The ones that nearly got away

In the balkanized Latin music business, taking stock of the year’s best CDs is an imperfect task. Worthy works slip through the cracks because they aren’t released domestically or get only regional promotion or no promotion at all. Some don’t get noticed until they pop up on top 10 lists, which themselves often reflect regional tastes.

So before we let 2004 slip into pop-culture oblivion, here are a few recommended CDs we originally overlooked. None would have made my top 10, but all deserve a New Year spin before going on the shelf.

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Anthony Blea y Su Charanga

“Virgen de la Caridad”

(Rumba Jams)

Here’s the surprise salsa release of the year, a first-rate production coming not from New York or Havana but from the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District. Blea, a third-generation Mexican American and a classically trained violinist, fronts an accomplished band that displays as much fire as finesse. His charanga sound (heavy on flutes and violins) is both smooth and smoldering, a smart fusion of straight-ahead salsa with measured doses of aggressive Cuban timba. Except for the title track, all the tunes were written by Cuban brothers Yunior and Eladio Terry. The set includes two lively and lovely instrumentals featuring guest spots by East Coast veterans Jimmy Bosch (trombone) and Alfredo de la Fe (violin). While New York is caught up in a ‘70s nostalgia wave, Blea and his West Coast cohorts show how to keep the salsa hot and fresh.

*

Bossacucanova

“Uma Batida Diferente” (Ziriguiboom/Six Degrees)

As its name suggests, this Rio-based trio puts a quirky, contemporary twist on the soothing sounds of traditional bossa nova. And as the title of its third album attests, it is clearly “a different beat.” The foundation is still securely Brazilian, supporting experiments in atmospheric electronica, jittery club beats and turntable trickery. Bossacucanova is DJ Marcelinho DaLua (turntables), Alexandre Moreira (bass and vocals) and Marcio Menescal (keyboards). As before, they are joined by a host of fellow Brazilians, including veteran songwriter and guitarist Roberto Menescal, Marcio’s father and the band’s honorary fourth member. The group’s creativity and touch of kookiness (or is it “cuca”-ness?) are helping to save a lovely, world-class music from slipping into stale nostalgia.

*

El Gran Combo

“Aqui Estamos y De Verdad!” (Sony Discos)

This beloved salsa band from Puerto Rico, the island of long-lived bands, celebrated its 42nd anniversary last year by jumping to Sony from its longtime New York label. The move didn’t alter the winning formula minted in the ‘60s by founder and pianist Rafael Ithier, himself a veteran of Rafael Cortijo’s seminal Boricua group. Nothing new here, just another round of danceable, humorous, folksy, joyful and melodious music from a salsa institution.

*

Estopa

“¿La Calle Es Tuya?”

(BMG Music Spain)

The 1999 debut by this young, Barcelona-based duo sold more than a million copies in Spain, but the pair has never caught on in the U.S., where it was overshadowed last year by fellow Barcelonans Ojos de Brujo. Estopa’s third album, released in the U.S. with no fanfare, continues the themes of worn and torn relationships that are as raw and ragged as the duo’s flamenco-tinged vocals. Its scruffy, working-class attitude is reflected in the defiant, punkish title (“Does the Street Belong to You?”), with rock guitars often buzzing across the irresistible beats of the rumba catalana. Music made for those late nights in Madrid clubs that Spaniards are famous for.

*

JD Natasha

“Imperfecta/Imperfect”

(EMI Latin)

In an unusual guest role as critic for People en Espanol magazine, veteran Miami producer Emilio Estefan picked the debut of this teenage rocker among the best of 2004, dubbing her potentially “one of the most important bilingual singers in the world.” Such gushing praise from such a conservative music maker shows you how much Miami’s music scene has changed. Though Natasha’s songs explore routine adolescent angst, her voice is assured and passionate beyond her years. With idols such as Nirvana and Radiohead, she doesn’t have much Latin in her sound, aside from the Spanish lyrics. Her future likely hinges on a full English crossover, which will require a little growing up as a songwriter.

*

Yolanda Perez

“Aqui Me Tienes” (Fonovisa/Univision)

The sophomore release by L.A.’s sweet and sassy homegirl turned up on a critic’s top 10 list in Texas. What the Lone Star State rightly appreciates is Perez’s ability to capture the bicultural tensions of urban immigrant life in her music. Perez, whose parents hail from Zacatecas, debuted in 2003 with satirical songs that pitted her Americanized ways with the conservative traditions of her strict father, played by radio personality Don Cheto. With a lean figure and sarcastic streak that smacks of Cher, she continues the culture clash in Pepe Garza’s hilarious “La Reina del Mall” (The Mall Queen), sending her hapless father into a fit with her high-priced demands for brand-name fashions. With contemporary banda arrangements by the Valenzuela Twins, she also dismisses a philandering suitor in a banda/rap duet and expresses youthful yearning in the R&B-style; title cut. Perez has said she tries to “sing it like I’ve lived it,” and she does.

*

Omara Portuondo

“Flor de Amor”

(World Circuit/Nonesuch)

After seven years of Buena Vista Social Club spinoffs, it’s easy to dismiss yet another installment of Cuban nostalgia. But the follow-ups have tended to be more vibrant and interesting than the siesta-inducing production that launched the franchise in 1997, and the second solo album by the group’s only female member stands on its own as a cohesive, well-conceived collection of standards, drenched in sweet melancholy, gentle rhythms and tailored guitar accompaniments. The songs come alive with elegant and subtly surprising arrangements, a distinctive female chorus and, of course, Portuondo’s smoky, sentimental vocals. A quiet gem in the series.

*

Various artists

“Viva la Salsa”

(Gold Star/Universal)

Speaking of old-school salsa nostalgia, this double CD is one of the most exciting revival albums in the lot. It was recorded live in December 2003 at San Juan’s Tito Puente Amphitheatre with a solid lineup of musicians and singers. The album is subtitled “A Tribute to Latin Music,” but it’s actually a terrific example of Puerto Rican salsa at its peak, featuring 18 salsa classics mostly from the ‘70s. The bonus DVD from the concert gives a rare glimpse of the taut timbal playing of the amazing, tightly wound Endel Dueno, strangely still during his furious solos. What an era!