North America

Gilberto Santa Rosa is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and sonero better known as “El Caballero de la Salsa” (The Gentleman of Salsa)

Gilberto Santa Rosa (born August 21, 1962) is a Puerto Rican singer, songwriter and also known as “El Caballero de la Salsa” from Carolina, Puerto Rico.

Growing up on the salsa music of the 50’s and 60’s, Rosa became interested in pursuing music during school, participating in her first concert in 1976 while still a tender teenager. After performing with the Mario Ortiz Orchestra.

Gilberto Santa Rosa ex-superior singer and sonero better known as "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa). — Gilberto Santa Rosa ex-superior singer and sonero better known as “El Caballero de la Salsa” (The Gentleman of Salsa).

Santa Rosa was recruited by La Grande Orchestra where she stayed for two years and met Elías López.

The 1980s brought a series of recordings for the singer with Orquesta Tommy Olivencia, El Gran Combo and the tribute album “Homenaje a Eddie Palmieri” with the Puerto Rican All Stars.

Gilberto Santa Rosa became a unique salsa improviser, walking the line between tropical and romantic styles of music, which contributed to his appreciation and popularity.

In 1986 Rosa signed with Combo Records and among others released the successful albums “Good Vibrations” featuring arrangements by Mario Ortiz, Ramon Sanchez and Tommy Villariny, “Keeping Cool! “and “De Amor y Salso”.

Due to the success of her fourth album entitled “Sala en Movimiento” released in 1989, Rosa signed with CBS Discos who could distribute her music internationally.

Teaming up with the young composer Omar Alfanno on the album “Punto de Vista” Rosa achieved consistent success with a series of hits including “Vivr sin Ella”, Perdoname” and De Cualquier”. The successor album “Perspectiva” released in 1991 was the Salsero’s biggest hit to date and included many of the same collaborators as its predecessor.

In 1990 Rosa was awarded the Billboard Lo Nuestro Award for Best Male Singer, recorded a live album at Carnegie Hall Theatre in New York, USA, the first tropical salsa artist to do so, and acted as Puerto Rican goodwill ambassador to Japan where he sang “De Cara al Viento” in Japanese.

Santa Rosa was recruited by La Grande Orchestra where she stayed for two years and met Elías López.

The singer generated a string of hits throughout the 1990s, always altering his particular sound and diversifying his music. From the orchestral “De Cara al Viento” (1994) and the energized “Esencia” (1996) to “De Corazón (1997) and “Expresión (1999).

At this point Rosa’s popularity and success had increased and the singer seemingly could do no wrong, with Rosa’s subsequent albums achieving both critical and commercial success, including 2002’s “Viceversa” which produced the hits “Por Más Que Intento” and “Un Montón de Estrellas”.

Santa Rosa ha sido honrada por Union City, New Jersey, USA con una llave de la ciudad y una estrella en su Paseo de la Fama, tiene el record de la mayor cantidad de álbumes número uno en la lista Billboard Tropical Albums, así como la mayor cantidad de nominaciones al Grammy por Mejor Salsa.

Canto y grabo varias producciones con el Maestro Mister “AFINQUE” Don Willie Rosario y ese fue el puente para grabar como solista.

En 1981, Gilberto Santa Rosa se unió a la banda Willie Rosario y su Orquesta, con la que grabó seis discos de larga duración. Su primera grabación se presentó en el álbum The Portrait Of a Salsa Man, en el sello Top Hits.

Canciones como “El Antifaz”, “La Mitad” y “El Condenado” se escuchan en la voz de Gilberto Santa Rosa, quien compartió la parte vocal con Tony Vega y Bobby Concepción en dicho álbum.

1982: Willie Rosario y su Orquesta graban el álbum Atízame el fogón para el sello Top Hits. Bobby Concepción, Tony Vega y Gilberto Santa Rosa participan como cantantes en este LP.

1983: El cantante santurcino participa en el álbum de Willie Rosario y su Orquesta, The Salsa Machine, en el sello Top Hits, de este álbum, canciones como “Amigo” y “Cuando Se Canta Bonito” son vocalizadas por Gilberto Santa Rosa.

Gilberto Santa Rosa (born August 21, 1962)

1984: Gilberto Santa Rosa comparte voz con Tony Vega en el álbum de Willie Rosario y su Orquesta llamado Nuevos Horizontes, publicado por Bronco Records, en ese álbum se grabó el tema “Lluvia”, uno de los primeros éxitos de nuestro caballero de la salsa. .

Willie Rosario celebrará 100 años de vida con un gran concierto en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico.

Para la celebración musical estará acompañado por sus amigos y colegas, Gilberto Santarosa y Tony Vega,

El legendario músico puertorriqueño Willie Rosario celebrará sus 100 años de vida en 2024 con un gran concierto en su tierra natal el próximo 27 de abril, junto a dos de los ilustres intérpretes que integraron su orquesta, Gilberto Santa Rosa y Tony Vega.

Willie Rosario celebrará 100 años de vida con un gran concierto en el Coliseo de Puerto Rico.

Source:

El Nuevo Dia

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Arranger, composer and pianist Carlos Ordiano

Carlos Ordiano is a talented arranger, pianist and composer who has given us the honor of talking to us and telling us a bit about his career.

Carlos was born in Southern California and was raised in a family of Latino parents who have always loved the music of their roots, which led the artist to be continuously exposed to these rhythms from an early age.

With a consolidated career, his specialty is Latin jazz piano and he has a long list of collaborations with big names in the California music industry.

This is arranger, composer and pianist Carlos Ordiano

Carlos’ beginnings in music

After thanking the invitation to this interview, Carlos told us a little bit about how his interest in music began since he was a child. He told us that no one in his family was engaged in music professionally, but one day an uncle of his gave him a toy piano when he was five years old.

He loved the gift so much he told his father he wanted to devote himself to music as a young child, which led him to hire a piano instructor for his son so that he could learn to play the instrument as soon as possible. The problem was that the child only learned by watching his instructor’s hands, so he never learned to read music. The day came when the teacher gave up and told Carlos’ father to find someone else, since he could do nothing for the boy.

After that disappointment, Carlos stopped playing for a year until he resumed his interest in music and again took piano lessons, obtaining much better results than the last time.

During his learning process, he played a little bit bass and trumpet, but no instrument ever became as important as the piano.

His brothers Ruben and Oscar were also taking music lessons in parallel and decided to follow the path of music like Carlos. Ruben is a bass player and Oscar is a guitarist.

When he was 19, he went to study recording engineering at Golden West College, but he found this career very boring, so he decided to learn to read and compose music, since he did not have much experience with these areas yet. This is how he started playing in a Latin jazz band in which he learned a lot more about music in general and got a lot of support from the band leader and, of course, from his parents.

Carlos Ordiano on stage — Carlos Ordiano performing live on stage

Groups

Carlos has participated in several groups from various genres and the first one was formed by him and his uncles when he was a child. The music they made consisted of cumbias and rancheras back then.

When he arrived at school, he began to focus his attention on Latin jazz, salsa, son montuno and other Latin genres, which led him to participate in groups based on these rhythms. In fact, he also began to be a replacement in several salsa groups when a member was missing. This is how he gained the experience he needed to work with other artists and orchestras in different areas.

Such is the case of the jazz-funk group Modern Time, with which he plays in a small Californian club every Wednesday and Sunday. From time to time, he also plays with his brother Rubén in Santa Ana and, on these occasions, they call themselves The Ordiano Brothers.

Another important group he became involved with was La Santa Cecilia. La Marisoul, their lead singer, had a big band project and wanted his friend Carlos to arrange some of their new songs, which gave a unique touch to the chords of each piece of music.

Carlos Ordiano and La Marisoul — La Marisoul from La Santa Cecilia performing with Carlos Ordiano

Santa Ana Community College

As for his time at Santa Ana Community College, Carlos confesses that he was not a very good student, since he had no interest in subjects such as English or mathematics. He was only interested in music and that is what he focused all his attention on. This caused him to take a long time to graduate and obtain the academic degree he was opting for.

After searching many institutes, he finally obtained a scholarship at Cal State Long Beach College thanks to which he studied things like orchestration for big bands and small groups. During his studies at this school, he only had to pay for parking and textbooks he needed. His stay at this school helped him create many important connections in the industry until finally graduating in 2010 and earning his bachelor’s degree in jazz piano.

To clinch the matter, Carlos has pointed out that the academic part is important to have more specialized vocabulary in music and build links with other colleagues, but at the end of the day, this is not necessary for a musician to be good. In fact, he said that many of the musicians he most admires do not have any formal academic training, so it is not strictly necessary to have a university degree in that field.

Los Van Van and their 50th Anniversary

North America / USA / New York

Los Van Van returns to Lehman Center Performing Arts to celebrate their 50th Anniversary

For this special concert the Cuban legendary orchestra will join with the most popular lead Los Van Van vocalists: Mario “Mayito” Rivera and Pedro Calvo

Date: Saturday, June 1^st

Show: 8:00PM

Cost: $50 – $100

Venue: 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West Bronx, New York 10468

Low cost onsite parking available for $5!

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts presents the return of Grammy-winning dance orchestra, Formell y Los Van Van, who bring direct from Cuba their blend of Afro-Cuban, disco and funk back to Lehman Center to celebrate their 50^th Anniversary on Saturday, June 1^st at 8PM.

Heralded as Cuba’s greatest dance orchestra known worldwide for their iconic live performances, Formell y Los Van Van features three of the late founder Juan Formell‘s children: Samuel Formell (Leader and Drummer/Timbalero) , Juan-Carlos Formell (Bassist) and the family’s youngest daughter, Vanessa Formell (lead vocalist).

BIO: Formell y Los Van Van, nicknamed the “Cuban Music Train,” is regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of 20^th century Cuban popular music. Founded in 1969 by Juan Formell when he was 27 years old, the band pioneered Songo, a hybrid rhythm that blended Cuba’s native folkloric son music with the go-go of the 1970s and has electrified dance floors in Havana for over forty-five years.

The band’s original members were: Juan Formell (bandleader, bass player, and songwriter), Cesar “Pupy” Pedroso (piano, songwriter), and Jose Luis “Changuito” Quintana (drums and timbales). Each one were music conservatory trained from a young age and were fascinated with the soul, go-go and disco music that dominated U.S. radio.

They named their dance band “Los Van Van” (which literally means “they go-go”) after the go-go fad, and pioneered the hybrid of son and go-go music – Songo – which can now be found throughout Latin jazz, pop, and world fusion.

And if the genius of Songo wasn’t enough, they also developed the complex rhythmic style that became known as Timba that was adapted by other bands in the ‘90s. Los Van Van soon became one of the best-known Cuban groups in the world, maintaining a loyal fan base throughout Latin America, Europe and Japan propelled by hits such as: “La Sandunguera,” “Anda, Ven y Muévete,” “Te Traigo” and “Yuya Martinez.”

In 1993, Changuito left the band and was replaced by Formell’s son Samuel who also proved to be an outstanding composer as evidenced by the song: “Te Pone La Cabeza Mala”, the title track of one of their best albums. Although American politics hindered their ability to break into the U.S. market, their popularity in the U.S. grew throughout the ’90s, and the band toured the U.S. for the first time in 1997, including a memorable concert at Lehman Center.

Two years later, Los Van Van was honored with the GRAMMY® Award for Best Salsa Performance for their fifteenth album, Llegó…Van Van — Van Van is Here and in 2013, the Latin Recording Academy awarded Juan Formell with a special Grammy for a Lifetime Achievement of Artistic Excellence.

With over 40 albums to their credit, Formell y Los Van Van’s 2015 album Homenaje A Juan Formell: La Fantasia, was 80% completed at the time of Juan Formell’s death in 2014 and was finished under the direction of his son Samuel with another son, Juan-Carlos Formell.

The album’s release on Reyes Records in December, 2014 was on the 45^th anniversary of the band’s founding and it features several of the band’s hit dance tracks refreshed with contemporary arrangements as well as many new songs including the widely popular: “Somos Diferentes”, “Todo se Acabó” and “La Moda”. Sony Music released it worldwide in 2016 and it earned a 2017 Grammy nomination for the Best Tropical Latin Album.

The group’s most recent album “Los Van Van son La Patria” is scheduled to be released on Cuba’s Engrem label later this summer.

BIO: Mario “Mayito” Rivera is nicknamed “El Poeta de La Rumba” for his ability to vocally interpret all forms of Cuban music in both modern and traditional styles with a colorful range that can be powerfully dynamic or tender and soft.

He was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, and has degrees from both the Escuela Nacional de Arte and the Instituto Superior de Arte. After college, he joined the band of Cuban singer Albita Rodríguez and played bass in Grupo Moncada.

From 1992 to 2011, Mayito was the characteristic voice and face of the extremely successful Cuban band, Los Van Van. He sang many of the band’s salsa hits, for which he was rewarded with a Latin GRAMMY® and two nominations.

Bio: Pedro “Pedrito” Calvo is a popular Cuban-born vocalist known for his charismatic and unique singing style which often includes clever word play and expressive rhythmic vocal sounds. Pedrito started his professional career singing with his father’s orchestra and years after with several Cuban orchestras including:

La Riviera, La Orquesta de Julio Valdés, and La Ritmo Oriental with hits such as: “Mi Socio Manolo” and “Aquí el que Manda es Mulé”. He was the most famous for his time (1974-2001) with Los Van Van, where he was part of the infamous lead singing trio of Los Van Van along with Mayito Rivera and Roberto Hernández.

Event Details:
www.LEHMANCENTER.org

Omar Negron and his song “Pruebame”

North America / USA/ Florida / Tampa

Omar Negron released his most recent Salsa single “Pruebame”

Enjoy the new hit of this Salsa Fina solist

Omar Negron, Salsa Romántica’s exponent, former singer of El Conjunto del Amor, Chaney and Willie Rosario and his Orchestra, launched their new tune “Pruébame” on March 5^th, 2019. This emblematic song by internationally renowned singer José José with arrangements by Victor Gamez was recorded between Venezuela and Paris Studios in Tampa, FL.

Omar Negron - Pruebame — Omar Negron – Pruebame

Genre: Salsa

Lyric by Rafael Pérez Botija

Arrangements by Victor Gamez

Release: 2019

Available:

https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/omarnegron6

El Tresero Moderno San Miguel Perez

Cuba is and will continue to be one of the main cradles of the best artists in Latin America and San Miguel Perez is one of those cases. The producer, composer and singer gave us an exclusive interview to talk about his musical beginnings, his history and what he is currently working on. Don’t miss it!

Tresero San Miguel — This is San Miguel Perez, ”El Tresero Moderno”

San Miguel, El Tresero Moderno

San Miguel is known in his country as ”El Tresero Moderno” (the modern tres player in English) due to the styles he uses when playing. He chose the Cuban tres as his main instrument because it is a very important icon in the music of his country and the one that most represents Cuba internationally,

His first contact with music occurred at the age of 10, when he began studying classical music, but adding the Cuban tres. He followed this same path throughout high school and university until he became part of some Cuban popular music groups such as Los Jóvenes Clásicos del Son and Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son.

Together with the latter group, he released the album ”Respeto Para Los Mayores”, which was very popular at the time. This success led them to collaborate with great orchestras such as Los Van Van, with whom they shared the stage sometimes.

On one occasion, one of the members of Los Van Van took the stage to jam with the guys of Adalberto Alvarez y Su Son, including San Miguel. Seeing the Cuban’s talent and style with the tres, he baptized him with the nickname ”El Tresero Moderno”. This nickname had to do with his playing and the influences that the artist brings to the instrument when making a solo.

San Miguel playing — San Miguel Perez playing the Cuban tres live

Cubadisco

San Miguel was twice awarded with the Cubadisco Award, one in 2011 in the category of Best Tresero and the other in 2013 in the category of Best Traditional Cuban Music. These recognitions were very important for the musician, as the award was the result of a previous contest, which was focused on the work of treseros, singers and pianists from all over Cuba.

The primary objective of this contest was to rescue Cuban music and give new talents a chance to make their art known. Adalberto Álvarez, Frank Fernández, and Mayito de Rivera were part of the contest’s presidency.

Given that San Miguel was one of the winning treseros, the Bis Music label released an album called ”Treseros de Cuba”, material in which the young man was included. This was the album which won the Cubadisco award in 2014.

After receiving both awards, Adalberto Álvarez met up with San Miguel to invite the Cubadisco winner to join his group. He took advantage of the departure of the former tresero in the group to invite him.

Los Angeles

San Miguel’s move to Los Angeles was due to a purely professional issue at first. He went to play with Adalberto Alvarez, Peruvian-American singer Cecilia Noël, her husband Colin Hay from Men At Work and other artists living in the United States. Due to this and other work proposals, he decided to stay in Tampa and, time later, to move to the city of Los Angeles and make it his permanent residence.

It should also be mentioned that many other artists have had to work other jobs outside of music in order to make ends meet, but fortunately this was not the case of San Miguel, who had the opportunity to work only in music and did not need to resort to other activities out of his passion. He has dedicated himself fully to playing, recording and producing music for the past 10 years.

San Miguel won the Cubadisco Award — San Miguel twice won the Cubadisco Award in his native country

Composition, production and singing

Regarding the areas of music in which he has specialized, San Miguel began by explaining that he made a good improvement in composition during the time he played with Los Jóvenes Clásicos del Son. He also learned to make arrangements based on traditional music, something in which the director of the group, Ernesto Reyes Palma, played a very important role.

Regarding production, the artist did not participate much in that area, but he eventually did in the United States. It is in this country that he officially started his career as a soloist, tresero and artist. Three years after arriving in Los Angeles, he produced a first album called ”Un Poquito de Amor” in collaboration with Cecilia Noël and Colin Hay in 2017, which was a great learning experience for him, as he was able to experiment and mix many seemingly disparate rhythms.

Other areas in which San Miguel would like to specialize are sound engineering and remastering, but he is working hard to do so.

Current projects

As for the current projects, he is currently promoting his single ”Besito Bon Bon”, which is the main song of his new album. In fact, San Miguel and his team are planning to give this same name to the whole album. On this occasion, he mixed electronic sounds with traditional Cuban music to give a much more modern rhythm to the traditional genres coming from the island. The album has nine songs, is produced by Jay Carona and contains some collaborations with Cecilia Noël.