Following in the tradition of
Joe Cuba,
the New Swing Sextet helped to establish the vibraphone sextet as a new, viable voice in the New York salsa scene. With more complex, open arrangements and solos than Cuba, as their name would imply,
the New Swing Sextet set out to bring their ideas to jazz audiences as well as their Latino fan base. The intelligent piano stylings of Yeyo Salgado, who for talent and innovation could have been the next
Palmieri, are way ahead of the pack. Lead vocalist Pete Ortiz has a smoky, weathered timbre that harkens to Puerto Rican greats such as
Ismael Rivera. His confident, effortless improvisation gives this otherwise quite jazz-oriented outfit all the street cred necessary. Their third record for the Cotique label,
Swingin' Along could have found a place in history were it released by a more stable outfit. There are few groups from Cotique's roster that survived the label's life span, including
the New Swing Sextet. Their short-lived success was not for want of musical prowess or discriminating taste, both of which abound on
Swingin' Along. Latin jazz certainly could've profited from more albums of a similar stripe. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez