Fania All Stars

The brainchild of Dominican flutist/producer Johnny Pacheco, the Fania All-Stars were the culmination of Pacheco's successful record label and promotion of the salsa phenomenon in the 1970s. The All-Stars were formed at first as a promotional vehicle for several artists on the label, but eventually lead to sell-out concert tours around the globe.

Pacheco had founded his Fania label in 1964, and under the leadership of lawyer/producer Jerry Massucci the salsa phenomenon of the '70s began to blossom. Much of the label's success surrounded the recording of live performances, and as the concept for the All-Stars evolved, this proved to be the winning combination as audiences were treated to exciting and unabridged performances by some of the genre's best artists. A number of the All-Stars' performance recordings were jam sessions, and enthusiastic crowds were treated to lengthy and inspired solos as they danced relentlessly to the music.

The group was a who's who of salsa's best musicians and vocalists, and was known for selling-out huge concert venues including Madison Square Garden as well as one of their biggest of all at Yankee Stadium. Fania All-Stars also toured the European jazz festival circuit, and made historic appearances in Africa. Among the All-Stars were Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Ismael Miranda, Cheo Feliciano, Hector Lavoe, Larry Harlow, Yomo Toro, Ray Barretto, Sal Cuevas, Nicky Marrero, Bobby Rodríguez, Roberto Roena and many others. Among the group's notable recordings are the 1971 Live at the Cheetah sessions, which would go on to spawn the seminal 1972 salsa documentary Our Latin Thing. —Rebeca Mauleon