Eddie Palmieri - Lucumi, Macumba, Voodoo (1978) [Reissue 1995]

A late-'70s offering (originally on Epic), this LP has moments of real brilliance. The title track, for instance, is a nice long jammer and lets Palmieri show off his talent for unique arrangements. It doesn't hurt, of course, that players like his brother Charlie and stratospheric trumpeter Jon Faddis are in the mix. Most of the record, however, is marred by a disco-leaning production style that saw fit to introduce chanting strings and lots of singers making "oo, oo, oo" noises. The final effect is less than one would expect from this eclectic Latin master and more of what one would find as incidental music from an episode of Adam-12.