His sound is something totally unique; it's very much rooted in Brazil, but transcends musical and national boundries at the same time. He is also unique in that his sound evolves by leaps and bounds with each release. One upshot of that is that in challenging himself, he constantly challenges his audience as well. Past releases have cannibalized elements of samba, folk, funk, metal, and practically anything else that can be thrown into the blender. He's close in spirit to the Tropicalistas, though his sound takes their experiments very much to the next level. The disc is full of surprises from start ("O Atirador," penned by Lulu Santos) to finish (Lenine's own hit "Jack Soul Brasileiro," which has cropped up on a few releases). The arrangements vary greatly from their original versions, but they always gain something over the originals. "Hoje eu Queiro Sair So" has more in common with Daude's later cover version than with Lenine's own original; "O Homem Dos Olhos de Raio X" abandons the future funk of the Living Color-backed original in favor of something still looser and more old-school sounding; "A Medida da Paixao" features a haunting guest appearance by Richard Bona. I could list more great qualities of the individual tracks, but really, you're better off hearing the disc on your own and discovering something new for yourself, whether you're an old fan or not. Incidentally, if you fall into the latter category (ie. you're new to the artist), I'd recommend starting here rather than with the Six Degrees-issued Best Of. It's a good collection, but it will end up being redundant if you decide that you like Lenine's music--you'll end up wanting the back catalog. And on the strength of this set, I think that's a very strong possibility. On the other hand, if you're a long-time fan, the CD is essential to trace Lenine's evolution, and just might be an indication of where he's headed next.

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The high point of Willie Colón's ongoing collaboration with Rubén Blades (and close to a career peak for both artists), Siembra exploded on the salsa scene in 1978 and has never been forgotten by fans. Beginning with a minute of playfully deceptive quasi-disco arrangements, Colón and his band slip into a devastating salsa groove for the opener, "Plástico," on which Blades first criticizes America's throwaway society and then brings all of Latin America together with a call to unity. Blades wrote all but one of the songs on Siembra, and shines on all of them; his extended high-tenor salsa scatting lifts "Buscando Guayaba," his tender side comes across on the love song "Dime," and he outlines a devastating life-in-el-Barrio exposé with "Pedro Navaja" (Peter the Knife). For the latter, Colón and Luis Ortiz's tight arrangement adds immeasurably to the song, using street noise and sirens, breaking into an ironic "I like to live in America!," and punching the statement home with a four-trombone line. Reflecting the tough times but optimistic attitude of el Barrio during the late '70s, Siembra joined Cosa Nuestra as one of Willie Colón's career landmarks.

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The third of tenor-saxophonist Joe Henderson's tribute CDs on Verve was originally supposed to be a collaboration with the great bossa nova composer Antonio Carlos Jobim but Jobim's unexpected death turned this project into a memorial. Henderson performs a dozen of the composer's works with one of two separate groups: a Brazilian quartet starring pianist Eliane Elias and a jazz trio with pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Jack DeJohnette. In general, Henderson avoids Jobim's best-known songs in favor of some of his more obscure (but equally rewarding) melodies and in some cases (such as a very straight-ahead "No More Blues") the treatments are surprising. Highlights of this very accessible yet unpredictable CD include "Felicidade," "Triste," "Zingaro" and a duet with guitarist Oscar Castro-Neves on "Once I Loved," although all of the performances are quite enjoyable. Highly recommended.

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1926 was a good year, in terms of musical births. It marked, for example, the biological arrival of the jazz innovator John Coltrane and the chachachá inventor Enrique Jorrín, as well as the nativity of Carlos Valdés Jr. (better known as Patato), one of the most influential and distinctive tumbadores (conga players) in the history of our planet.

Patato´s unparalleled and usual playing, including but not limited to his inventive approach and melodic time, was expressed in even more eloquent terms when he recorded Único y Diferente.

Please beware that Único y Diferente is not another predictable, prototypical mainstream Latin jazz disc. It is nos another "latinized" collection of North American standards. The title of the recording is well justified in view of the original repertoire. Each tune is designed to pay homage, directly or indirectly, to a concrete or abstract fixture of our musical planet.

Listening to this album, however, one is bound to identify, sooner than later, the inexhaustible fountain of rhythm: Patato´s heart.

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Buena Vista Club mainstay Orlando "Cachaito" Lopez, who is widely regarded as the best bassist in Cuba, could have taken the safe route and recorded a straightforward collection of Cuban son/Latin jazz music. The resulting album may have been a bit predictable and mild, but the high level of musicianship would have ensured a quality product, particularly considering the impressive international cast that appears with Cachaito on this album. To their credit, however, Cachaito and his colleagues were willing to take some chances. Some tracks approach a Cuban version of dub music, as Jamaican organist Bigga Morrison's Hammond prods or Cuban surf guitarist Manuel Galban's instrument reverberates while the bottom drops in and out of the mix. French DJ Dee Nasty even scratches on "Cachaito in Laboratory," a partially successful experiment that yields interesting results even though it doesn't quite gel with the rest of the album. At times the tracks seem more like studio jams than fully realized songs, but the album's overall feel — self-assured, relaxed, warm, even somewhat jocular — is quite appealing. The musicianship, of course, is impeccable, including the amazing rhythm section of Cachaito, Miguel "Anga" Diaz on congas, Amadiot Valdes on timbales, and Carlos Gonzalez on bongos. Other highlights include Ibrahim Ferrer's cameo appearance on "Wahira," the album's only vocal track; the full orchestral string arrangements by Demetrio Muniz and horn arrangements by James Brown saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis; and "Tumbao No. 5 (Para Charlie Mingus)," which was inspired by the Mingus classic "Haitian Fight Song."

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