Legends Of Acid Jazz: The Best Of Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers has always been my favorite title in Prestige's Legends series. Percussionist and bandleader Pucho Brown was (and remains) the master of "Latin boogaloo," a big-band party blender of grooving instrumental soul, Latin, funk and jazz. Drawn from five of the seven Prestige albums Brown recorded with his original Latin Soul Brothers during the 1966-1970 heyday of instrumental funk, Best Of Pucho is the perfect musical pick-me-up.

Brown sets sail on Herbie Hancock's timeless "Maiden Voyage" with percussive, dancing dance rhythms led by brass that seems to lend the melody human voice. But don't enter for well-considered jazz. Rip into such frothy jams as "Psychedelic Pucho," with a percussion/bass breakdown that builds up momentum to launch Brown's earth-rattling timbales solo, and the band's theme song, "Swamp People," driven to howling by frantic percussion.

"Got Myself a Good Man" stirs jazz pressure cookers Bernard Purdie (drums) and Billy Butler (guitar) into Pucho's Latin soul stew. Purdie lays down the rhythmic foundation by rocking his drums to sound as big as a boogaloo house and Butler leaps in with a sinewy solo that cuts the groove to the bone. Purdie and Butler are each the respective subjects of their own Legends Of Acid Jazz set, which we'll also explore as part of this year's 60th anniversary Prestige celebration.

Acid Jazz: Best Of Pucho always sounds like the way you feel on a perfect sunny summer day.

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  Maiden Voyage

  Pucho And His Latin Soul Brothers, from Le ...

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  Superstition

  Pucho And His Latin Soul Brothers, from Th ...

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  Sex Machine

  Pucho And His Latin Soul Brothers, from Ri ...

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  Attica

  Bernard Purdie, from Legends Of Acid Jazz

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  The Thumb

  Billy Butler, from Night Life

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