Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

The first in-depth historical, musical, and cultural look at the career and influence of the king of Latin music.

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

CHOICE Review

In this reverential portrait, Loza takes a prismatic approach to Puente--a major percussionist, arranger, and band leader in Latin music since the 1940s--using verbatim transcripts of interviews, musical transcriptions of Puente arrangements, song lyrics, and album covers. But despite including a helpful biographical sketch, some rewarding interview material, and a Puente discography, Loza seems principally concerned with ensuring that Puente "ranks with the Ellingtons and the Beethovens" and with making a case for a National Heritage Award for Puente. The penultimate chapter, "Identity, Nationalism, and the Aesthetics of Latin Music," argues that Puerto Rican adoption of Cuban idioms reflects "intercultural compatibility" rather than a "contraction" of nationalism, as scholar Peter Manuel has claimed. In the concluding chapter, "The King and I," Loza ponders the metaphysics of Puente's music: "Puente's music is godlike, as is Augustine's city"--a claim that highlights the book's failure to achieve critical distance from its subject, whom Loza consistently and deferentially treats as "El Rey" (the king). For comprehensive collections serving undergraduates and graduate students, this volume complements more objective, general works on Latin popular music by Vernon Boggs (Salsiology, CH, Oct'92) and John Storm Roberts (Latin Jazz, CH, Nov'99). G. Averill; New York University