Alfredo

Groove Latin, Brazil

21,00 €

Tax included

In stock

Label

Mr Bongo

Release date

February 21, 2025

Conditions

New

Vinyl

Black

Proudly presenting our reissue of a bonafide Latin classic from 1979 by the
Cuban-born violinist Alfredo De La Fe. Based in New York and Colombia,
Alfredo worked with some of the greats in Latin music including Eddie
Palmieri, Willie Colon and Roberto Roena, alongside disco and soul icons
like Sylvester and Aquarian Dream.
His debut album, Alfredo, is sublime and comprises two distinct halves. The A-
side is a fine outing of Latin dancefloor workouts, with Alfredo innovatively
incorporating the violin as a key element of his songwriting. Take to ‘Toca
Alfredo Toca’ or ‘Charangueando’ to hear Alfredo’s violin solos placed centre
stage, a unique dimension to Latin music which he helped to pioneer at the
time.
Side two though is where things get interesting and unexpected. ‘Hot To Trot’
is a string-laden, Latin groover with a heavy dose of disco-funk and bubbling
Brazilian percussion. It is sheer genius and still ignites a dancefloor to this day.
The track became a favourite with the iconic New York DJ Larry Levan and
was spun in one of the ground zero blueprints of modern clubbing, the
Paradise Garage. This tune has been a mainstay amongst DJs ever since its
release, has featured on compilations by Louie Vegas, Dave Lee and Danny
Krivit over the years and is a record that never leaves our bag.
Other highlights include the cosmic, layered string, Latin jazz version of 'My
Favourite Things' that opens into a psychedelic percussive jam and the
mesmerising ‘Que Rico Bailo Yo’. Also be sure to check the epic closer 'Canto
Del Corazon', which fuses avant-garde elements into a bass-gliding funk
before morphing into a brilliant Latin final section.
This is a true masterpiece from the trailblazing “El violín de la salsa” and one
that deserves a place in every collection.