El Hijo de Teresa

It's fitting that Jimmy Sabater open an album dedicated to his mother with a number like "La Flauta." It's a nimble, flute-led salsa mover evoking, in the fashion of Peter and the Wolf, spring and Mother's Day and all the tender emotional intimacy portrayed on the cover. Crossover pop material like "Now That You've Gone" and "Wichita Lineman" works pretty well, though the straight-ahead funk instrumental "Kool It (Here Comes the Fuzz)" blows away the competition. Best of all are the more traditional salsa or charanga numbers like "Por Primera Vez," "Vida," and "Dona Teresa," all three of which Mrs. Sabater must've approved of heartily. Fortunately, the liner notes make it clear that the closing song -- "Sufre Como Yo Sufri" or "Suffer As I Have Suffered" -- is the only song not dedicated to his mother, but "an ungrateful love."