COCINANDO by MARTIN LOPEZ Y SU ESTRELLAS

Cocinando is one of the great lost LPs from Peru. In fact, it is one of the more rare releases from the prolific Discos MAG. Its style encompasses the many different tropical styles that were popular in Latin America in the late 1960s and early �70s. Martin Lopez was at the helm, and he hand-picked only the top musicians to play on his recordings. However, the amazing musicians that frequented the MAG studios could also be tapped for session recording as needed.This record is a scorcher, and is in many ways a true piece of Peruvian musical history. This LP introduced the name of Martin Lopez to the ever-growing tropical music lexicon of the Peruvian public. He would later go on to form Grupo Naranja, which would become very famous for playing cumbia (and later on, salsa). During the time period this LP was recorded, Martin Lopez was living a double life. During daytime hours, he was a police officer known to his colleagues as Pedro, but when night fell, he took on the name Martin, donning aviator sunglasses, which would obscure his face while performing live music. Playing music as a police officer was considered unethical and borderline illegal at the time, and he would later lose his job over this. This LP boasts liner notes written by Martin Lopez himself, as well as tons of very rare photos, and music is taken directly from the original master tapes and remastered in 24 bit/96 kHz for the ultimate sound experience.