My Kind Of Market

Bobby Cruz con Ricardo Ray : Get It All
taken from the album the album "Amor En La Escuela" Vaya (1974)

Jaime Delgado Aparicio y su Orquesta : 57th Street
Enrique Lynch y su Conjunto : Oye Como Va
both taken from the collection "Puros Exitos" on Sono Radio (197?)

Grupo Folklorico y Experimental Nuevayorquino : Trompeta N Curero
taken from the album "Lo Dice Todo" on Mericana/Salsoul (1976)

The random nature of what turns up at the flea market is at least half of the appeal. Sure, you can go on e-bay and type in exactly what you're looking for again and again until it pops up. You can post "wants" lists, you can ask at every record store you see, or... you can take a sunny stroll through the flea market, stopping at sidewalk sales along the way, and find brilliant things you never knew you wanted.

Entirely deserving of at least several posts all unto themselves, Bobby Cruz and Ricardo aka "Richie" Ray have been known to throw in a little funky flavor here and there, but I didn't know they had anything like this break-laden gem in their catalogue. Mostly an album of moody ballads (some of which are quite nice), I was hoping to find maybe an uptempo salsa track or a jala-jala throwback. But "Get It All" is way more than I could have anticipated: fuzz guitar, tambourine, cowbell breakbeat, "let it all hang out" lyrics, screams, and the real kicker-- a switch into spanish at the end! At $2, I was more than willing to test the odds. Jackpot.

Then there's a couple Peruvian (I think, judging by the Sono Radio label) grooves. "57th Street" sounds like a standard of some type, but I can't place it. Latin jazz with what reminds me of a young Idris Muhammed on drum kit. Enrique Lynch is a name that I actually knew to look out for. However, given the scarcity of his records in these northern-hemispheric parts of the globe, I don't tend to keep him in mind. I like his version of the Tito Puente classic. He's clearly ripping off Santana in every way, but somehow this version is a little more latin groove and less rock 'n' roll (again, no diss to Santana). It's probably that guiro that I love so much. Trombone solo is a nice touch too.

And finally, some real roots music from a group I hold in very high regard. If the cover doesn't rope you in, then knowledge of this masterpiece surely would. Listening to this helps me prep for the Candela Art & Music Festival that I'm going to again this year. "Pa' Puerto Rico yo me voy!"