Pucho and his Latin Soul Brothers -

Date: 1969
Release: Prestige #7765
Cover Art: view / download
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I was first exposed to the irresistible music of Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers in the mid 1990s, when he was in the midst of his UK inspired resurgence. But it wasn’t a British DJ that turned me on to Pucho, it was my old friend Steve. Steve and I had a strangely competitive friendship, built around a mutual love of music. Our dysfunctional dynamic led us on an out of control CD buying spree, a musical arms race of sorts, with both of us vying to accumulate more wonderfully obscure music than the other…more music, that is, than either of us could afford or digest. This irresponsible form of male bonding through competitive consumption was a direct by-product of our short-lived second adolescence, courtesy of the University of California, where we had found a temporary reprieve from the working world to live high on the hog of student loans (me) and parental largess (‘shaking the money tree,’ as Steve put it). But instead of hitting the books, we spent hours of our not so free time scouring the used record bins, each trying to surpass the other.

One week I’d nudge ahead with the discovery of a gem like Charles Wright and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, but then Steve would catch up with something like Pucho & His Latin Soul Brothers. He was too good. I could never win. Steve and I eventually went our separate ways. I built this web site and continued to spend my time (and net worth) locked in an endless search for the next great record. I think he wound up liquidating most of his collection. Oh well. But let’s step back a moment to give thanks and appreciation where it is surely due. This Pucho review would not exist without the help of my friend’s discerning ears. PERIOD.

What neither of us knew at the time was just how important and influential this seemingly obscure Pucho guy really was. Harlem-born and bred, Henry “Pucho” Brown was one of the most imaginative musicians to ever merge black and Latin styles, a key player in the soulful, jazzified, and all-around funky movement known as the Latin boogaloo. Between 1966 and 1969, he and his band released eight fiery albums on the Prestige label, culminating with 1969′s seminal psychedelic soul offering, Jungle Fire.

Blessed with a formidable gathering of Soul Brothers, the album features pianist and composer Neal Creaque, versatile guitar master Billy Butler, funky rhythm king Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, along with a supporting cast of lesser known but highly inspired players. Under Pucho’s steady hand, the band blazes through the real meat of the record…the three extended covers of songs written by Motown legends Norman Whitfield & Barrett Strong and originally recorded by Gladys Knight & The Pips and the Temptations: “The Friendship Train,” “I Finally Got Myself A Good Man,” and “Cloud 9.” Pucho transforms these classic songs, dropping the vocals and expanding upon their molten musical core of catchy hooks, fuzz & wah tinged guitar, pulsing bass, and earth shattering drum breaks. It’s heady stuff.

Give the album a spin, and soon you’ll find that riding inside a Pucho groove is a bit like flying on Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon—it might never launch into warp speed, but you’re guaranteed one hell of a ride. Three decades after they were recorded, Pucho’s Whitfield/Strong repertoire gained the distinction of being some of the most savored and oft-sampled staples of the British acid-jazz movement. While a lot of fine music was inspired by Pucho (and Whitfield/Strong for that matter), my suggestion is skip today’s middle men and go directly to the source. Jungle Fire is the Latin funk motherload.

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