Celia Cruz and the Fania Allstars in Africa

I'm a newbie when it comes to Salsa music. Well not a complete newbie. I've had a decent amount of interest for years now, but not enough to go and purchase an album or go seeking videos and whatnot, but enjoyed listening to it on XM sometimes. Or when in Miami, when I went to Mangos and just let loose, it really comes out then. Actually that last trip to that wonderful place had really sparked my interest. Then after that I went to get my hair done at an African owned salon. The owner was playing Marc Anthonys live at Madison Square Gardens, and that was it. I had to have that music. I went to Walmart not knowing the title and grabbed one CD of his, and something told me to get El Cantante. I love it. I wasn't even aware of the movie coming out when I bought it. Didn't even bother reading to much of the cover just opened it and started jammin. My 8yr old niece noticed it said movie soundtrack, doh! So of course I have to see the movie. I love Jennifer, I love Marc Anthony and I'm a new fan of Hector Lavoe. His performance on this video gives me chills. I get so happy looking at him and Celia perform. The all star band and everything. It feels like home. I wanted to move to Miami right after my last visit, before I got the album. Now I know why. This music, the energy, the culture, it feels like home to me. You can feel it in the air.

This is the very first (1974) well produced film of the earliest appearances of the Fania All Star family. It includes all the afro Caribbean greats from Celia on down all recruited by Johnny Pacheco, including rare appearances by Jorge Santana and Hector Lavoe. For anyone who wants to see the top Fania recordings live, this is a must. It is also available on DVD, which is how I got to see it. The video is of excellent quality and the camera work is very good shifting from riff to riff as the "montuno" sections of each song begin the call and response from each part of the band. This is real Latin jazz at its very best! Anyone who has followed the history of Latin jazz knows that the artists featured were at the top of their game when this concert was filmed. People like Nicki Marrero, Roberto Roena and the great Ray Barreto on percussion and all together at the same time. The best singers:Ismael Miranda, Ismael Quintana, Santos Colon, and Hector Lavoe. Pupi Lagarreta and Yomo Toro on strings and cuatro and guitar. On piano is the legendary Larry Harlow who keeps rhythm and clave along with the percussionists and was one of the most studious of all jazz musicians when it came to afro cuban music. He himself lived in Cuba two years studying different Cuban rhythms and clave. So if anyone is a lover of jazz and especially Latin jazz, try seeing this piece of musical history.