Viva Cubop!: Jazz the Afro-Cuban Way

1	Malanga 6:07
2	Asi Son Bronco 5:22
3	The Last Dynasty 6:18
4	The Creator Has a Master Plan 6:21
5	Descarga on Las Palmas 6:22
6	Little Sunflower 5:06
7	Tierra Va Tamblar 6:11
8	Descarga Iyaw 3:44
9	Santa Cruz 5:54
10	Cavalie 3:19
11	Philadelphia 7:13
12	Tanga 5:50
13	Picadillo A Los Blas 11:09

Barnes & Noble

San Francisco's Ubiquity label launched CuBop in 1995, well ahead of the Latin music mania that's gripped the nation since the release of BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB. Dedicated to only the roughest Latin jazz music, CuBop's consistently offered blazing performances by an ever-growing stable of players that spans generations. This millennial collection presents veterans like Francisco Aguabella, the Cuban conguero who emigrated to the U.S. in the '60s to back up Katherine Dunham and Dizzy Gillespie: His "Asi Son Bronco" shines. Then there are new voices like Johnny Blas and the U.K.'s Snowboy, two percussionists who keep the rhythms hard while their groups stretch out. As an imprint of a rare-groove label, CuBop's always had a healthy respect for occult slabs of funky vinyl, borne out by their rediscovery of the Har-You Percussion Group (a '60s Latin jazz youth orchestra) and promotion of Henry "Pucho" Brown (of veteran boogaloo act the Latin Soul Brothers). Looking back and looking forward, VIVA CUBOP! is an exciting mix from an excellent Latin jazz source. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

One of the brightest lights in the '90s Afro-Cuban jazz scene, Cubop sports great recordings from several generations of Latin jazz musicians (from the '50s to the '90s), including Francisco Aguabella, Pucho, Bobby Matos, Snowboy, and the Afro-Rican Ensemble. Viva Cubop! compiles the best tracks from Cubop's artists, most recorded in the late '90s. Though there's an ineffable feeling that these artists are looking back to the '60s and '70s (given the acid jazz orientation of Cubop's mother label, Ubiquity), they're no less brilliant for it. Bobby Matos' sublime cover of "The Creator Has a Master Plan" is one of the best ever of an often-covered song, and "Malanga" by Cuban Roots is a dense, percussion-heavy reworking of a track originally recorded on one of the great forgotten Latin jazz albums of the '60s, 1967's Cuban Roots. There are many other excellent contributions, including Pucho's "Descarga on Las Palmas," Johnny Blas' cover of Freddie Hubbard's "Little Sunflower," and Snowboy's "Tierra Va Tamblar." John Bush