180g Vinyl LP Reissue Cut from the Original Analog Masters by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio

In 1964, a young musician from the Dominican Republic by the name of Johnny Pacheco teamed up with ambitious Italian-American lawyer Jerry Masucci for the creation of a record label in New York. Named Fania, the brand-new company captured the sheer excitement of Afro-Caribbean music as it was just beginning to incorporate elements of soul, R&B and jazz into a vibrant sonic stew known as salsa. Fania grew in sales and scope at a rapid pace, documenting the New York Salsa Explosion of the '70s and establishing itself as the Latin equivalent of Motown. Its catalogue of masterpieces from the '60s, '70s and '80s remains one of the most prodigious bodies of work in all of Latin music. In October 2019, Craft Recordings unveils the first batch of vinyl reissues to be released since the Fania catalogue was acquired by Concord in 2018.

Released in 1970, Alma Con Alma is a relatively obscure LP – one of a handful of masterpieces that Tito Puente and Celia Cruz recorded together between the late '60s and the early '70s. In later decades, both artists would remember these releases as some of the best work of their careers, lamenting the fact that poor promotion at the time caused these excellent albums to go virtually unnoticed. But the inspiration is certainly there, as demonstrated by the exotic strains of "Sahara" – with a solemn Celia chanting about the desert – and the exuberant energy of "Salsa de Tomate," where Puente's brass section and syncopated percussion are placed at the service of Celia's powerhouse vocals.

Cut from the original analog masters by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, this reissue is pressed on 180-gram vinyl LP with the original artwork faithfully replicated on a classic tip-on record jacket.

Features:
• 180-gram vinyl LP reissue from Craft Recordings
• Cut from the original analog masters by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio
• Original artwork replicated and printed on a classic tip-on jacket