Bobby Valentin

One of the better compilations of Bobby Valentin's work, La Herencia culls the best from Valentin's extensive recordings with Fania. The wealth of talent boggles the mind -- Valentin worked with a revolving cast of excellent singers -- and the sheer velocity of the vocal improvs, petulant horn parts and syncopated percussion will have you shaking your pum-pum wherever and whenever the spirit takes you. (Trust us, it will be often.) But this music engages your head as much as your rump, and the combo makes it an unstoppable document of one of salsa's great bandleaders.