by Jason AnkenyRecorded live at the 1971 Montreux Jazz Festival, the blistering Mongo at Montreux captures Mongo Santamaria in the absolute prime of his career, embracing all facets of his expansive musical vision for a set that is far more than the sum of its parts. Spanning from soulful Latin boogaloo grooves like Come Candela to psychedelic jazz renditions of pop hits like the Temptations' Cloud Nine to straight-up funk excursions like Climax, Mongo at Montreux is relentlessly energetic music genetically engineered for dancing -- most impressive of all is Conversation in Drums, a virtual primer in Latin percussion.