Edmundo Ros, England's Cugat

The only major exponent of Latinate music in England, England's former colonies, and most of Europe, Edmundo Ros enjoyed tremendous if not exactly deserved success. With a near monopoly on record sales and fans for several decades, he proved that at least one bandleader could perform Latinate music. But the the cost was his having to ditch his early authenticism in favor of the comfortable dance-band mainstream. The enduring supposition that Ros adequately represents the world of Latin music really indicates Europe's dismaying lack of exposure to other Latin artists.

Ros' career paralleled that of Xavier Cugat in a great many ways, with notable exceptions: only Ros began his career in the military, recorded steadily for just one label, and did little to develop other talent. (Cugat brought out many top singers and players.) Otherwise, the legacy of the Venezuelan-born Edmundo Ros in London, presiding over his own swinging club and television show in the 1960s, has much in common with the Spanish-born Cugat (reigning over New York's Waldorf-Astoria).

Born Decemebr 7, 1910 in Caracas, would-be lawyer Ros entered the Military College in Caracas; an English bandleader inspired his love of music (and civilian life). After working his way up to playing typani with the Venezuelan State Symphony, Ros came to London in 1937. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music by day and played the Cochran Revue nights. He even played jazz drums for Fats Waller. In 1940 he formed his own sextet, which played London's Cocoanut Grove and the Bagatelle Restaurant in Mayfair. From 1941 he was a BBC staple, featured regularly on the "Home and Light" show and broadcasts from the Gold Slipper Club.

Before long, Ros discovered that to reach a wider audience he would have to adapt Latin music to something more familiar. Whereas Cugat had achieved tremendous, original milestones in Latin fusion, Ros tended just to arrange standards so that rhythm never competed with melody. His pop instincts were acute. The Ros band was a favorite of Princess Margaret, and Queen Elizabeth dancing publicly for the first time at a Ros performance. Subsequently the King and Queen invited him to play at Windsor.

Decca/London reissued Ros' 1940s and early 1950s singles on 10" and then 12" LPs. As the long-playing record transformed into a high-fidelity and then a stereo monster, the maestros and their labels seemed to have difficulty adjusting to changes, both in recording standards and resulting changes in tastes. It was not until the early 1960s era of audiophile, multi-channel stereo recording that Ros and Cugat again hit their stride. The new sound level, coupled with by now widespread familiarity with both Latin and Brasilian rhythms, meant that every old standard could be rearranged in many different ways.

In the London Phase 4 albums, Ros' style and sound is remarkably consistent over the span of decades. Facility with the samba and even calypso distinguish him. Somehow he manages to mix samba and Mexican standards in the same album, over and over again. Although known as Britain's chief arranger and exponent of Brasilian and Latin-American rhythms, Ros is at his most engaging when singing in his own plaintive voice. It must be the singing that makes him one of the hippest Latin dance-orchestra leaders.

Buying: Best are the early 10" LPs (and 12" reissues of same) as well as his last LPs. A scant few of the Phase 4 LPs are good; most of the middle is middling, except calypso.