JAZZBO NOTES ESSENTIAL RECORDING
Rating: 
(Editors Update 12/8/08: I’ve decided to create a new category for non-jazz releases, so this review is no longer filed under Loose Talk.)
You might wonder what this review is doing filed under Loose Talk. The reason is that Our Man In Havana (issued on the Fantasy label) is not jazz.
Now, percussionist Mongo Santamaria has played on jazz albums. He’s even recorded some Afro Cuban jazz. But Our Man In Havana is straight up Cuban music, so a review of it really doesn’t really belong on this website.
So why am I writing about it? Because I LOVE this album. It’s wonderful. If you have any appreciation for Cuban music at all, you will be overjoyed that I recommended it to you. I’m hopeful that even if you’ve only heard Afro Cuban jazz up until now, you might dig it. Now, mind you, this is Cuban music from the early 60s, so it’s going to sound really traditional to modern ears.
Which is ironic because Mongo Santamaria breaks all sorts of rules of traditional Cuban music on this date. For example, in traditional conjunto instrumentation, you cannot have both the piano and a tres (a type of guitar) playing at the same time. Similarly, in an orquestra tipica, you cannot use trumpets or bongos. Mongo breaks all these rules.
There isn’t a whole lot more to say except this is some of the most joyful music I’ve ever heard. It’s almost impossible to be depressed while listening to Our Man In Havana.