30 Aniversario

Gran Combo, El de Puerto Rico

album cover

Highlights from a Long Career of Driving People Wild on the Dance Floor

When Latin musicians speak of "swing," they're talking about a rhythmic propulsion that's akin to—but not quite the same as—the swing associated with jazz. It's a feeling that's elusive, and impossible to notate. As in jazz, swing in salsa has to do with the emphasis on certain parts of the beat, and the spaces between the beats. But it also con-notes the ways the various percussion parts fit together, and a rhythm section's ability to spin repetitive figures into a pulse that floats along organically. "Either you have it or you don't," the pianist Eddie Palmieri once said. "It can't be taught."

Latin swing carries important regional differences—the Puerto Rican variety is tighter and more exact than the more open, loping Cuban swing, yet not nearly as jittery as the Dominican version. One of the most distinctive rhythmic approaches of any modern group belongs to El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, which has, for more than forty years, cranked out incredibly upbeat music for dancing, all of it blessed with a signature swing feel. This band isn't concerned with blazing new trails; it makes music to be enjoyed. Few outfits equal its knack for spreading positive vibes across a dance floor.

This compilation, issued to mark the band's thirtieth anniversary in 1992, is a parade of energetic contagions. There are early chant-based hits from the band's first album, Acangana, and more elaborate arrangements from the smoother salsa romántica of the '90s. Incredibly, no matter the musical fashion, the core values of the Combo—which was formed by pianist and arranger Rafael Ithier in 1962, when he and several musicians left the esteemed Cortijo y Su Combo to create a sassier band—remain the same. All share the relentless swing that makes every refrain (the best include "El menu," "Brujeria," and "Timbalero") sound like an invitation to an amazing party.

Genre: World, Puerto Rico
Released: 1992, Combo
Key Tracks: "El menu," "Son de Santurce," "Brujeria," "Un verano en Nueva York."
Catalog Choice: Acangana
Next Stop: Sonora Ponceña: Fuego en el 23
After That: Batacumbele: Con un poco de songo
Book Page: 322