Review by Richie Unterberger
Santamaria recorded an entire album in March 1969 that was inspired by the Afro-Cuban religion Santeria with encouragement from producer David Rubinson. It was done, however, in an era when Santamaria was being marketed by Columbia as a jazz-pop-soul crossover artist. The label rejected the album and it was shelved until 2000, when it finally appeared as a CD. While it's a solid record, and certainly closer to Santamaria's roots than much of his Columbia work was, one would be hard-pressed to say that its failure to appear when it was first made was a tragedy. Really, it's not too much different than the less soul-pop-oriented Latin jazz Santamaria has done throughout his career. Perhaps it's at times a little looser and bolder than Santamaria was wont to be, as with Sonny Fortune's squealing alto sax lines on "Mambo Leah" or the ten-minute "Obatala," a rave-up that moves from an opening conga/bata duet through several sections into a hyper-tempo charanga. But it's not all along these lines: "Sheila" is just a mellow jazz ballad (not that there's anything wrong with that) while "Me and You Baby" and "Boogaloo Wow" are more in line with the boogaloo that was raking in the sales for Mongo and Columbia. It's nice that Mongo fans have an opportunity to hear it after the passage of 30 years, but it's difficult to say that it would have made any difference to the trajectory of his career had it appeared as Santamaria and Rubinson intended, although the success of Santana right after its cancellation might have helped draw attention to it. One of the songs, the aforementioned "Me and You Baby," did appear on the 1970 album All Strung Out; otherwise, everything else was previously unreleased. In addition, there are five bonus live tracks recorded in 1968.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/afro-american-latin-mw0000609382
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Reseña de Richie Unterberger
Santamaría grabó un álbum completo en marzo de 1969 que se inspiró en la religión afrocubana Santería con el estímulo del productor David Rubinson. Se hizo, sin embargo, en una época en que Santamaría estaba siendo comercializado por Columbia como un artista crossover de jazz-pop-soul. El sello rechazó el álbum y fue archivado hasta el año 2000, cuando finalmente apareció como un CD. Si bien es un disco sólido, y ciertamente más cercano a las raíces de Santamaría que gran parte de su trabajo en Columbia, sería difícil decir que su fracaso en aparecer cuando se hizo por primera vez fue una tragedia. En realidad, no es muy diferente del jazz latino menos orientado al soul-pop que Santamaría ha hecho a lo largo de su carrera. Tal vez sea a veces un poco más suelto y audaz de lo que Santamaría solía ser, como con las chirriantes líneas de saxo alto de Sonny Fortune en "Mambo Leah" o el "Obatala" de diez minutos, un delirio que se mueve de un dúo de conga/bata de apertura a través de varias secciones en una charanga hipertemporal. Pero no todo es en esta línea: "Sheila" es solo una suave balada de jazz (no es que haya nada de malo en eso), mientras que "Me and You Baby" y "Boogaloo Wow" están más en línea con el boogaloo que estaba acumulando ventas para Mongo y Columbia. Es bueno que los fanáticos de Mongo tengan la oportunidad de escucharlo después del paso de 30 años, pero es difícil decir que hubiera hecho alguna diferencia en la trayectoria de su carrera si hubiera aparecido como Santamaría y Rubinson pretendían, aunque el éxito de Santana justo después de su cancelación podría haber ayudado a llamar la atención sobre él. Una de las canciones, la mencionada "Me and You Baby", apareció en el álbum de 1970 All Strung Out; de lo contrario, todo lo demás era inédito. Además, hay cinco pistas extra en vivo grabadas en 1968.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/afro-american-latin-mw0000609382
1 - Obatala
2 - Mi Reina Guajira
3 - Mambo Leah
4 - Sheila
5 - Boogaloo Wow
6 - Me And You Baby (Picao Y Tostao)
7 - Naked If You Want To
8 - Mama Papa Tu
9 - Afro American
10 - Naked If You Want To [Live]
11 - Afro American [Live]
12 - Mi Reina Guajira [Live]
13 - Philadelphia [Live]
14 - Obatala [Live]
Credits:
A&R [A&R Coordination] – Darren Salmieri, Patti Matheny
A&R [Legacy] – Steve Berkowitz
Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone – Sonny Fortune
Arranged By – Marty Sheller
Art Direction – Howard Fritzon*
Artwork [Packaging] – Rachel DiCono
Bass – Victor Venegas (tracks: 10 to 14), William Allen
Compilation Producer – Jerry Rappaport
Congas, Bongos – Mongo Santamaria
Design – Chika Azuma
Directed By [Project Direction] – Stephan Moore
Drums, Timbales – Steve Berrios
Lead Vocals – Ronnie Marks (tracks: 6)
Liner Notes – Tom Terrell
Mastered By – Joseph M. Palmaccio
Mixed By – Todd Whitelock (tracks: 10 to 14)
Percussion, Vocals – Julito Collazo*, Osvaldo Martinez
Photography By – Don Hunstein, Michael Ochs Archives
Piano – Mark Levine, Rogers Grant*
Producer [Original Recordings] – David Rubinson
Tenor Saxophone – Charles M. Owens*, Hadley Caliman (tracks: 10 to 14), Mario Rivera (2) (tracks: 2, 3, 4, 7)
Tenor Saxophone, Flute, Piccolo Flute – Hubert Laws
Trumpet – Lew Soloff, Luis Gasca (tracks: 10 to 14), Ray Maldonado
Vocals – Ray Maldonado (tracks: 10 to 14)
This package contains unreleased material except: track 6 - released 3/21/1970 on the album "All Strung Out" (CS 9988)
Tracks 1, 5, 8 & 9 recorded 3/4/1969 in New York
Tracks 2, 3, 4, 6 & 7 recorded 3/5/1969 in New York
Tracks 10-14 recorded 10/25/1968 at Pep's Lounge, Philadelphia, PA
Label: Columbia – 498707 2, Legacy – 498707 2
Country: Europe
Released: 2000
Genre: Jazz, Latin, Funk / Soul
Style: Afro-Cuban Jazz, Latin Jazz, Boogaloo, Mambo
https://www.discogs.com/release/3366079-Mongo-Santamaria-Afro-American-Latin
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