Two volumes of Percussion Espanol by guitarist Al Caiola were issued in 1960 by Time Records, whose early releases were designed to showcase the emerging medium of stereo. This was most often accomplished by the generous (and sometimes excessive) use of percussion that often "ping-ponged" between the left and right channels.
As one of the early issuers of genuine stereophonic LPs, Time competed with labels like Audio Fidelity and producer Enoch Light's Command Records.
The two Percussion Espanol albums (Vol. 1 is shown above) came out around the time that Caiola was enjoying chart success with the western themes Bonanza and The Magnificent Seven, both of which were recorded for United Artists. The guitarist stayed with that label until the end of the 1960s.
Percussion Espanol contains some pretty decent Latin big band arrangements by Caiola, who orchestrated the tunes recorded at sessions in New York on May 16 and 17, 1960. Most of the tunes are extremely short, however, no doubt in an effort to encourage airplay. Tico, Tico, for instance, runs just 1:50.
The MP3 is from the vinyl LP.
Tico, Tico
Neither of the Percussion Espanol albums has been issued on CD, but both volumes are available as downloads from most of the major sources. These are being marketed by a rejuvenated Time Records label and are very good quality for a compressed file.
Another sample from the first volume is below.
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