Manhattan Mambo

1	Mambo Numero Cinco 5:01
2	Sure Thing 6:34
3	Michael's Mambo 4:27
4	Home Cookin' 5:17
5	Overtime Mambo 7:34
6	Giovanni Speaks 6:17
7	Impressions 10:13
8	Showtime 6:36

Barnes & Noble

The key to pianist Hilton Ruiz can be found in this album's two non-originals: Perez Prado's "Mambo Numero Cinco" and John Coltrane's "Impressions." An incredible pianist who cut his teeth during a four-year stand with that great jazz eccentric, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Ruiz has quietly been recording a series of exceptionally well-focused Latin-jazz albums. A stellar two trumpet and saxophone front line -- Charlie Sepulveda, Papo Vazquez, and David Sanchez -- and five of New York's finest rhythm players, including bassist Andy Gonzalez, drummer Ignacio Berroa, and the stupendous conguero Giovanni Hidalgo, make up one of the most exceptional Latin-jazz ensembles heard in years. Ruiz handily controls things with a piano approach secure in its virtuosity -- there's none of the gratuitous showboating that often mars Latin-jazz piano dates. MANHATTAN MAMBO follows three exceptional, but unfortunately deleted, late-'80s Novus albums that featured a similar format but benefited from the novelty of the saxophone chair being held by the avant-garde grandmaster Sam Rivers. Lee Jeske

All Music Guide

Pianist Hilton Ruiz is heard with a superior group of musicians adept at playing both bebop and Latin jazz. With a front line of trumpeter Charlie Sepulveda, David Sanchez on tenor and trombonist Papo Vazquez in addition to four percussionists, Ruiz's nonet displays plenty of fire on a set of originals, Pérez Prado's "Mambo Numero Cinco" and John Coltrane's "Impressions." Scott Yanow