Pressed on 180-gram vinyl, the remastered album includes such classic tracks as “Revolt/La libertad logico,” “Comparsa de los locos,” and “Vámonos pa’l monte”
Craft Latino honors the legendary late bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri with a reissue of his 1971 masterpiece, Vámonos pa’l monte. A landmark title in both the Latin jazz and salsa canons, the album features such timeless tracks as “Revolt/La libertad logico,” “Comparsa de los locos” and “Vámonos pa’l monte,” and boasts an all-star line-up, including Charlie Palmieri, Nicky Marrero, Ronnie Cuber and Alfredo “Chocolate” Armenteros.
Long-out-of-print, Vámonos pa’l monte returns to its original format on March 20th, with pre-orders live today and featuring all-analog (AAA) mastering from the original tapes. The album is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and housed in a replica of its original Tico Records jacket. Palmieri fans can also find a limited-edition “Barro & Humo” (Clay & Smoke) color pressing (only 300 copies), as a stand-alone or bundled with a collectible Tico Records T-shirt, exclusively via Fania.com. Fans can also enjoy the remastered album in both standard and HD digital audio available now on digital music platforms.
Multiple GRAMMY® Award–winning bandleader, composer, arranger and pianist Eddie Palmieri (1936–2025) was a larger-than-life musical figure. Known for his percussive, highly physical piano technique and his innovative blend of Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz, Palmieri was a pivotal force in shaping the sound of Latin music.
Born in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, Palmieri grew up in a musical family, including his older brother, the esteemed pianist and bandleader Charlie Palmieri. After cutting his chops as a sideman in Tito Rodríguez’s popular orchestra, Palmieri assembled a band of his own, Conjunto La Perfecta. Over the next nine years, La Perfecta established the jazz-forward “Palmieri Sound” and released a series of hit records. By the end of the decade, however, the dynamic bandleader was eager to expand the scope of his work and began assembling smaller, one-off groups for individual albums, including Justicia (1969), Superimposition (1970) and—as the creative culmination of this era—Vámonos pa’l monte.
A pivotal title in progressive salsa—a subgenre Palmieri was integral to shaping— Vámonos pa’l monte remains a crown jewel in the artist’s catalog. For several years, the bandleader had been experimenting with instrumentation, incorporating sonic elements that were typically unconventional in salsa. Vámonos pa’l monte is no exception, as Palmieri wove in a baritone saxophone (played by Ronnie Cuber), a traditional jazz drum kit (Nicky Marrero), an organ (Charlie Palmieri) and an electric piano, played by the bandleader himself. A host of more typical salsa instrumentation was also employed, performed by such talented musicians as Alfredo Armenteros (trumpet), Jose Rodriguez (trombone) and Eladio Perez (conga), while former La Perfecta singer Ismael Quintana served as vocalist.
The album finds Palmieri weaving together a diverse array of musical styles, from Latin jazz and funky fusion to salsa, descarga, boogaloo, charanga and guaguancó. His unique arrangements, meanwhile, use instrumentation to underscore the socio-political messages of his songs—particularly in the avant-garde opener “Revolt/Libertad lógico,” an anthem for freedom. In liner notes for an earlier edition of the album, Dr. Gregory “Goyo” Pappas notes that “Palmieri’s use of the snare drum was purposeful, emulating a machine gun. What’s more, the driving electric character and aggressive tone of the music is proof of a nonconformist stance.” Throughout the album, it is also notable that layers of horns are incorporated into the rhythm section, creating a distinctive sound that was uncommon in salsa at the time.
Other highlights include the joyful “Comparsa de los locos,” in which Palmieri draws inspiration from Cuban carnaval groups. The hypnotic, seven-minute “Vámonos pa’l monte”—featuring an epic keyboard conversation between the Palmieri brothers—invites Latinos from the city to attend a party in the rural mountains. Quintana, who not only sings on the track but co-wrote it, once explained, “The lyrics were about trying to cope with the injustices in the world. It meant, let’s get out of this crazy mess and so much negativity that we live in, and let’s go to the mountains.”
Today, Vamonos pa’l monte remains one of the most highly regarded albums in Latin music—celebrated over the years for its stylistic fusion, outstanding musicianship and high-level production. Praising the album in a recent roundup of Palmieri’s essential recordings, the New York Times called Vámonos pa’l monte a “visceral masterpiece” and a “strikingly engineered recording that captures the echoes of live performance…[it] is electric and eccentric at once.” JazzTimes hailed its “worldly swagger and an urgency unleavened by the album’s psychedelic escapism,” while AllMusic added, “Vamonos Pa’l Monte benefits from one of the best recording jobs of any early-’70s salsa record, each section—and practically each musician—vigorously separated with clear stereo.”
Palmieri, who passed away in August 2025, left behind a formidable legacy, including more than 40 albums as a leader. Praised by the New York Times as “one of the great musical masterminds of the 20th century—not to mention one of its fieriest performers,” the bandleader was long celebrated for his contributions to Latin music. Among other honors, he was an eight-time Grammy winner—earning the first-ever award for Best Latin Recording in 1975 (for The Sun of Latin Music)—and received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 Latin Grammys. That same year, he was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master—the highest distinction in the United States for jazz artists.
Click here to pre-order Vamonos pa’l monte.
Click here to find the exclusive bundle including the “Barro & Humo” (Clay & Smoke) limited-edition color vinyl with a collectible Tico Records T-shirt.
Vámonos Pa’l Monte tracklist:
Side A
1. Revolt/La Libertad Lógico
2. Caminando
3. Vámonos Pa’l Monte
Side B
1. Viejo Socarron
2. Yo No Se
3. Comparsa De Los Locos
About Fania:
Highly influential, both musically and culturally, Fania Records spread the sound of salsa music from the clubs of New York City to the rest of the world and became a revered global brand in the process. Fania’s master recording catalog is the definitive home for genres such as Latin big band, Afro-Cuban jazz, boogaloo, salsa and Latin Soul, and includes artistic giants such as Celia Cruz, Willie Colón, Héctor Lavoe and Rubén Blades. With the creation of the international supergroup known as the Fania All-Stars, the label’s signature musical style became known as the “Fania Sound.” Fania’s rich master catalog also includes the Pete Rodriguez’s boogaloo classic “I Like It Like That” which was sampled by Cardi B in her #1 hit “I Like It.” Additionally, three Fania Recordings, Celia & Johnny by Celia Cruz and Johnny Pacheco, Azucar Pa’ Ti by Eddie Palmieri and Live at Yankee Stadium by the Fania All-Stars, appear in the National Recording Registry, a list of sound recordings that “are culturally, historically or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States.” For more info, visit Fania.com and follow on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.
About Craft Latino:
Craft Latino is home to one of the largest and most prestigious collections of Latin music master recordings and compositions in the world. Its rich and storied repertoire includes legendary artists such as Antonio Aguilar, Joan Sebastian, Pepe Aguilar, Celia Cruz, Héctor Lavoe, Willie Colón, Ray Barretto, La Lupe, Ruben Blades and the Fania All Stars, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Musart, Fania, TH,
Craft Latino is the Latin repertoire arm of Craft Recordings, the catalog label team for Concord. For more info, visit CraftRecordings.com.
Author Profile
- I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!
Latest entries
