Eddie Palmieri Is Doin' It in the Park (Original Soundtrack)

Doin’ It in the Park—a 2012 award-winning documentary film directed by Bobbito Garcia and Kevin Couliau—looks at the history and lore of pick-up basketball in New York City. The soundtrack album, which features salsa giant Eddie Palmieri, moves back and forth between spoken word and music tracks with great aplomb. The brief and humorous opener, “Too Much Dribbling, Yo!,” brims with competitive challenges and group whoops, nicely setting the mood. Then Ronnie Cuber’s husky baritone saxophone sounds out delightfully squiggly lines on “Coast to Coast.” “More Moves” captures court chatter, while “Locked In” spotlights vibraphonist Joe Locke, who lets loose dazzling runs. The braggadocio of “Last Name Net, First Name All” gives way to the head-nodding beats of “Give the Drummer Some,” which finds Obed Calvaire on solo trap kit. “Jibarito y Su Son” is the album’s centerpiece, where Palmieri incorporates baroque-like piano figures into his statement. Anthony Alonso’s fired-up performance of the poem “Respect the Architects” leads into the hypnotic interlocking percussion of “Bata 2nd and 3rd Movement” before Corky Ortiz expresses “Mucho Love” for basketball.