Latin Funk

Because the urban salsa explosion of the '70s took place in New York, many of its artists were directly influenced by the soul and R&B records of the time. From Tito Puente and Willie Colón to Joe Bataan and Ray Barretto, a number of notable salseros recorded bewitching sessions of Latin funk.

During most of the '90s, a wave of adventurous Brazilian artists such as Ivete Sangalo and Daniela Mercury pioneered the commercially successful axé by blending funk and reggae with the percussion heavy idioms of Brazil. Funk elements are also present in songs by tropicália pioneer Caetano Veloso and the inimitable pop-rock collective Karnak.

Few Latin outfits embraced the funky bass lines of American R&B with such gusto as Síntesis, a progressive rock outfit from Cuba that updated the island's venerable rumba beats with a healthy serving of funk. New millennium rock en españolbands like Plastilina Mosh and Si*Se have also experienced their share of funky moments.

From the early '70s until this very day, the fleshy sounds of American funk have infatuated generations of Latin musicians. Established maestros like Mongo Santamaría incorporated funk undertones to their tropical stew, whereas younger outfits such as Illya Kuryaki and the Valderramas recorded jam sessions inspired directly by Bootsy Collins. In Brazil, the genre of axé fused funk with batucada drums. All aspects of funk and R&B-influenced Latin music are explored in this list.