Harlequin's double-CD
Mambo Jambo holds volumes seven and eight in the label's ten-part survey covering the early recordings of
Edmundo Ros, who for decades was England's perennially popular Latin American bandleader. When these recordings were made (they straddle a time line running between June 1949 and December 1950),
Ros was riding a crest of popularity that had risen steadily since he started making records in 1941. During the postwar period, his little rhumba band expanded to become a full-fledged dance orchestra. This collection contains enough excellent dance and mood music to balance out its many pop-oriented vocal tracks. For sheer atmosphere, try "Coimbra," "Venezia," "High in Sierra," or the
Ros arrangement of
Ravel's "Bolero." For dancing there are multiple mambos to choose from, and "Congo" (which sounds a lot like "Baia"), "Gandinga," and "Mondongo" are among the most exciting grooves on this collection. Much of the pop repertoire which really took hold in the
Ros band book in the mid-‘40s was directed at English and North American audiences, and this emphasis would continue unabated throughout the rest of his career. Examples in this set range from fairly dignified romantic airs ("Wonderful Illusion") to exercises in Tin Pan Alley formula like "Beguine Without a Name" and the "Yankee Doodle Samba." The
Ros approach to issues of ethnicity was entirely in step with the conventions of the British and American entertainment industries. "(I Fell in Love with Her) High Cheek Bones" is all about "exotic" femininity, as is "If I Can't Hav-Ana in Cuba," which belongs in the same category with
Johnny Mercer's "Weekend of a Private Secretary."
Ros, who wasn't exactly squeamish about ethnic novelties, also chose to interpret undignified caricature ditties with titles like "Mexican Merry-Go-Round," "The Chilly Chiquita from Chile," "Have a Jug of Wine with Pancho," and "Who Shot the Hole in My Sombrero?" For the curious, note that the "Samba Polka" is surprisingly solid, "Gimpel Baynish Rumba" was named after a street musician who played the flute, and "Hora Samba" will be recognizable as "Hava Nagila."