Rumba Blues Vol. 3

Africa and Latin America have moulded American popular music since the beginning of the twentieth century. African influences initially led to the development of jazz, gospel and blues, whose rhythms have been shaped by successive waves of dance music from Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Jamaica. Every American musical genre from Broadway stage, Hollywood film, Tin Pan Alley pop and even country music has been affected to some degree. The first two volumes of Rhythm & Blues Records’ Rumba Blues series covered the years 1940 – 53, and this third collection compiles Latin-influenced tracks from 1956-58; ten of them are rumbas and the rest are mainly boleros, cascaras and cha-cha-chas, but perhaps the most interesting development is the re-emergence of the Charleston. It’s a fascinating insight into the evolution of a vibrant and important strand of popular music.