpeter/percussionist and bandleader Jerry Gonzalez (1949-2018), and living legend master Cuban percussionist Orestes Vilató (b.1944). Also featured prominently are the remarkable members of the JS Sextet: Dr. John Calloway, Melecio Magdaluyo, Saul Sierra, Marco Diaz, David Flores and Charlie Gurke. Rumba callejera, danzón, bolero, son montuno, spoken word, Lukumí-funk, and funky jazz Latino are all employed here!

With her powerful pipes, stunning showmanship, and superhuman sense of timing, Celia Cruz defined her chosen genre like few other performers in the history of popular music. EXITOS ETERNOS is a collection of tracks the "Queen of Salsa" recorded during the last decade of her life that, despite the vocalist's advanced age, clearly show Cruz's talents never wavered. Known for her uncompromising attitude and refusal to sing in English, Cruz valued aesthetic purity, but never became a museum piece. A driving pulse and rhythmic toasting that recall dancehall reggae propel her 2001 hit "La Negra Tiene Tumbao," and other tracks feature subtle synthesizer textures. Unlike lesser artists, however, Cruz is able to incorporate these disparate sonic colors seamlessly, making them sound as traditional as a conga drum or guiro. Of course, the unrelenting force behind each recording is Cruz's astounding voice, the sheer energy of which makes even these later recordings sound both classic and utterly contemporary.

Flamboyant and innovative percussionist who infused big-band music with Latin sounds to become El Rey de los Timbales.
By virtue of his warm and buoyant stage manner, constant touring, longevity, and appearances in the mass media, Tito Puente became one of the most beloved symbols of Latin jazz. But more than that, he managed to keep his music remarkably fresh over the decades; as a timbales virtuoso, he combined mastery over every rhythmic nuance with old-fashioned showmanship. A trained musician, he was also a fine, lyrical vibraphonist, a gifted arranger, and played piano, congas, bongos, and saxophone…

It was a musical cocktail born in a marketing meeting: Two parts easy listening, one part jazz, a healthy dollop of conga drums, a sprinkling of bird calls, and a pinch of textless choir. Serve garnished with an alluring woman on the album jacket for best results. Liberty Records co-founder Si Waronker called it Exotica; the soundtrack for a mythical air conditioned Eden, packaged for mid-century, tiki torch-wielding armchair safariers. In the five years after Exotica—Martin Denny’s 1957 landmark Liberty debut—arrived, hundreds of other ethnographic forgeries washed up in record racks all over the U.S., bearing titles like Sophisticated Savage, Sacred Idol, Chant of the Jungle, Polynesian Paradise, Exotic Paradise, Taboo, Primitiva, Forbidden Island, Afrodesia, Hypnotique, Percussion Exotique, and a barrel’s worth of other portmanteaus. “All of those ica and itiva endings I came up with because I thought I was being cute,” Waronker said. “And I don’t know why, but nobody got wise.”

The Real Cuban Music is a widespread collection of the best Cuban music recorded in the island over various decades. This album is part of the first big collection, separated into six different volumes dedicated to the most important rhythms and dances of the island: Son, Cha Cha Cha, Mambo, Guaracha, Guajira and Timba. The audio CD version comes with a companion DVD to help you learn all the dance moves, so you don't just enjoy listening to the music but also learn to dance to these fantastic rhythms. Mambo is a musical form and dance style that developed originally in Cuba, with further significant developments by Cuban and Puerto Rican musicians in Mexico and the USA. The word "mambo" means "conversation with the gods" in Kikongo the language spoken by Central African slaves, who were taken to Cuba. Modern mambo began with a song called "Mambo" written in 1938 by brothers Orestes and Cachao López.

Magia Negra: The Beginning is the 2014 album by Cuban legend Omara Portuondo. You can say this is a revival of the 1959 album she did with Julio Gutierrez, also titled Magia Negra. This was put out by World Village.

Mariposas is the 2020 album by Cuban legend Omara Portuondo. This was put out by BIS Music.