Shall We Dance?

Release Date: October 12, 2004

Not your typical salsa album, but mainly a ballroom dancer's album that every dancer might appreciate. My favourite tune from this album was "Santa Maria by GoTan Project". You know the scene, where Jennifer Lopez and Richard Gere test his skills at Tango - Electronica Style. They did a wonderful job putting that scene together and that song was perfect for an upbeat interpretation.

Click here to listen to the soundtrack.

1. Sway - Pussycat Dolls
2. Santa Maria - GoTan Project
3. Happy Feet
4. Espana Cani
5. I Wanna (Shall We Dance) - Gizelle D'Cole/Pilar Montenegro
6. Perfidia
7. Under The Bridges Of Paris
8. Moon Rivfer
9. Andalucia
10. Book Of Love, The - Peter Gabriel
11. L Train, The
12. I Could Have Danced All Night - Jamie Cullum
13. Wonderland - Rachel Fuller
14. Shall We Dance
15. Let's Dance - Mya



Oasis
Ricky Gonzalez

Release Date: Summer, 2004

Once again, not your typical salsa album, but I got hooked by the track "La Paga" which is a mix of salsa and reggaeton and very danceable in a funky-salsa sort of way.

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Ya Era Tiempo 4:42 Quisiera Ser 4:53 Es Mi Nueva York 5:10 La Paga 5:01 Quisqueya Tiene Salsa 4:54 Timbalero 5:01 Pair Of Aces 5:39 What You Won't Do For Love 4:48 La Puerta / To Be With You 5:56 Mi Rumba Es Candela 8:17

Ray Viera, Herman Olivera, José Alberto "El Canario," Jimmy Sabater, Frankie Vazquez Vocals, güiro, coro George Delgado Congas & bongos Luis Quintero, Daniel Antonetti, Orestes Vilato Timbales Rubén Rodriguez, Abiud "Humpy" Troche, Pucho Matos, Carlos Henriquez Bass Ricky Gonzalez Piano & keyboards, vibes, vocals, coro, miscl. Percussion Raul Agraz Trumpets & flugelhorn Pablo Santaella, José Davila Trombones Vincent Velez Baritone sax Frankie Vazquez, William Duval, Doctor DF, Ricky Gee, Julie Acosta, Steven Oquendo, Lugo Coro Marc Quiñones Timbales Pete Nater Trumpet Angel Fernandez Trumpets & flugelhorn Carl Corwin Tenor sax, flute Johnanna Castañeda, Crystal Torres Coro Eric Velez Congas Andy Abad Guitars FR3$CO Rap vocals Ray Colon Bongos Johnny Pacheco, Dave Valentin Flute Ray Barretto Conga

Cassava

Release Date: Summer, 2004

Cassava is a group of Latin musicians based in Toronto since 1997 who perform musical styles and rhythms from many areas of Latin America. The music reflects the colour and flavor of Latin styles such as Salsa, Bolero and Cha-cha-cha from Cuba, Bossa Nova and Samba from Brazil, Cumbia from Colombia and contemporary Latin-Jazz.

1. Cassava 2. Mi Vecina 3. El Baile del Ripia'ito 4. Conga de Ayer 5. Estrellita 6. Fiesta Cubana 7. Que Sera Lo Que Tiene 8. Padeciendote 9. Rumba de Toronto 10. Mi Camino 11. A Mi Tierra 12. Conga Carnaval

Alberto, Alberto, Lead Vocals/Back-Up Vocals Adisleydis Rodriguez-Adis, Lead/Back-Up Vocals Rosendo Leon-Chendy, Drums, Timbales, Congas, Bongo, Campana, Quinto, Cajon, Bombo, Guiro Orlando Cardoso, Piano Alexis Baro, Trumpets & Flugelhorn Ruddy Bolanos, Bass Fredy Suarez, Bass Rodrigo Chavez, Director, Congas, Cajon, Percussion

Blended
Cache

Release Date: 2004

In the summer of 2004, Lula in conjunction with Con Cache, one of the more popular Toronto salsa bands came out with their first CD in Toronto. This is probably one of the favourite bands of the Toronto dancers, and it's a great CD to appeal to all genres of Latin dancers. But if you're a hard-core fan of their upbeat, faster salsa music sets -- you will find very few songs on this CD.

Sácala A Bailar Chacache Gente Loca With You (Contigo) Sueños Lola Mi Amor Se Fue Ponte En La Moda Ya Me Voy Delta Mambo Descarga Cache

Afro-Cuban All Stars/Gonzalez: Felix Baloy, Manuel "Puntillita" Licea, Teresita Garcia-Caturla, Luis Frank Arias (vocals, percussion); Polo Tamayo (flute); Raul Gutierrez (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Yaure Muniz, Daniel "El Gordo" Ramos, Yanko Pisaco (trumpet); Alberto "Molote" Martinez, Antonio Leal (trombone); Dave Alfaro (piano); Ricardo Munoz (bass guitar); Rolando "El Nino Mentira" Salgado (congas); Ricardo "Tica" Martinez (bongos); Amadito Valdes (timbales); Juan De Marcos Gonzalez, Gliceria Abreu (percussion).

Live in Japan (CD & DVD)
Afro-Cuban All Stars

Release Date: June 22, 2004

Full performer name: Afro-Cuban All Stars/Juan De Marcos Gonzalez.
Afro-Cuban All Stars/Gonzalez: Felix Baloy, Manuel "Puntillita" Licea, Teresita Garcia-Caturla, Luis Frank Arias (vocals, percussion); Polo Tamayo (flute); Raul Gutierrez (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Yaure Muniz, Daniel "El Gordo" Ramos, Yanko Pisaco (trumpet); Alberto "Molote" Martinez, Antonio Leal (trombone); Dave Alfaro (piano); Ricardo Munoz (bass guitar); Rolando "El Nino Mentira" Salgado (congas); Ricardo "Tica" Martinez (bongos); Amadito Valdes (timbales); Juan De Marcos Gonzalez, Gliceria Abreu (percussion).

Click here to listen to the soundtrack.

DISC 1
1. Tanga - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
2. Distinto, Diferente - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
3. Amor Verdadero - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
4. Habana Del Este - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
5. Cada Vez Que Te Veo - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
6. Los Sitio Asere - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
7. Reconciliacion - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
8. El Canallon - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
9. El Son De Baloy - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
10. Los Tamalitos De Olga - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
11. Maria Caracoles - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)
12. Chan Chan - (with Juan De Marcos Gonzalez)



Havana Nights Soundtrack

Release Date: February 17, 2004

Although the movie itself from a salsa dancer's perspective was a bit of a disappointment set in 1958 Cuba, just before the revolution -- it was fun seeing a few salsa dancers featured in the movie, such as Rudy Zalez from LA and a dancer from Puerto Rico.

Most of the music on this soundtrack was not your typical salsa music CD, but a mix of different styles of Latin Music which is great to listen to in the car or at home when you're tired of listening to Salsa.

Click here to listen to the soundtrack.

1. Dance Like This - Wyclef Jean/Claudette Ortiz
2. Dirty Dancing - Black Eyed Peas
3. Guajira (I Love U 2 Much) - Yerba Buena
4. Can I Walk By - Jazze Pha/Monica
5. Satellite - Santana/Jorge Moreno (from "Havana Nights")
6. El Beso Del Final - Christina Aguilera
7. Represent, Cuba - Orishas/Heather Headley
8. Do You Only Wanna Dance - Mya
9. You Send Me - Shawn Kane
10. El Estuche - Aterciopelados
11. Do You Only Wanna Dance - Julio Daviel Big Band
12. Satellite - Santana/Jorge Moreno (Spanish Version, from "Havana Nights")

Diva Platinum Edition
Ivy Queen

Release Date: January 27, 2004

Here was a nice surprise... I normally am not a fan of reggaeton as it's just not salsa... but when I heard this album it actually made my feet want to move, and has become a great alternative to salsa music, and great to houseclean to... After listening to this album, I can see why this artist is catching fire in the latin world.

Click here to listen to the soundtrack.

1. Intro Ivy Queen 2. Papi Te Quiero 3. Guillaera 4. Drama 5. Tuya Soy 6. Besame 7. Me Acostumbre 8. Alerta 9. Babe 10. Sangre 11. Tu No Puedes

12. Money Making - (featuring Japanese & Gran Omar) 13. Venganza 14. Bounce 15. Subelo 16. Bailame 17. Dile Que Ya 18. Babe - (remix) 19. Papi Te Quiero - (remix) 20. Quiero Saber 21. Tu No Puedes - (remix) 22. Quiero Bailar

La Revancha Del Tango
GoTan Project

Release Date: April 8, 2003

Here was another interesting dance surprise... after watching "Shall We Dance" and listening to this song, "Santa Maria"... it grabbed me from the first note... and made me want to go back and learn more Tango...

Click here to listen to the soundtrack.

DISC 1 1. Queremos Paz 2. Epoca 3. Chunga's Revenge 4. Triptico 5. Santa Maria (Del Buen Ayre) 6. Una Musica Brutal 7. El Capitalismo Foraneo 8. Last Tango In Paris 9. La Del Ruso 10. Vuelvo Al Sur

DISC 2 1. Triptico - (Peter Kruder mix) 2. Santa Maria - (Tom Middleton's Cosmos mix) 3. El Capitalismo Foraneo - (Antipop Consortium mix) 4. Santa Maria - (Pepe Bradock mix)

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