Chollo Rivera & The Latin Soul Drives - By Chollo (1969)

An obscure classic from the Latin Soul generation -- the standout set recorded by the young Chollo Rivera and his strangely-named group The Latin Drives! The set's got equal parts soul and equal parts Latin -- in a way that's similar to some of Joe Bataan's albums for Fania from the same time -- young, free, and proud -- really steeped in the blend of races and cultures that were bubbling through the best records of the New York scene in the late 60s! Instrumentation includes some very sharp twin-trombones in the lead, plus trumpet, piano, bass, bongo, and timbales from Chollo. English vocals are sung by Billy Scruggs, Spanish vocals by Israel Perez