13. Machito | Kenya (1957)

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Tracks

1. Wild Jungle
2. Congo Mulence
3. Kenya
4. Oyeme
5. Holiday
6. Cannonology
7. Frenzy
8. Blues a la Machito
9. Conversation
10. Tin Tin Deo
11. Minor Rama
12. Tururato

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Kenya is a wonderful Afro-Cuban album. It has a similar manic excitement to Sabu's Palo Congo, but there is more orchestration, so it's more refind and there's no calling and less emphasis on the congas, so it feels less primal.

There are a lot of brass instruments, so most pieces tend to build up slowly to a big, brassy climax. A similar thing happens with the music of Duke Ellington and Count Basie, but less frequently. It's interesting, but it makes the pieces too similar-sounding.

All the pieces are worth listening to, but the stand out ones are Wild Jungle, Kenya, Holiday (It's a piece everyone's heard, but no one would know who performed it), Cannonology, Conversation and Minor Rama.

★★★★★★★★☆☆