La Fantastica - 1971 - From Ear To Ear

La Fantastica

1971

From Ear To Ear

01. Borinquen

02. Con Quien Andas

03. Latin Blues

04. Ya No Te Quiero

05. Negrita Mia

06. Telegrama

07. M & M

08. Sassie

Samuel León – Tenor Sax, Vocal, Leader

Willie Nuñez – Piano

Loui Rodríguez – Trumpet

Johnny Galidez – Tenor Sax

Steven Thorten – Congas

Ralphy (Chuleta) – Lead Vocal

Carlos Pérez – Bass, Vocal

Gregory Swift – Vibes

Santos Rivera – Trumpet

Tito Occasio – Timbales

Chuito Nuñez – Bongos

This brash, big band Latin orchestra from Brooklyn debuted on Ghetto Records with an underground Salsa album which also contains beguiling, English-language Psychedelic Soul of “Latin Blues.”

Ghetto Records was Latin music legend Joe Bataan’s way to get over on The Man and out of the ’hood, a bold move by an artist looking for independence and creative control in an industry that had exploited his talents and treated him like chattel. As Bataan puts it today, “Ghetto Records was part of my journey, a stepping stone to everything else that I’ve done. I learned enough that it enabled me to get out of the box with my thinking, it showed me how to deal with adversity.” Like many dreams and schemes born of the street, this one was audacious, perhaps even reckless to a fault. Hatched from desperation yet full of hope Ghetto Records came crashing down shortly after its inception. The seven albums in its discography languished out of print - until now.

Underground salsa from Orquesta La Fantastica – the group's debut from the early 70s, originally issued on the tiny Ghetto Records label! The album's a great illustration of the way that the regular Latin codes of the mainstream got broken down on the fringes – as the sounds and styles here are familiar at the outset, but often have little twists and turns you'd never find from bigger acts on Fania or Tico. Instrumentation includes a fair bit of vibes – often used mostly with the rhythm, but sometimes bursting out on their own – and there's also a strong tenor sax in the group, fleshing out the sound strongly next to the trumpets.