Ray Barretto - La Cuna - 180g LP

Product no.: CTI9002

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Ray Barretto - La Cuna - 180g LP
£34.99
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Speakers Corner / CTI  - CTI 9002 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl 

Mastered from the Original Mastertapes 

AAA 100% Analogue  - Limited Edition -  Audiophile Mastering - Pressed at Pallas 

This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head

Ray Barretto disliked his music being labelled 'Latin Jazz' - yet the album "La Cuna" is one of the most memorable of this genre, since it amalgamates the diverse moods of both Americas. In this album, the expertise of the legendary producer Creed Taylor is combined with an all-star ensemble and the supreme musicality of the skilful jazz percussionist Barretto to create a tightly-knit performance. The title-giving opening number sails along merrily with a salsa swing, but then the soaring flute melodies and the powerful piano improvisations cool down the Caribbean rhythms. How the players mingle driving patterns with delicate melodies to form beautiful song is demonstrated best in "Doloroso" and also in "Mambotango", whereby the latter exudes controlled coolness in the somewhat electric mood.

 John Tropea leans seemingly intentionally towards Santana and his art of guitar-playing, and this is further enhanced by the late Joe Farrell's phenomenal performance.
A further tribute is paid to one of the greatest musicians ever to combine various styles and trends with a speeded-up version of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise".
To conclude: if not Latin Jazz, then definitely Latin AND Jazz.

For those looking for Salsa this record will dissapoint. In fact Ray Barretto offers us a supreme effort by some of the finest musicians of the time and the result is in my opinion some of the best latin jazz funk ever recorded. In many ways this is more exciting and adventurous music than the salsa hits that Barretto can produce on a whim. Any wonder that "Pastime Paradise" and "The Old Castle" consistently make the most saught-after latin jazz and rare funk compilations and dj playlists? In fact these tunes boast white hot guitar by a brilliant John Tropea, Charlie Palmieri's tasty piano on "La Cuna" & "Pastime Paradise" Tito Puente swingin' on "Cocinando" and Joe Farell on sax reminiscent of Gato Barbieri, as exciting as it is melodic and passionate, just check out "The Old Castle". I'll ride this elevator any time!!! 

 I was overseas on a military base and with some friends, played latin music on our time off. When we got our hands on this at the BX, we went nuts as Barretto is one of the greatest congueros ever. The music on here is just incredible - it ranges from a soft, melancholy ballad, to an uptempo furious set that will leave you drenched in sweat. It also contains an excellent cover of Stevie Wonder's "Pastime Paradise" with Willy Torres doing a nice job on vocals. " It's Latin Jazz - and excellent Latin Jazz at that with some of the best Jazz musicians around. With a lineup of Joe Farrell, Tito Puente, Charlie Palmieri, Jeremy Wall, John Tropea, Steve Gadd, and others, this is a classic, period. Enjoy.   

This Speakers Corner production was manufactured 100% analogously, with the use of the analogue mastertape and analogue mastering. All royalties and mechanical rights have been paid.

Recording: August 1979 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA
Production: Creed Taylor

Musicians:
Ray Barretto, congas, percussion
Joe Farrell, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, flute
John Tropea, guitar
Charlie Palmieri, percussion, piano
Carlos Franzetti, piano
Jeremy Wall, synthesizer
Francisco Centeno, bass
Steve Gadd, drums
Mark Craney, drums
Willy Torres, vocals
Tito Puente, timbales

Selections:
Side A:
1. La Cuna
2. Doloroso
3. Mambotango
Side B:
4. The Old Castle
5. Pastime Paradise

Recorded August 1979 at Rudy Van Gelder Studio, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., USA

Ray\u0020Barretto\u0020\u002D\u0020La\u0020Cuna\u0020\u002D\u0020180g\u0020LP

                               
20 Years pure Analogue
This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head
 
Are your records completely analogue?
Yes! This we guarantee!
As a matter of principle, only analogue masters are used, and the necessary cutting delay is also analogue. All our cutting engineers use only Neumann cutting consoles, and these too are analogue. The only exception is where a recording has been made – either partly or entirely – using digital technology, but we do not have such items in our catalogue at the present time
 
Are your records cut from the original masters?
In our re-releases it is our aim to faithfully reproduce the original intentions of the musicians and recording engineers which, however, could not be realised at the time due to technical limitations. Faithfulness to the original is our top priority, not the interpretation of the original: there is no such thing as a “Speakers Corner Sound”. Naturally, the best results are obtained when the original master is used. Therefore we always try to locate these and use them for cutting. Should this not be possible, – because the original tape is defective or has disappeared, for example – we do accept a first-generation copy. But this remains an absolute exception for us.
 
Who cuts the records?
In order to obtain the most faithful reproduction of the original, we have the lacquers cut on the spot, by engineers who, on the whole, have been dealing with such tapes for many years. Some are even cut by the very same engineer who cut the original lacquers of the first release. Over the years the following engineers have been and still are working for us: Tony Hawkins, Willem Makkee, Kevin Gray, Maarten de Boer, Scott Hull, and Ray Staff, to name but a few.
At the beginning of the ‘90s, in the early days of audiophile vinyl re-releases, the reissue policy was fairly straightforward. Companies such as DCC Compact Classics, Mobile Fidelity, Classic Records and others, including of course Speakers Corner, all maintained a mutual, unwritten code of ethics: we would manufacture records sourced only from analogue tapes. 
 
Vinyl’s newfound popularity has led many other companies to jump on the bandwagon in the hope of securing a corner of the market. Very often they are not so ethical and use every imaginable source from which to master: CDs, LPs, digital files and even MP3s. 
 
Even some who do use an analogue tape source employ a digital delay line, a misguided ’80s and ‘90s digital technology that replaces the analogue preview head originally used to “tell” the cutter head in advance what was about to happen musically, so it could adjust the groove “pitch” (the distance between the grooves) to make room for wide dynamic swings and large low frequency excursions. Over time analogue preview heads became more rare and thus expensive. 
 
So while the low bit rate (less resolution than a 16 bit CD) digital delay line is less expensive and easier to use than an analogue “preview head”, its use, ironically, results in lacquers cut from the low bit rate digital signal instead of from the analogue source! 
 
Speakers Corner wishes to make clear that it produces lacquers using only original master tapes and an entirely analogue cutting system. New metal stampers used to press records are produced from that lacquer. The only exceptions are when existing metal parts are superior to new ones that might be cut, which includes our release of “Elvis is Back”, which was cut by Stan Ricker or several titles from our Philips Classics series, where were cut in the 1990s using original master tapes by Willem Makkee at the Emil Berliner Studios. In those cases we used only the original “mother” to produce new stampers. 
 
In addition, we admit to having one digital recording in our catalogue: Alan Parsons’ “Eye in the Sky”, which was recorded digitally but mixed to analogue tape that we used to cut lacquers. 
 
In closing, we want to insure our loyal customers that, with but a few exceptions as noted, our releases are “AAA”— analogue tape, an all analogue cutting system, and newly cut lacquers.
 
PALLAS
Audiophile Vinyl - Made in Germany  For over 60 years the family business in the third generation of the special personal service and quality "Made by Pallas" is known worldwide. Our custom PVC formulation produces consistently high pressing quality with the lowest surface noise in the industry. Our PVC complies with 2015 European environmental standards and does not contain toxic materials such as Lead, Cadmium or Toluene. Our vinyl is both audiophile and eco-grade! 
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