Xavier Cugat And His Orchestra Xavier Cugat's Best Album (LP, Japan)

(Mercury) 14 tracks, with loose bag and obi

Rumba king Xavier Cugat was an important ambassador for the music of Latin America. The Spanish-born violinist and arranger moved to New York with his family at the age of 15 and for a time accompanied tenor Enrico Caruso in recitals. In the 1920s, Cugat led the band at the Cocoanut Grove, a Los Angeles club where Charlie Chaplin, among others, danced the tango. In 1931, he and his bandmates traveled to New York for the opening of the Waldorf Astoria hotel, where he was engaged for the next 16 years.