TV REVIEW : Salsa Spices Up Cinemax’s ‘Latino Session’

Now that David Byrne has proven himself 1989’s popular pied-piper of exotic musical culture with his salsa album and tour, it’s perhaps fortuitous for the “Cinemax Sessions” series that its “Latino Session”--taped some months back at the Biltmore Hotel and premiering Sunday night at 10--devotes about half of its hour to salsa or salsa-derived music. It’s not necessarily the best half, though.

First up on the program are two artists representing such different extremes that they make the “Latino Session” name seem about as explanatory as, say, “A White Night” would be for an all-Anglo show: Linda Ronstadt and Carlos Santana. The lovely Linda is, of course, decked out in the full mariachi-gal regalia of her “Canciones di Mi Padre” tour, and sings two beguiling Spanish-language songs from it, one a duet with “Zoot Suit” star Daniel Valdez.

Guitarist Santana, on the other hand, embarks on a solely instrumental, thoroughly modern jazz-rock fusion excursion, in which the percussion is the most obvious link back to Latino “roots”--as is a guest shot by accordion player Esteben Jordan.

As American rock celebs, Ronstadt and Santana may seem like the kind of name acts necessary to draw a mass audience, but they also provide the show’s most sustained highlights, though there are no slouches on the bill.

Then the older guard takes over. “Queen of salsa” Celia Cruz gets one spicy vocal number, backed by Poncho Sanchez and Tito Puente, who soon take over with instrumental numbers of their own. Puente slows the show’s pace to a crawl with a less-than-inspiring tandem percussion workout with his daughter, whom he introduces as Millie P. (as in Sheila E.?).

Host Ruben Blades finally gets the lion’s share of the time with three Spanish-language numbers; he’s the Latino equivalent of the American singer/songwriter tradition, so those who comprende Espanol will most likely enjoy his parade of lyricism, and those who don’t can concentrate on how his salsa-flavored songs are watered down with synthesizer washes and other soft pop-jazz touches.

Still waiting for the usual full-cast jam? It begins, and all too quickly fades out, under the closing credits. Despite such minor failings as this kind of lack of collectivity and some unimaginative photography, “A Latino Session” is well worth catching Sunday or in repeat Cinemax playdates Wednesday and Nov. 25, 27 and 29.