ガラージ・クラシック「Hot To Trot」収録の1979年のレア・アルバムが正規復刻！

ニューヨークとコロンビアを拠点に活動し、Eddie PalmieriやWillie Colon、Roberto Roenaらと共演したキューバ生まれのヴァイオリニスト、Alfredo De La Feによる1979年の名作『Alfredo』が待望のリイシュー。ラテン音楽にヴァイオリンを取り入れた革新的なスタイルは、今なお色褪せない。A面はフロアを熱狂させるラテン・ダンス・チューンが並び、‘Toca Alfredo Toca’や‘Charangueando’では圧巻のヴァイオリン・ソロが炸裂。B面はさらにユニークな展開を見せる。Larry LevanもParadise Garageでプレイした‘Hot To Trot’は、ストリングスが舞うラテン・グルーヴにディスコ・ファンクのエッセンスとブラジリアン・パーカッションが絡み合うキラー・チューン。リリース当時からDJのプレイリストに欠かせない存在で、Louie VegaやDanny Krivitのコンピにも収録されてきた。さらに、宇宙的なストリングスが響く‘My Favourite Things’のラテン・ジャズ・ヴァージョン、催眠的な‘Que Rico Bailo Yo’、アヴァンギャルドな展開からラテン・ファンクへと変貌する‘Canto Del Corazon’まで、聴きどころ満載。サルサ・ヴァイオリンのパイオニアによる真の傑作、コレクションに加えるべき一枚だ。

A1. Toca Alfredo Toca
A2. El Casabe
A3. Charanguenado
A4. Que Rico Bailo Yo
B1. Hot To Trot
B2. My Favorite Things
B3. Canto Del Corazon

Proudly presenting our reissue of a bona fide Latin classic from 1979 by the Cuban-born violinist Alfredo De La Fe. Based in New York and Colombia, Alfredo worked with some of the greats in Latin music including Eddie Palmieri, Willie Colon and Roberto Roena, alongside disco and soul icons like Sylvester and Aquarian Dream.

His debut album, Alfredo, is sublime and comprises two distinct halves. The A-side is a fine outing of Latin dancefloor workouts, with Alfredo innovatively incorporating the violin as a key element of his songwriting. Take to ‘Toca Alfredo Toca’ or ‘Charangueando’ to hear Alfredo’s violin solos placed centre stage, a unique dimension to Latin music which he helped to pioneer at the time.

Side two though is where things get interesting and unexpected. ‘Hot To Trot’ is a string-laden, Latin groover with a heavy dose of disco-funk and bubbling Brazilian percussion. It is sheer genius and still ignites a dancefloor to this day. The track became a favourite with the iconic New York DJ Larry Levan and was spun in one of the ground zero blueprints of modern clubbing, the Paradise Garage. This tune has been a mainstay amongst DJs ever since its release, has featured on compilations by Louie Vegas, Dave Lee and Danny Krivit over the years and is a record that never leaves our bag. 

Other highlights include the cosmic, layered string, Latin jazz version of 'My Favourite Things' that opens into a psychedelic percussive jam and the mesmerising ‘Que Rico Bailo Yo’. Also be sure to check the epic closer 'Canto Del Corazon', which fuses avant-garde elements into a bass-gliding funk before morphing into a brilliant Latin final section.

This is a true masterpiece from the trailblazing “El violín de la salsa” and one that deserves a place in every collection.