JAZZBO NOTES RECOMMENDED RECORDING
Rating: 
Another routinely excellent Latin Jazz release from Tito Puente, Mambo of the Times has only one dud on it, the cheesy title cut Mambo of the Times, which is a weak tune to start with, not even considering the vapid lyrics. But not to worry, if you program out that one tune, you’ve got it made.
Tito plays a lot of vibraphone on the album, in a tasteful, pleasant, relaxed style. The same qualities apply to Mambo of the Times as a whole, whether you’re talking about the charts, the soloists, or the rhythm section.
The date starts out with the uptempo Dizzy Gillespi standard Things to Come. Puente resists the temptation to push the tempo past his musicians’ abilities to play it. The result is a brisk and lively romp. For the next tune, Puente gives us a standard percussion introduction before launching in a medium tempo reimagining of Jitterbug Waltz, which is as charming as ever. Puente and Brian Murphy do an excellent job arranging Billy Strayhorn’s steamy classic Passion Flower.
For some reason, when most people arrange material from the Duke Ellington songbook, it ends up sounding like there’s mold on it, but the arrangers here don’t fall into that trap. Passion Flower sounds absolutely contemporary. Baqueteo, a traditional Danzon, is Puente’s feature on timbales. He gives us his usual stunning display of virtuosity. And so it goes.
The main soloists are Piro Rodriguez (trumpet, flugelhorn), Mario Rivera (flute, tenor and baritone sax), Bobby Porcelli (flute, alto and baritone sax), Sam Burtis (trombone), and Charlie Sepulveda (trumpet, flugelhorn). The different styles of the soloists and the tonal qualities of the many instruments they play give the music a lot of variety. Although none of the soloists sets the world on fire, you won’t be bored either. A highlight is the dueling flutes of Mario Rivera and Bobby Porcelli on The Best Is Yet To Come.
And there lies the problem with Mambo of the Times, if it has one. As tasteful as the arranging is, as professional as the solos are, there is little urgency here, and not a whole lot of originality either. Maybe that’s a lot to ask of a man who has made more than 100 recordings, of which this is the 101st. After all, most people are burned out and the quality drops off after making no more than a dozen recordings, and as few as two or three. Puente on the other hand is the Energizer Bunny of Latin Jazz — he just keeps going and going and going….