Review - The Rough Guide to Salsa de Puerto Rico

The immigrant enclaves in New York that spawned salsa made the music such a vital part of American city life in the '60s and '70s that too often people refer to any Latin jazz as "salsa." Of course that's not true, but the Afro-Caribbean stylistic stew that created salsa (as well as the influence of '50s jazz orchestras) can be confusing. The 13 songs here, help clarify things. Recent recordings by giants like Eddie Palmieri demonstrate the timelessness of the style, while permutations from the likes of Plena Libre show it's still possible to update it. A nice introduction to a misunderstood genre.