suite and LP stands as a watershed set of compositions for Johnny Richards' career and an outstanding commercial/artistic achievement for the Kenton orchestra, and a singular landmark in large ensemble Latin jazz recordings.

[4] Before the first notes of Recuerdos and Fuego Cubano where recorded on May 22, 1956, Kenton and his orchestra had been on a two-month tour of Europe (set sail back from Cherbourg, France to New York on May 10) with only having looked at "El Congo Valiente" beforehand.

[7] Along with the addition of Thompson, jazz musicians including Carl Fontana, Lennie Niehaus, Sam Noto, and Mel Lewis are prominent in solo spots adding to the status of the dates.

sessions (and previous tour) serve as positive credits in the dispelling of myth about Kenton having racist tendencies towards the hiring of sidemen.

[8][9] While the mellophoniums helped to bridge the sonic gap in the middle range between trombones and trumpet, they were volatile in terms of tuning and reliability (even with the best players).

[13] In 1960 Kenton also has the instrumentation of the sax section changed to alto/tenor/tenor/baritone/baritone or bass saxophone creating a much more robust lower end to the band.

The sax section make-up would stay the same until the band disbanded after Kenton's passing in the late 1970s (mellophoniums were discarded by the middle 1960s).

The initial September 1960 sessions function to work through the orchestration and sonic problems presented by such a wide variety and number of instruments being recorded live in the studio.

The Billboard Magazine sales tracking reported considerable commercial success during the period of release of the original LP issue.

[17] Stuart Broomer described the album as "admirable" and highlighted the "excellent solo contributions" and the "extraordinary precision and energy" by the musicians.

[19] In contrast, Jack Fuller writing for the Chicago Tribune considered the album "bombastic and tame", comparing the music to that of popular bandleader Xavier Cugat.