Essential Tito Puente

This is by far the best Tito Puente Complation I have ever heard. It captures the Master Timbalero at his prime. The remastered CD is awsome and never sounded better. It is a must for Tito Puente Fans

Very good compilation. If you are a fan of Tito Puente or a fan of Latin Music, now better known as Salsa, you can't go wrong with this two, 40 track CD set. Sony/Legacy has done a good job with their Essential series. I'm a fan of 'the old school' Latin Music, such as Tito Rodriguez, Joe Cuba, Willie Colon, etc. and not so much into the experimentation Tito Puente did with main street jazz or Latin Jazz. This compilation has some of that but not enough to turn me against it. It has a good balance of all that Tito did throughout his long and distinguished career. A good mix of all instrumental, vocals, mambos and Jazz/Latin Jazz. And who can complain when you have the original "Oye Como Va", and "Ran Kan Kan". If you are a lover of Latin Music as I am, then you must add this to your collection. It will one day be a collectors item for sure. I have many of Tito Puente's older recordings and this is one of the better ones. The remastered sound is great. You can't go wrong...Read more

This is not a complete set by any means but as the title says, it is essential in order to grasp the enduring career of Tito Puente if you are not familiar with his music or are just starting out. Its two discs cover a career by giving a sampling of his work from all periods, and of course featuring the popular favorites which may have drawn people to start to listen in the first place. I highly recommend this set for the individual who has no Tito Puente but would like a small collection of some of his best works. The sound quality is great and the songs are superb. Just TRY not to dance when you play these discs!