Xavier Cugat Among His Earliest 1932-1935 CD - Import

The opening 10 tracks on this 25 track compilation are from 1932 transcription discs which pre-date Cugat's commercial recording sessions for Victor. The remaining tracks are from rare early transcription discs. Vocalists include Pedro Berrios and Carmen

AMONG HIS EARLIEST 1932-1935 contains tracks from transcription discs which pre-date Cugat's commercial recordings.
Personnel includes: Xavier Cugat, Pedro Berrios, Carmen Castillo.
Contains 25 tracks.
Personnel: Xavier Cugat (violin); Pedro Berrios (vocals, guitar); Reymundo González (vocals, marimba); Don Reid, Dorothy Miller, Fausto Delgado, Jimmy Ray, Carmen Castillo (vocals); Eddie Durant (guitar); Ruben Moss (clarinet); Alfredo Perez (trumpet, drums); Chuy Perez/La Chirribanda, Philip Hart (trumpet); Park Peters, Nilo Menendez (piano); Alberto Calderon (drums); Nico López (bongos); Catalino Rolón (maracas).
Audio Remasterer: Charlie Crump.
Liner Note Author: Bruce Bastin.
Recording information: California (??/??/1932-12/13/1935); New York, NY (??/??/1932-12/13/1935).
Less flashy and in some ways more historically interesting than many of his commonly available albums, this excellent Harlequin compilation opens with ten of the oldest known recordings of Xavier Cugat & His Orchestra, predating Cugat's tenure at the Waldorf Astoria. Culled from obscure 1932 Western Electric transcription platters, these delightful performances were waxed in Los Angeles only months before Cugat took his act to New York. The beautiful "Lamento Borincano" has been reinterpreted by dozens of modern musicians, perhaps most notably by martyred Chilean activist, guitarist, and folksinger Victor Jara. While some of these tracks are less than 120 seconds in duration, the graceful waltz "Noche Azul" stretches out to nearly four and a half minutes. The New York recordings, dating from 1934 and 1935, sound similarly austere and authentic when compared with records made by Cugat's orchestra only a few years later. There are more waltzes and less gringo vocalists in this collection than in most of Cugat's current discography. Thank goodness the British and the Czechs have reissued these gems of Latin American music recorded in North America during the Great Depression. ~ arwulf arwulf