Venezuelan band lead by trombonist, composer and arranger Porfi JimĂ©nez. Original pressing issued in 1972 in Venezuela on Philips. The later 1973 Columbian release was reissued again by Philips, but lesser pressing and sound quality than the original Venezuelan pressing….~
A great deal of my latin funk, cumbia, and salsa records have covers similar to these two sleeves for Parilla Caliente (Spicy Barbecue in english). This style of cover art immediately catches your eye when flipping through crates of records, although the music can be hit and miss. This album however is definitely a hit, it’s a massive collection of latin funk gems that goes for quite a pretty penny among collectors.
The band was apparently led by accomplished Venezuelan salsa band leader Porfi Jiminez (Porfi backwards is Phirpo). Parilla Caliente is his primary funk effort and features various covers of popular songs from the time reworked with a distinct latin flavour. The intro to the album is a blazing cover of Fela Kuti’s “Let’s Start” called “Comencemos”. Check it out below and if you ever spot some Porfi Jiminez records, or this LP in particular, then be sure to pick it up!