***Stag-O-Lee inaugurates its Journey to the Centre of the Song series, dedicated to celebrating one song at a time in its many guises and interpretations, with Taboo. The classic "Tabu" was written by Margarita Lecuona (also responsible for "Babalu," a classic as well), a cousin of the famous Cuban composer and pianist Ernesto Lecuona. "Tabú" (also recorded as "Tabou," "Tabu," and "Taboo") is a jazz and popular music standard that was first recorded by Cuarteto Machín in 1934 and later made popular by the Lecuona Cuban Boys (included here) and others. The aforementioned guises and interpretations span genres, represented here by Charles Blackwell Orchestra's upbeat surfstrumental shaker, the brassy exotic tones of Tito Rivera & His Cuban Orchestra, the Cumbian island sounds of Cyril Diaz & His Orchestra,Sylvie Mora's silky-smooth popcorn rendition, and versions by The Shangaans, Caterina Valente, and Frankie Trumbauer's Orchestra. Completing the record is Arthur Lyman's crazy voodoo lounge version that evokes visions of palm trees and sun-drenched white sand. Sit back and enter the intoxicating world of... "Taboo."