Paquito D'Rivera - Tropicana Nights (Remastered) (1999/2025)

LATIN GRAMMY AWARD WINNING ALBUM! Awarded "Best Latin Jazz Album" Grammy at 1st Annual Latin Grammy Awards (2000).

Cuban dance music is back! Leading an all-star Latin big band, Paquito D'Rivera unleashes the beloved music of his homeland on this Latin Grammy winning album. Following in the tradition of Havana's immortal jazz orchestras, D'Rivera infuses his own stylings with mambo, son, danz¢n and bolero to create an essential musical document. In keeping with the club's festive spirit, the album opens with the exuberant "Mambo a la Kenton." If that doesn't get you dancing, the irresistable rhythms of tracks like "Chucho" and "Old Miami Sax" will. And when your feet need a brief rest, timeless ballads like "Como Fue" caress your heart.

"In celebration of the famous Tropicana casino in Havana, Cuba, D'Rivera assembled a 22-piece big band to play many of the famous tunes that the "most beautiful nightclub in the world" was known for in the '50s. The band is a killer, rising up to the vaunted musicianship of D'Rivera, including trumpeters Mike Ponella and Diego Urcola, trombonists Jimmy Bosch and William Cepeda, saxophonists Andres Boiarsky, Oscar Feldman and Manuel Valera, bassist Joe Santiago, timbales player Ralph Irizarry, drummer Mark Walker and percussionist Milton Cardona, among others. The first tune, "Mambo A La Kenton," sets an apropos tone in that it was composed by Armando Romeu, who led the Tropicana Orchestra. Staccato horns and cha cha lines not only suggest Stan Kenton's fascination with this music, but reflect the influence of Machito as well. The cha cha romp "Old Miami Sax" has the sax section trading fours and twos, then joining in counterpointed frenzy. Brass and reeds mix up melodies interactively on D'Rivera's fabulous jazzy chart for the title cut, while the leader's tribute to old partner "Chucho" (Valdes) was done many years ago in a smaller context, but is recapitulated on this happily expanded, mambo-ized version. There are such familiar tunes as Mario Bauza's classic "Mambo Inn," with Paquito's clarinet and extra horn inserts in the melody, and Chico O'Farrill's "El Coronel Y Marina," which has more mambo/cha cha-informed, leaping staccato lines. There are three compositions by Ernesto Duarte, all slower tunes. Ballad "Cicuta Tibia," with vocalist Brenda Feliciano, doubles and then halves the time, while Lucrecia sings on "Como Fue." He also penned the slower instrumental cha cha "Sustancia." The lone non-big-band cut is the well-known "Peanut Vendor," with acoustic guitarist David Oquendo's strumming inspiring a five-piece vocal chorus in straight clave beat; Paquito's clarinet is the lone, heartsick wolf. Of the many ensembles D'Rivera has fronted, this is the one that not only hits closest to home, but evokes a shared passion for the Tropicana, which was the impetus for the Latin jazz movement itself. His extraordinarily informative liner notes about the history of the Tropicana is worth the price of the album alone. Highly recommended, thoroughly enjoyable, and perhaps his magnum opus." (Michael G. Nastos, AMG)

Paquito D’Rivera, alto saxophone
Brenda Feliciano, vocals
Lucrecia, vocals
Manuel Valera, saxophone
Andres Bolarsky, saxophone
Oscar Feldman, saxophone
Marshall McDonald, saxophone
Mike Ponella, trumpet
Diego Urcola, trumpet
Gustavo Bergalli, trumpet
Adalberto Lara, trumpet
Alejandro Odio, trumpet
Noah Bless, trombone
Jimmy Bosch, trombone
Luis Bonilla, trombone
William Cepeda, trombone
Ralph Irizarry, timbales
Joe Gonzalez, bongos
Milton Cardona, congas
Oriente Lopez, piano
Dario Eskenazi, piano
David Oquendo, guitar
Joe Santiago, bass
Mark Walker, drums

Digitally remastered.

Tracklist
01 Mambo a La Kenton
02 Chucho
03 Cicuta Tibia
04 Siboney
05 Old Miami Sax
06 Tropicana Nights
07 Sustancia
08 Como Fue
09 El Coronel Y Marina
10 Mambo Inn
11 A Mi Que_El Manisero (The Peanut Vendor)