Looking for a soundtrack for your next summer party? Putumayo’s Salsa! is the perfect choice. The whole album pulses with irresistible energy, with heat waves rising off each track.

The infectious, hip-shaking “Volver, Volver” kicks off the CD—the track is performed by Grupo Gale, one of Colombia’s favorite salsa bands. “Son al Son” is a little sweeter and more sensual thanks to its use of the flute and the violin. Jose Conde’s engaging voice is the draw on the off-beat “Ay Que Rico.” Horns pervade the album, but they are used most effectively on “Ay Valeria!” from Congo-born performer Ricardo Lemvo and his band Makina Loca.

Bottom line: This album will have you sweating more than the summer sun. Play it safe and keep a pitcher of mojitos close at hand!

Putumayo’s recent release Brazilian Cafe is sweet and light—perfect music for a Sunday morning. The album starts quietly, lazing around in bed for the first few tracks. It gradually wakes up, and, by the end, the album has had a cup of coffee or two—leaving you bright and shiny and ready for the day.

Standouts:

“Outro Lugar” by Toco. There is a bit more instrumentation on this track than some of the others, and it makes for a more interesting listen. Strings bring us into the song, adding a bit of drama. Piano and horns had depth and heart.

“Viajei” by Katia B. This track is on the sexy side, with a more pronounced pop vibe. It incorporates some electronica—slightly reminescent of the UK group Olive.

“Forca da Imaginacao” by Arranco de Varsovia. Multiple singers perform on this track, creating lovely harmonies and a bigger sound. The song is joyous and ends with some a capella vocals.

Commuters run up and down the escalators of the Foggy Bottom Metro station in Washington, D.C.—women in suits and sneakers, men with briefcases and security badges.  Twenty feet to the left of the subway entrance is a little piece of solitude. Sweet, soaring notes perfume the air, created by three small, dark men from the mountains of Bolivia. Amidst the morning rush, the music this trio makes is sweet enough to charm even the most hard-boiled State Department official.

The musicians—Julio Cazon, Beto Cabrera, and Angel Penaranda—are collectively called Itumiray, which is Quechuan for “fascination.” They play Bolivian folk music, the ancient music of the indigenous Andean peoples.

 

Andean folk music flourished under the Incan empire, but its woodwind and percussion instruments can be traced even further back, to pre-Colombian times.  Two of these woodwinds—the zampona, a bamboo pan flute, and the quena, a flute with shape similar to the recorder—provide the music’s signature lilting, quavering sound.

Click here to see a clip of an Itumiray performance.

The structure of traditional Andean melodies is simple, based on a pentatonic, or five-note, scale.  Itumiray starts with this basic arrangement and builds upon it, adding layers to the music and complicating it, while still maintaining the traditional heart of the sound.  Guitarist Beto Cabrera’s influences include American rock and jazz, and he brings these flavors to Itumiray’s music.  The band’s leader, Julio Cazon, is a master of the quena and the zampona, crafting each instrument he plays with his own hands.

If you can’t make it to D.C. to see Itumiray in person, check out their website. You can listen to their music, learn more about the band, and purchase their CDs.