Jungle Fire!

Absolutely sterling 1970 Latin funk set from timbales player Henry ‘Pucho’ Brown and his band, augmented by session drummer king Bernard Purdie providing an additional layer of rhythmic fire. The album is worth your time for their covers of Motown producer Norman Whitfield’s soul tunes Friendship Train and Got Myself A Good Man alone, which they reinterpret with congas, bongos, timbales and a huge, brassy swagger. In fact, three of the five tracks here are Norman Whitfield covers, with Pucho also including an urgent, percussion-heavy version of The Temptation’s Cloud 9. With only five tracks, it’s short and sweet, finishing way before it overstays its welcome; Jungle Fire is at times jubilant and full of life, at times slinky and sultry and a quality listen from start to finish.