Louis García is a truly one of the heavyweights from the Puerto Rican music scene. His arrangements have been featured on countless albums, a credit that is sometimes more important to the buyer in this genre than the identity of the musicians playing his charts. García is also an instrumentalist and has been featured on guitar, keyboards, and bass as well as traditional instruments from his country such as the cuarto and mezcla, the latter sounding more like something someone might drink too much of at a party. Festivities of all kinds have been a happy home for García's music. Along with colleagues such as the arranger Ray Santos, he was crucial to the rise of the salsa style in the early '80s. García also helped lead the way in terms of collaborations with musical neighbors in Cuba, resulting in mucho great music. Highlights of the hombre's discography, selected from titles as numerous as black beans in a bowl, include productions with Lalo Rodríguez and Ismael Miranda. García has even contributed to the Christmas music genre with his tune El Julepe, cut for a seasonal salsa side by Tito Rojas. He should not be confused with the early jazz trumpeter Louis King Garcia, who among other activities led his own Latin band. ~ Eugene Chadbourne, Rovi