Chakachas

The Chakachas earned their chief reputation through the suggestive funk staple "Jungle Fever," yet the act consisted solely of studio musicians operating out of Belgium. Gaston Boogaerts handled arranging duties and guided the ensemble, which first surfaced in the early 1960s with lighthearted blends of Latin rhythms, jazz phrasing, and European-flavored exotica. When Polydor issued the album Jungle Fever stateside in 1972, the musicians had already shifted their approach toward a denser funk pulse. Its title track, a gritty stop-start instrumental laced with labored breathing and climactic female vocalizations, climbed into the American Top Ten and remained the outfit's sole U.S. hit. Because the number reached dance floors more readily than broadcast outlets, it maintained currency through the disco era and later supplied frequent source material for hip-hop producers. Details beyond that period prove elusive, though reports indicate the same circle, or at least overlapping members, issued recordings under the name El Chicles and supplied backing for vocalist Nico Gomez, who contributed one composition to Jungle Fever. After the hit single broke, the core musicians recruited the New York Latin ensemble Barrio to stand in for them on an American concert run.