They'd been calling him "El Rey" for years, but
Tito Puente
really proved it on this, one of his best original LPs on
Tico
. Yes, this is the one with
"Oye Como Va,"
one of the brightest, most exuberant
Latin
performances of the century, but
El Rey Bravo
has plenty of other features for
Puente
's tight
pachanga
orchestra.
"Tokyo de Noche"
has great ensemble playing, as well as nice features for flute and violin, while
"Tombola"
(recorded the same year by
the Puerto Rican All Stars
) is a nice ballroom tune. ~ John Bush