The First Case of the Uptown Latin Commotion

Today we return to Latin America with a mostly Cubano set. As regular listeners know, I tend to divide my Latin American tunes into 2 general groups:  "barefoot" country-style sounds, and swanky hornline "uptown" latin sounds. This is an Uptown latin show.

We start today where I so often start:  near the beginning, with some old-timey Cuban sounds: danzon, danzonette, and torchy Boleros here. As the first hour progresses, we move into fun material from 50s heavyweights such as Beny More and Chepin (Buena Vista Social Club alum Ibrahim Ferrer provides many of the vocals for Chepin's "Orquesta Oriental").

The second hour today spends just a little time with that paragon of Cuban uptown elegance: the cha-cha-cha. We then progress into some exciting jazzy descargas before we move fully into the modern era with some funky NuYorican dancefloor fillers.