Publisher: AJ Records Release date: 2001 Artist: Pedro Guzmán Catalog #: 71033712062 (?) Discs: 1

Overview

Pedro Guzmán's band from Puerto Rico brings us their jazzy renditions of 10 classic theme songs. Not surprisingly, the only two songs from video games are from the Super Mario series.

A fan of Latin/Jazz music himself, Koji Kondo's musical compositions for the Mario series lend themselves well to the stylings of Pedro Guzmán. In "Super Mario World" (track #4), Mr. Guzmán treats us to an excellent medley from, that's right, Super Mario World. The near-six-minute medley includes the overworld theme, castle theme, and the credits theme, all parts segueing seamlessly into the next.

The other Mario-related track is number eight: "Super Mario Brothers." The band focuses mostly on the SMB main theme (of course), but switches gears a couple of times for short takes on the underground theme. The surprise here is an original solo based on the main theme, which starts at 1:38 and lasts almost a minute and a half.

One last interesting thing to note: On the back cover, twice Koji Kondo is credited for the Mario tunes, and twice his name is misspelled as "Konji Kondo."

If you're interested in purchasing "Alma de Niño" online, we've found only one site: ComboRecords.com. Just choose "Pedro Guzman" from the "Select an artist" drop-down menu, then click the "Search" button next to it.

Track list

1. Spiderman
2. Bewitched
3. I Love You
4. Super Mario World (5:57) [MP3 sample]
5. Under the Sea
6. Pink Panther
7. Flinstones [sic]
8. Super Mario Brothers (5:05) [MP3 sample]
9. I Dream of Jeannie
10. Mary Had a Little Lamb