Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass-Greatest Hits (1970)

Herb Alpert is one of the most legendary trumpeters in Latin jazz and other related styles, having composed some of the world's most recognizable melodies, such as the iconic "A Taste of Honey" (winner of several Grammy Awards), "Lemon Tree", "The Lonely Bull", and "Whipped Cream", among many others. As a young man, Alpert distinguished himself as a trumpeter in the U.S. Army, and after his military service, he became known, along with Lou Adler, as a renowned composer for other great artists of the late 1950s, such as Sam Cooke and Jan & Dean. After founding the famous A&M Records label with Jerry Moss in the early 1960s (the initials are derived from their surnames), Alpert began his own solo career. It was under his own record label that Alpert achieved meteoric success with his inseparable band, The Tijuana Brass. His clear Latin musical influences, seasoned with jazz, led him to be considered one of the leading figures of Latin sounds in the United States, and bands like Chicago Transit Authority and Blood, Sweat & Tears soon adopted his style, blending it with rock. With a career spanning nearly a hundred albums, Alpert's music has been used in countless TV series, films, and commercials, making him one of the most successful artists worldwide, with record sales exceeding 70 million copies globally.

Chick Corea-Return To Forever (1972)

Return to Forever's debut album (though technically a Chick Corea solo project) is a masterpiece of jazz fusion. Its iconic cover art transports us to the distinctive sounds of Corea's Fender Rhodes electric piano, accompanied on this occasion by Joe Farrell's vibrant flute and talented saxophone, Airto Moreira's Latin touch, Flora Purim's warm Latin American sensibility, and Stanley Clarke's understated yet effective double bass. The title track is a musical odyssey, navigating between warmth and mystery, melancholy and disquietness, while maintaining an excellent melody that allows the music to flow effortlessly. In contrast to this title track are "Crystal Silence" and "What Games Shall We Play Today?", two easy-listening pieces featuring Flora Purim's superb vocals. To finish the album comes the epic "Sometime Ago/La Fiesta", a huge 23-minute canvas that accommodates everything from Latin sounds, jazz fusion or melancholic features full of charm to traditional Spanish music, all without ever losing the connection between all those sounds and all those different musical environments.

Return To Forever-Musicmagic (1977)

1977 saw the release of Return to Forever's final jazz-rock album, a work recorded after the departure of guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White, leaving only Chick Corea (keyboards) and Stanley Clarke (bass) as the band's founding members. For this album, the duo enlisted drummer Gary Brown and keyboardist/vocalist Gayle Moran, along with a large horn section. At the time, the album had its share of detractors for lacking RTF's usual jazz-rock punch, but despite the absence of a prominent guitarist, it still contains some good moments leaning towards jazz fusion. From the very beginning, the general feeling is that they are returning to the Latin jazz fusion of their early work, but as the minutes pass, that feeling gradually fades into the more conventional sounds of jazz fusion. Although the music here is also less ambitious, tracks like "The Endless Night", "The Musician" and "So Long Mickey Mouse" keep the creative bar quite high, even though this is undoubtedly one of RTF's least distinguished and appreciated releases by jazz rock/fusion fans.

Return To Forever-Light As A Feather (1972)

A year before reforming Return to Forever, adding an electric guitarist (Bill Connors) and venturing into the realm of powerful jazz rock, frontman Chick Corea was immersed in refined jazz fusion with clear Brazilian and Latin influences. Following his debut album recorded for the ECM label, Corea released the elegant "Light as a Feather" with Brazilian singer Flora Purim, drummer Airto Moreira, saxophonist Joe Farrell, and bassist Stanley Clarke. On this second recording, this lineup offers a warm setlist of island and Latin sounds, featuring the versatile "Captain Marvel", the epic "Spain", the classic "500 Miles High", the jazzy samba "You're Everything", and the bossa nova "Light As A Father". From this point on, only Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke would remain in Return to Forever for the next stage of the band, and yet the one that would record this "Light As A Feather" is undoubtedly responsible for one of the best jazz fusion albums of all time.

Stan Getz & João Gilberto-Getz/Gilberto (1964)

In 1964, saxophonist Stan Getz's album with Brazilian guitarist and singer João Gilberto became a landmark, sparking a bossa nova craze in the United States and much of the world. A native of Pennsylvania, Getz's early work was associated with bebop, influenced by the subtle and refined style of the legendary Lester Young. Amidst the vibrant Los Angeles jazz scene of the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s, Getz collaborated with prominent jazz icons such as Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Horace Silver, Oscar Peterson, and Charlie Parker. Having firmly established himself within the West Coast Jazz scene, Getz built a formidable reputation thanks to his numerous collaborations and his own albums, such as "Stan Getz Plays" (1952), "Diz and Getz" with Dizzy Gillespie (1955), and "Stan Getz and the Cool Sounds" (1957), among many others. In the early 1960s, Getz recorded several bossa nova albums with Charlie Byrd, and years later, his partnership with Antônio Carlos Jobim proved crucial. Together with the then-promising João Gilberto, they recorded one of the most famous jazz albums of all time. "Getz/Gilberto" features not only Jobim and Gilberto, but also Milton Banana, Astrud Gilberto, and Sebastião Neto, who together create an exquisite exploration of the tranquil and delicate sounds of bossa nova. This combination of Getz's silky saxophone riffs and the smooth guitar strums is truly remarkable. Gilberto's and Astrud Gilberto's delicate voice are reflected in the mythical song "The Girl From Ipanema", undoubtedly the most popular of such an iconic and fundamental album.

Charlie Byrd-Brazilian Byrd, Music Of Antonio Carlos Jobim (1965)

Charlie Byrd is one of the legendary jazz guitarists who, throughout his long career, explored countless styles ranging from bossa nova and Latin jazz to swing. In 1965, he conquered the charts and the hearts of millions around the world with one of his most emblematic works, "Brazilian Byrd", a collection of immortal songs by the Brazilian artist Antonio Carlos Jobim. Iconic tracks such as "Jazz 'n' Samba (Só Danço Samba)", "Corcovado", "Samba Do Avião (Jet Song)", "The Girl from Ipanema", and "Dindi" are beautifully framed by captivating arrangements courtesy of Tommy Newson. In all of them, the sound of jazz in the style of bossa nova and lounge music is brilliantly layered with a dreamy trumpet, Byrd's melodic guitar, and the accompaniment of a string, brass, and wind orchestra.

Santana-Amigos (1976)

In the mid-seventies, Carlos Santana was determined to move away from the jazz-rock and fusion elements of his early albums and delve into more mainstream sounds. This trend was already evident on his seventh studio album, "Amigos", released in 1976, where the guitarist offered a blend of Latin rock, funk, soul, and R&B. Here, percussion once again takes center stage, the instrumentals are simpler with a solid rock foundation, and his guitar is more prominent than on his two previous albums ("Welcome" and "Borboletta"). Most of the vocal tracks showcase this new musical direction toward more commercial appeal. Retaining some of the pillars of his band, such as Armando Peraza, Greg Walker, Leon Chancler, David Brown, and Tom Coster, this release features several of his best-known compositions, including the instrumental "Europa (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile)", with one of his most memorable solos, and the Latin-infused "Dance, Sister Dance". Among the rest, the funky tracks "Let Me" and "Tell Me, Are You Tired" stand out, as well as the jazz rock "Take Me With You", the latter clearly in tune with the 1970 album "Abraxas", the flamenco-Latin feel of "Gitano", and the elaborate jazz-based funk "Let It Shine".

Carlos Santana & John McLaughlin-Love Devotion Surrender (1973)

In the early 1970s, Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin showed great interest in the Eastern philosophy of Guru Sri Chinmoy, and both musicians incorporated this philosophy into their albums: Santana's "Caravanserai" and "Abraxas", and McLaughlin's Mashavishnu Orchestra's "Inner Mountain Flame" and "Birds of Fire". In 1973, the two guitarists joined forces to pay tribute to John Coltrane through the hypnotic sounds of free jazz and jazz fusion. Each contributed musicians from their respective bands to the recording, including Armando Peraza, Michael Shrieve, and Doug Rauch from Santana's band, and Billy Cobham, Jan Hammer, and Larry Young from the Mashavishnu Orchestra. An album brimming with exquisite passages, such as the opening track "A Love Supreme", which, with its distinct Latin jazz style, showcases McLaughlin's virtuosic guitar work adorned by a prominent organ. In the following track, "The Life Divine", Carlos Santana lends his divine guitar to a fusion piece with psychedelic undertones. Both, despite their undeniable quality, pale in comparison to the legendary "Let Us Go Into The House Of the Lord", an epic display of virtuosity from the guitarists and the rest of the musicians. The album concludes with the meditative and measured "Mediation", which brings to a close one of the masterpieces of jazz fusion.