Super review by Cal Gibson, of The Secret Soul Society and Scruffy Soul Recordings.

Teetering, we’re teetering, teetering right on the edge of winter as autumnal nights start to get serious. The darkness limbering up, getting ready to spread some careworn winter blues. The time of year, then, when you begin to need a little something to keep you going, a little bit of sunshine peeking through the gloom. A little hope to see you home. Thanks and praise then to Jazz Room’s don dada of the jazzual dance-floor, Paul Murphy, for digging out this rather wonderful slice of long lost boogaloo. Produced by Eddie Drennon, who hit the big time in the mid-70s with Let`s Do The Latin Hustle, Tata Vasquez and his Orchestra are in full-on throwdown mode for seven solar energy-filled Latin bangers. Put the needle anywhere on the record and you’ll land on a sinuous groove. Try the good time cha-cha-cha of Cool Breeze for starters: all about the horns of course, as the percussion carries the groove. Rolling, rolling, rolling on to the dancefloor with a cheeky grin and a twist or twelve of the hips.

Suite Guaracho Part 2 stretches out into almost six minutes of loose-jointed goodness. This cut was previously picked up by the Compost guys in the 2000s and has remained a secret weapon ever since. Watch out as it drops into a 4/4 for the last two minutes – only serious jazz dancers need apply. 

El Loco keeps the pressure pumped: crazy for life, the vocalists cry, as the beats ramp back up, the horns igniting the dance-floor fire. This is pure summer in a bottle. Forget the grey skies, forget the crap, forget everything except its hypnotic sway. Tata and his crew have you covered. 

Jazz Room is one of those rare labels that you can pretty much purchase on sight – driven by the head honcho’s encyclopedic knowledge, you’re guaranteed a boxful of fireworks whenever you lay out your hard-earned cash.

The closer, Orgullo Y Vanidad (Pride and Vanity) is seven more minutes of vamps and tramps, booga and looga – its utterly irresistible stuff. When Tata says dance, hombre, you dance. 

Tata Vasquez And His Orchestra`s Ecstasy is released today on Paul Murphy`s Jazz Room.