Cuba in America 1939-1962

We tend to think of the pre-revolutionary period in terms of Americans in Cuba, and the associated clichés: gangsters, gambling, whores and Hemingway. But this timely Frémeaux three-CD disc captures a core period, leading up to and during the struggles of 1953 to 1959, when Cuban musics – introduced to US audiences after World War II by pioneers such as Mongo Santamaría and Chano Pozo – were disseminated by local superstars. This tracklist of 66 songs contains such eminences as Dizzie Gillespie, Louis Jordan, Bo Diddley and Sonny Rollins who, in their various ways, show how Cuban son, habanera, mambo and animist rhythms were fused with American jazz and big band music. They created a sound that's touched by the Caribbean island but tends to be sultrier, slower and, dare I say, cooler than much contemporary Cuban music. Musicianship, rather than danceability seems to guide the selection, and there's a lot of lyrical showmanship – easy to access as it's mainly in English. But there are some hot, get-down rhythms too, such as Stan Kenton's sizzling version of the classic ‘The Peanut Vendor’ and ‘Babalu’ by Slim Gaillard. Who knew that even ‘Hound Dog’ is built around a bolero?