Gilberto Calderòn was born in New York in 1931 to Puerto Rican parents. He grew up in Spanish Harlem and taught himself to play the congas. At the age of 19 he met Tito Puente at a Puente concert. It was from this meeting that a friendship was born, and above all Gilberto decided to take charge of the band in which he played. During a performance in New York their agent changed the name of the group, without informing them, to Joe Cuba Sextet. From then on, he played under this name. He died in 2009, having released some thirty albums as leader.
Joe Cuba is regarded as the father of Latin Boogaloo, a genre that was very much in vogue in the 60s, blending Afro-American and South American influences such as Manbo. Thanks to the inclusion of English lyrics on some tracks, the popularity of the style spread far beyond the immigrant community. The sextet produced some highly successful tracks in the mid-60s and masterfully negotiated the Salsa turn of the 70s. This reissue features an album from 1963, when they were already a big hit with a Latin American audience, but just before their exposure in the charts.
The abundance and diversity of the percussion is particularly well served by the 24 bit 192 kHz remastering, with a wide, well-defined soundstage and increased dynamics. Some tracks, by choosing to place all the vocals on the right-hand side, are better suited to listening through loudspeakers, as the sensation in headphones can be disconcerting. Without being too pronounced, the sound is a reminder that when the tracks were recorded, everything was done in analogue, and that for this record it was done in the studio. A journey through time and space that will make you want to dance.