Latin music is big business now. Was it Gloria Estefan? The Buena Vista Social Club projects? Ricky Martin? Even Paul Simon and David Byrne have been drawn by the driving beats, sensuous rhythms and exotic interplay of guitars, horns, and congas. And the language, romantric and poetic, takes the listener to another world. Of course the Spanish speaking population has been digging these marvelous sounds for ever...the rest of the world is just catching up.

Cuban saxophonist Paquito D'Rivera moves from the more potent bebop influenced jazz he has played in the past to a smooth collection of tunes by Brazilian composers Luis Bonfa, Joao Donato and Caetano Veloso, as well as the ever-brilliant Antonio Carlos Jobim. The melifluous New York Voices join D'Rivera's combo to provide jazzy vocals within the mellow context of some very sexy music.

"Corcovado" kicks off the album. This Jobim classic has been recorded hundreds of times, by artists as varied as Andy Williams, and Phil Manzanera, from Frank Sinatra to Doris Day. D'Rivera's rendition is cool and relaxed. New York Voices blend seemlessly with the instrumentalists to carry the listener to a beach in Rio, the sun, the sand, and the sea. Aaahh! The music that follows is similar. The Voices are present on half a dozen of the tracks, while the remaining four cuts are instrumentals. D'Rivera is a creative soloist, a master of the alto sax (and not half bad on clarinet either)! His own compositions fill out the CD and are every bit as melodic and interesting as the Brazilian tunesmiths. His clarinet skills are showcased on another Jobim tune, "Retrato Em Branco E Preto" that is wandering, trilling, over a bossa nova groove, and also contains some exquisite choral work.

The other soloists maintain the same low profile, but quietly steal the show when given the space. Marty Ashby's guitar hits a nice groove on "Red On Red," a song written by trumpeter Claudio Rodito. Pianist Helio Alves takes a few short solos trading off with the fret-man on this cut. The album concludes with "Snow Samba," another vocal performance with lots of solid soloing from Rodito and Jay Ashby (trombone) and a brief drum solo by Paulo Braga. This live recording is wonderfully produced by Jay Ashby, creating altogether a beautiful tribute to this tropical music.

The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet takes a different approach on their new CD, LAGQ latin. While D'Rivera focuses on Brazil, the LAGQ transverses the globe, with stops in Cuba, Central America, Argentina, Spain and Brazil. Sting's Nicaraguan melody "Fragile" starts the programme. It is a showpiece for the Quartet's specialty...the guitar. These four musicians are masters of their craft. Just fingers on (nylon)wire and wood, but the melodies and subtle rhythms are hypnotic and soothing. If guitar music isn't your thing, then you might as well forget this album. If you are a guitar lover there is more than an hour of remarkable fretwork contained here.

Scott Tennant, William Kanengiser, Andrew York and John Dearman are the four member of this group and each one is a gifted player in his own right. Dearman plays everything from bluegrass to samba, flamenco to classical. Tennant is completing a recording of the complete guitar works of Joachin Rodrigo. York's solo CD Denouement was voted "Best Classical Album" of 1994 by the readers of Guitar Player magazine. Kaniengiser's interests lie in the music of the Old World and the Caribbean. Together they know just about everything there is to know about playing their instruments.

The repertoire includes new tunes by Cuban composer Eduardo Martin, Brazilian jazzman Egberto Gismonti's "Forrobodo," some Rodrigo, and two of three "Latin American Sketches" by Aaron Copland. Copland must have loved this music. His excitement is clear in a quote from the liner notes, "the tunes, the rhythms and temperament of the pieces are folksy...the music sizzles along." And the album does sizzle. It doesn't boil perhaps, but slowly cooks in its own oils, at first quietly then popping and jumping giving off its sweet aroma and filling the house with with the essence of Latin.

Latin music is everywhere. Was it Gloria Estefan, or Ry Cooder and his associates in Cuba, or was it Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias? Who cares what started it! When you have music as fulfilling as is found on these two albums, we can only add, "Viva la musica latino!"

[David Kidney]

Telarc Records also has a Web site.