This is a great album. The first two songs are instant jazz classics. I can't decide which one I like better. Right now, it's the second one but it changes almost every time I put the cd on!

This album is the culmination of Paquito D'Rivera's career until now. I have always been a hug fan of Paquito, his alto style is very unique. He has so many recordings under his belt, it is difficult to keep track of them all. For this album I believe he won a Grammy? It is well-deserved for a man who has been devoted to jazz and latin music for his entire life. And the thing is that he never gets older. He surrounds himself with great musicians, young and old, and he still plays with the same fire and intensity as 20 years ago. This man is a great example to the current generation of musicians. Bravo!

The Cuban saxman/clarinetist still has enough room to say what needs to be said.

He is is such a compelling improviser and his latest album "Funk Tango" is another prove of his skills.

D'Rivera approaches tango from an instrumental jazz perspective, making his way to Buenos Aires by way of a grooved-up rhythm section.

This is jazz with both Afro-Cuban and Brazilian jazz and bebop, but it's jazz first and foremost.

The most obvious stylistic debt is unsurprisingly owed to Astor Piazzolla's "Milonga 10".

Here he is joined by pianists Alon Yavnai, Ed Simon and Fernando Otero, electric bassist Oscar Stagnaro, drummer Mark Walker and trumpeter Diego Urcola.

What is most impressive about this beguiling and intensely listenable album is the ease and naturalness with which D'Rivera and his quintet fit into the proceedings.

Paquito's soprano contribution to the slow-burning "Revirado", for instance, is simply sublime, his tone pure and keening, taking jazz in with tango rhythms to great effect, proving again just how adaptable and powerful a player he is.

Paquito and friends continue to mine a wonderfully rich seam of music, and his choice and use of 'jazz' partners on this attractive album has paid rich dividends : a Grammy !

I saw Paquito D'Rivera's quintet in concert at Madison, Wisconsin last night, November 17, 2007. I completely enjoyed the performance and I recollect that all the selections played except one (To Brenda my love from Tico Tico) came from this recording. All the players in the quintet were virtuosos. But the performance succeeded because of the good balance of structure and improvisation. The ensemble playing was well-executed. Nice melodies.
This recording, which I had not heard until the drive home after the show, is even better than the live performance as it greatly benefits from the contributions of some invited players, specifically the conguero and the bandoneon.
After the concert, more than 100 people lined up for Paquito's autograph on their disc. I thought it was a fine show and that sentiment appeared to be universal. I look forward to seeing this group again.