Grupo Irakere: Teatro Amadeo Roldan Recita LP

The third release in Mr Bongo's Cuban Classics series is the iconic 1974 debut album by the mighty Grupo Irakere. Led by Chucho Valdés, son of Cuban pianist and bandleader Bebo Valdés, the band would go on to become of the most influential and successful groups emanating from Cuba in this period. ‘Teatro Amadeo Roldan Recita’ is an in-demand and incredible Afro-Cuban, jazz-funk masterpiece originally landing on Cuba's state-owned imprint, Areito. The album is a varied bag of tricks, traversing moods, styles and genres whilst melding traditional rhythms with more contemporary mindsets. As debuts go, ‘Teatro Amadeo Roldan Recita‘ is about as good as it gets and gives a snapshot of Cuba in the mid 1970s, with a band that were destined for big things.