Congo

The best CD I bought last year wasn't the latest from Cuba or NY: it was Congo: Rumba on the River 1954-67, which I picked up while sheltering from the rain in WOMAD. It's a double CD of beautiful Latin-influenced music, mostly from the early 60s. You can dance to it but it's also gentle, warm music to chill to - remarkably, as the 60s was a bloody time in the Congo. Some of the songs are essentially Congolese versions of Cuban hits (with piano replaced by shimmering guitars) but there are also plenty of original pieces. I was familiar with some of the musicians - I photographed Rochereau (performing under his African name of Tabu Ley) at an early WOMAD - but I'd never heard of the wonderful Grand Kalle.

Looking at things the other way round, earlier in the year I bought Out of Cuba: Latin American music takes Africa by Storm. This CD is intended as a kind of ethnomusicologists' guide to the (mostly) Cuban music which was the source of much 60s African music, but it's also a great primer to early Cuban music even if African music isn't your thing. It goes right back to El Manicero, the first ever international Latin hit. Another thing that's good about it is that the clave is really loud on some of the earlier recordings: it can be difficult to hear it buried in the mix of a lot of modern salsa tracks, but you can't miss it on the old songs.