Press Release :
Henri "Kiké" Guédon, French West Indian percussionist, has been playing for more than 40 years, ranging from Afro Cuban to Antillean and African styles. This album strictly highlights his earlier latin works of the late 60's and early 70's.

Henri "Kiké" Guédon was a pioneer in the 1960's latin scene in Paris in modernizing the conception of Cuban music, forgetting about old fashioned mambos and cha-cha-chas and bringing descargas, 60's guaguancos, guajiras and boogaloos straight from New York.

Largely inspired by the impact of Roberto Roena from Cortijo y su Combo, Mongo Santamaria, Tito Puente or Ray Barretto, Guédon first shocked French audiences in the 60's when he started putting drums in front of all other instruments on stage and playing them louder
(tracks 2 ; 6 ; 11 ; 15).
Henri "Kiké" Guédon gained international legitimacy as a bongo player by the mid-seventies after his latin fusion/ latin soul record Cosmozouk percussion was played in New York and Cuba radios (tracks 1 ; 5 ; 7 ; 10 ; 12 ; 14). Kiké had the rare privilege to record or tour with such masters as flutist Don Gonzalo Fernandez, trombonist Barry Rogers, percussionist Sabu Martinez, or arranger Marty Sheller, between so many others.
Nuyorican salsa got big in Paris by the mid seventies, Fania, Coco and Vaya records found wider markets within the French record business, and big latin stars such as Pacheco, Pete "El Conde" Rodriguez or Ray Barretto made it to Paris for live presentations.
Guédon managed to turn this shift to his advantage and get more public recognition by the early 80's when he was acclaimed as Paris salsa king. From then on, he recorded several albums for major recording companies and toured extensively in France until the late 1980's.
His salsa radio hit "Faut pas pousser" reissued here, was recorded in New York with the crème de la crème of the Big Apple's salsa stars : Alfredo de la Fé, Nicky Marrero, Felo Barrio, Sonny Bravo, Johnny Rodriguez Jr. (Tipica 73), etc.