Arturo Sandoval - Hot House (1998)

The man has trumpeted with Cuba's Modern Music Orchestra and Diz' United Nations band. He'll quote a Tadd Dameron tune in the middle of a mambo. He flugelhorns over a tune he calls, "Funky Cha-Cha." Do the world a favor and listen to Arturo Sandoval and his band as they blaze through this assembly of jazzed Cuban dance rhythms. From minor ballad to up-tempo hip shaker, this music feels great. Paying tribute to his idol Diz, Sandoval and the gang swing fiercely on Tadd Dameron's "Hot House." Sometimes a rather angular tune, Chip McNeill arranges this be-bop staple with a pura Salsa feel that delivers hard hits from the horn section and colorful tenor blasts by Michael Brecker. Fans of Patti Austin will dig her silvery (bilingual!) touch on "Only You" ("No Se Tu"). "Tito," a happily-swinging tribute to the King of the Timbales, features hip vocal articulation by Rey Ruiz and a certain someone on percussion. HOT HOUSE boasts arranging and improvising that excite in equal measure.