From its opening vibe riff and percussive kick start, Mambo Diablo looks set to be one of Puente’s finest albums. That it is not is largely due to the title track, whose sheer toe-curling, grin-inducing qualities knock the rest of the set for six. Which is grossly unfair, for there is not a duff track among them.
The ensemble manage the impossible and turn Take Five into a listenable tune by gearing the whole caboodle up a notch or four while the piano doubles up the lead like an instant echo (Take Ten?). Lullaby is similarly transformed from the indifferent smooch it usually is into an uptempo mambo dominated by the interplay of composer Shearing’s piano and Puente’s drumming, while Lush Life too is altered beyond recognition, its moody bolero opening blossoming into a cha-cha with a swinging sax solo from Rivera.
Occasionally some of the arrangements veer towards the predictable, the slower numbers in particular sounding cloyingly schmaltzy, but one listen to Puente’s sweet, swinging vibes and the ensemble’s rhythmic panache will set you up for a month. Like they say, the diablo has all the good tunes and the best musicians to play them.
Discography
Mambo Diablo; Take Five: Lush Life: Pick Yourself Up (21.16) – Lullaby Of Birdland; No Pienses Así; China: Eastern Joy Dance (18.55)
Tito Puente (vib / pc / timbales); Sonny Bravo (p); Jimmy Frisaura (tb / t / flh); Jose Madera (cga / pc); Mario Rivera (ts / sps / f); Bobby Rodriguez (b); Johnny ‘Dandy’ Rodriguez (pc / bongos); plus George Shearing (p on Lullaby only). Recorded San Francisco, May ’85.
(Concord Jazz Picante CJP-283)
