Tito Puente
Dance Mania, Vol. 1 (Remastered)
Album · Salsa and Tropical · 1961
Mambo's golden age was in full swing when Tito Puente released Dance Mania, Vol. 1 in 1958, and he was its undeniable emperor. The combination of his madly swinging horn section and the percolating power of Puente's timbales and Ray Barretto's congas on the feverish "3-D Mambo" makes for some thrilling dance-floor moments. The romantic balladry of "Estoy Siempre Junto a Ti" is just as impressive. Puente even finds time to venture into exotica with his Asian-flavoured marimba lines on "Hong Kong Mambo".