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We close today’s program with a tribute to the late Joe Cuba — and his trademark boogaloo sound. This song — Bang, Bang — put Joe Cuba and his boogaloo beat on the map in 1960′s. It’s a combo of the Latin sounds he heard growing up in Spanish Harlem AND the rhythm and blues and bebop music that flowed out of the jazz clubs in New York City.

Joe Cuba’s real name was Gilberto Navarro. His parents were Puerto Rican. He got the name Joe Cuba from a concert promoter and went on to lead his own band — the Joe Cuba Sextet. Here they are performing a bolero called “It’s Love.”

“It’s Love” is part of a new compilation that commemorates the music of the late Joe Cuba.

The CD box set is called Joe Cuba: El Alcalde Del Barrio — the Mayor of the Barrio.