13. Machito - Kenya (1957)

1. Wild Jungle
2. Congo Mulence
3. Kenya
4. Oyeme
5. Holiday
6. Cannonology
7. Frenzy
8. Blues A La Machito
9. Conversation
10. Tin Tin Deo
11. Minor Rama
12. Tururato

Afro-Cuban jazz returns yet again to haunt us on this album! This album seems to fit in the category of exotica, which was a set of jazzy lounge music meant to evoke faraway locales such as the beaches of the Pacific islands, or perhaps the jungles of "darkest Africa" like this album.Of course, these albums usually had very little to do with the actual music coming from those countries, and more to do with what white people thought they sounded like, but that's actually part of the charm!

This album is a sort of blend of swing music with a bit of Latin flair and African rhythms (read: lots and lots of congas). Unlike Palo Congo, reviewed earlier on this list, this album is rather conventional, focusing more on the jazzy arrangements than the frenzied spiritual rituals of the former. While I found the Santeria rituals (or whatever they are) to be a bit tiring, on this album I found the arrangements also a bit much (there's just no pleasing some people!). While the album starts off strong with such great frantic numbers like 'Wild Jungle' and 'Congo Mulence', it tends to drag in the middle as the songs get a bit slower. And by that part of the album, you've more or less gotten the point. I seem to have a talent for finding monotony in even the most fascinating of music! 7/10