Search Results for: Sonora Matancera

Federico Betancourt “Pioneer of Salsa in Venezuela”

Latin America / Venezuela / Carabobo

Jesús Federico Betancourt was born in the city of Valencia, Carabobo state, on March 22, 1940. He was always attracted to music from a very young age.

In his adolescence, he liked Cuban rhythms, being influenced by Sonora Matancera, Mon Rivera, Eddie Palmieri and Joe Cotto. Before entering the entertainment world, he works at the Bank of Venezuela.

He affirms that he has not carried out formal studies at the musical level, learning the necessary theory to be able to perform as an orchestra conductor, but without interest in interpreting any instrument, but with a well-tuned ear, which has allowed him to remain in the music business for decades. , in fact on certain occasions he is named as the King of the Güiro.

His career began when he entered the Los Selectos Orchestra, where they played songs by the Billos Caracas Boy’s and the Los Melodicos Orchestra, which were at their peak in the 1960s, all this in a particular way, said Orchestra did not go beyond that.

In 1965, Federico Betancourt decides to satisfy his artistic restlessness and founds a band called Federico y su Combo Latino. The members that made up this band were chosen from among the founder and together with Roberto Monserrat.

But it was not until the middle of 1966, when the twenty-six (26) year old undertook the recording of the LP that would make him famous forever. This record production entitled LLEGO LA SALSA, would mark an important stage in Venezuelan Salsa, because it was the first LP that made use of the word SALSA in the country.

Federico Betancourt himself recounts that the Venezuelan announcer Phidias Danilo Escalona had a Radio Program called LA HORA DE LA SALSA, EL SABOR Y EL BEMBÉ, where all the Cuban and Puerto Rican Caribbean rhythms that were fashionable at the time were placed, among those who highlighted La Sonora Matancera with Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Joe Cuba, Tito Rodríguez among others, and who was the one who supported them the most in terms of recording the album.

The production was recorded under the Palacio label, and the LP was titled LLEGÓ LA SALSA, he affirms that the title was chosen without taking into account the importance that it would revert in the future, he also affirms that it was not the name that gave him success , the album was a “bump” in sales, since all the songs were the most requested at the time, using his words: “The album sold like hot cakes”.

The music lovers of the time requested it on specialized sites such as the LA SALSA album. Federico says: “The father of the word SALSA was Phidias Danilo Escalona, he used it for the first time in his radio program, and I, humbly, with the success of my LP, gave him the push for its mass use.”

Federico Betancourt - Photo — Federico Betancourt – Photo

In Venezuela, the word SALSA was welcomed by the public willingly, since it suggested a mixture of flavors, which was exactly what happened in the Phidias program, but at the level of rhythms. After the appearance of Federico’s album, all the shows that were performed at the level of Caribbean and Cuban rhythms, carried the name of SALSA.

It is important to name the musicians who took part in this historic production: The musicians are: Ali Rojas Bongo and Cencerro, Roberto Monserrat Music Director and Timbal, Pedro Medina Congas, Alfredo Arcas Trombone, César Pinto Trumpet, Enrique Iriarte Piano, Rafael Prado Bass, Carlín Rodríguez Singer and maracas, Dimas Pedroza Singer, Federico Betancourt Güiro and Director of the Orchestra. The musical arrangements were by the famous trumpeter Eduvigis Carrillo (RIP). Production themes:

Llego la Salsa CD - Federico su Combo Latino — Llego la Salsa CD – Federico su Combo Latino

1.- Cocolía

2.- Conmigo
3.- El Pachanguero

4.- Sancocho Caliente
5.- Guaguancó Manía

6.- Celosa

7.- Despierta Rumbero

8.- No Critiquen
9.- Saoco

10.- Baila Yemaya
11.- Café Y Pan

12.- Que Me Querías

After the success obtained with the record work, the time came for the first international outing, which was to Colombia, in 1969. It happened because the singer of Los Melodicos, Víctor Piñero, informed Betancourt that he was stuck in Cartagena and Barranquilla with the themes El Cobrador and Federico Boogaloo. After the information, the young musician went to the neighboring country and got a contract for the famous Reina del Mar parties, in Cartagena, on November 11, 1969.

The experience of the band was so good, that in 1970 they returned to visit the country. From then until our days Federico y su Combo continues to be an emblematic and legendary band in Venezuela, for this reason the WEB of the classy salsero SALSA BRAVA, offers its respects to such an important salsa figure.

Discography
1966	Llegó La Salsa	Palacio (LPS-6171)
1966	Salsa y Sabor	Palacio (LPS-6185)
1967	Más Salsa	Palacio (LPS-6205)
1967	Durísimo – Vol. 4	Palacio (LPS-6216)
1968	Federico Boogaloo	Palacio (LPS-6228)
1968	Psicodélico Con Salsa	Gilmar (LPG-110)
1969	Mejor Que Nunca	Gilmar (LPG-111)
1969	Vibración y Ritmo	Sonus (102-17080)
1970	Dos Sets	Velvet (LPV-1539)
1970	La Machaca	Velvet (LPV-1539)
1973	Federico Si Te Pone A Bailar	Palacio (LPS-6332)
1975	Derrape De Salsa	BASF (10.068)
1976	Siguelo Ahí…. a Lo Cortico	BASF (10.070)
1977	Ayer y Hoy	BASF (10.076)
1977	Esto Es Lo Mejor	Palacio (LPS-6372)
1978	Mis Exitos y Más	BASF (10.079)
1978	Sabor	Foca (LPF-10.037)
1979	Federico y Su Combo	Foca (LPF-10.120)
1979	Federico y Su Orq. – El Maestro	Discomoda (DCM-1128)
1980	Federico y Su Orq. con Memo Morales	Discomoda (DCM-1148)
1982	No Le Digan	Integra (PF-14.075)
1983	Nuevamente	Palacio (LPS-66.541)
1984	SaaaBroooSo!	Palacio (LPS-66.552)

Compilation
1996	Mis Exitos y Más…Vol.1	Sonograma
1996	Mis Exitos y Más…Vol.2	Sonograma
1996	Mis Exitos y Más…Vol.3	Sonograma
2005	El Pionero De La Salsa	Palacio
2008	Salsa De Oro	Gilmar

Eddie Muñíz continues to head Swing Sabroso

From this space, every day we are much more aware of the unusual wealth of Latin talent that makes up the New York’s music scene, which continues to show many artists and orchestras that do not surrender to high competition and give their best to earn their place and stand out from the rest.

This is the case of Ray Rodríguez & Swing Sabroso, whose current leader, Eddie Muñiz, gives us a broader picture of the way any artist should go to keep his name alive in public taste and avoid getting lost in the large artistic catalog where there is a lot of content to choose from.

Swing Sabroso leader Eddie — This is current Swing Sabroso bandleader Eddie Muñiz

Talented musician Eddie Muñiz’s beginnings in the world of music

Eddie, who was born in Brooklyn, USA, but communicates in excellent Spanish, had his first approaches to music in elementary school at the age of 13, when he played in several classical music and jazz groups to keep improving in these arts and find his style until he had his big break.

This opportunity came when the young man turned 17 years old, at which point he had his professional career in music with a group of friends, with whom he stayed for two or three years. After that, his next group was called ”Herencia Latina” whose director was the talented Ray Rodriguez and would become the starting point of his current orchestra Swing Sabroso.

After leaving Herencia Latina, he joined Ismael’s conjunto for four years and subsequently played with Conjunto Clasico, Ray de La Paz, La Sonora Matancera, Tony Vega and many more.

About eight years later, the group did not go ahead and Ray moved to New Jersey, but as it happens, Eddie had to do the same for work reasons. Back then, Ray started a group he called Ray Rodriguez y Swing Sabroso, which invited Eddie to join the orchestra in 2000. 24 years later, it is he himself who moved such an ambitious project forward after Ray’s sad loss from the cancer on April 17, 2016.

Swing Sabroso

By the time Ray was in good health, the orchestra released two albums, one in 2005 and another in 2015. When the bandleader began to sicken, he knew he could not give the group the attention it required, so he asked Eddie to take the helm of the ship in his place as long as the group was only called Swing Sabroso, nothing else.

At that time, the group only had two trumpets and a trombone, but Eddie was gradually enlarging it and adding more instruments to make the sound fuller. Being in total control of the orchestra, the artist released the album ”Swing Sabroso, Mejor Que Nunca” in the year 2022, when they played everything that the three albums included.

Cover of the album ”Swing Sabroso, Mejor Que Nunca”

Currently, Eddie is the oldest of all the Swing Sabrso members, but not for that things are always done his way. In fact, the artist assures that the younger musicians are frequently those who teach him what to do in certain cases.

Far more than a salsa orchestra, Eddie considers that ”Swing Sabroso” is also a family of musicians in which they support each other, despite the regrettable absence of its main founder, the great Ray Rodriguez. Even so many years later, Rodriguez remains the biggest influence on everyone working with Swing Sabroso.

Andy Gonzalez started as a musician at the age of 13 in the Latin Jazz Quintet in New York

Andrew “Andy” Gonzalez passed away on April 9, 2020.

Virtuoso bassist, arranger and musical director of Don Manny Oquendo’s “El Conjunto Libre” and Eddie Palmieri’s “La Perfecta”.

Andy has worked throughout his extensive artistic career that spans almost 50 years, with approximately 800 recordings, where he has had the opportunity to be as co-leader, producer, musical director or sideman.

Andy began as a musician at the age of 13 in the Latin Jazz Quintet, a group inspired by the music performed by vibraphonist Cal Tjader and in which he shared with his brother Jerry.

Although long before that, Gerardo Gonzalez, Gonzalez’s father, had already begun his son’s musical

Gerardo was the vocalist of Augie Melendez y Su Combo, an ensemble influenced by the sound of Sexteto La Playa.

Andy Gonzalez virtuoso Bajista, Arreglista y Director musical de “El Conjunto Libre” de Don Manny Oquendo y de “La Perfecta” de Eddie Palmieri

It is worth mentioning that during their time in the Latin Jazz Quintet, the Gonzalez brothers met a person who would change their lives: pianist Llewellyn Matthews, with whom they learned the discipline necessary to “graduate” as professional musicians, both were part of the big band of this decisive leader.

Later came Eddie Palmieri’s La Perfecta, his brother’s Fort Apache Band, the Grupo Folklorico Experimental Nuevayorquino and Manny Oquendo y Libre, 4 groups that changed forever the perception of the music we know today as Salsa.

He collaborated with The Fort Apache Group, Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Astor Piazzolla and Ray Barretto.

Andy González is a fundamental reference in the history of Caribbean music and Latin jazz. He has played with almost mythological musicians at times when they left a deep mark on both Latin jazz and dance music.

Andy González se inició como músico a los 13 años en el Latin Jazz Quintet en New York

He has been bassist for Eddie Palmieri, Ray Barreto, Conjunto Libre, Grupo Folklorico Experimental Nuevayorquino, Fort Apache Band, and on some occasions for Ismael Rivera y sus Cachimbos, Cortijo y su Combo and Sonora Matancera.

In this conversation, held in Santiago de Compostela -during the Compostela Millenium Festival in August 2000- he vibrates when talking about his record collection, he declares himself a fan of the study of the roots of the music he makes and reviews his artistic life since when with his band, at the age of 13 and together with his brother Jerry, they imitated the sound of Cal Tjader.

Passion for music

I’m as much a music fan as I am a musician. Just like any music lover. I’m a fan of the things I appreciate that are important in the history of music. I have studied a lot and that has allowed me to notice the quality and quantity of artists that this music has produced. Great artists, people who have contributed a lot. When you have and study a collection of records like the one I have, you realize that now there are few.

Andrew “Andy” González muere El 9 de abril de 2020ººº — Andrew “Andy” González muere El 9 de abril de 2020

Inspiration

Cal Tjader was my inspiration when I started. Also for Fort Apache Band, because their music had a strong jazz component, but with Cuban rhythms. Good rhythms. We had a great interest in what Cal Tjader was doing.

When we started playing we were copying what Tjader was doing. We were little kids of 13 and 14 years old. We had a very similar repertoire with the same quintet, where Jerry played congas.

Once we even had a dance next to the place where Tjader played, doing the same music. Armando Peraza played congas for Tjader and once he saw us and congratulated us. We always had the support of musicians with more experience, veterans of other generations.

Dj. Augusto Felibertt, Andy Gonzalez, Rafael Muro y Omar Mejias. Centro Cultural La Estancia en Caracas

Main Source: Pablo Larraguibel

Also Read: Roberto Rodríguez fue un trompetista y compositor cubano, autor del éxito de Ray Barreto «Que viva la Música»

Papo Lucca. The Giant of the South

Latin America / Puerto Rico

Papo Lucca born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on April 2, 1946, Enrique ‘Papo’ Lucca began playing the piano at age 11 with his father’s orchestra. Initially, La Ponceña played versions of tropical hits of the moment by bands like Cortijo y su Combo and La Sonora Matancera.

In the late 1960s, Papo became the orchestra’s musical director, beginning a profound transformation that would eventually establish la Ponceña as one of the most progressive groups in the history of Afro-Caribbean music. Papo’s orchestrations were bold, experimenting with elements of jazz, rock, and Brazilian music. Representing the authentic spirit of Puerto Rican salsa, his piano solos were velvety, displaying elegance, restraint, and infinite swing.

During the mid-’70s, La Ponceña began to enjoy unprecedented success with critics and the public. The band recorded for the Inca label, which eventually became part of the Fania empire. Papo was invited to arrange and play on sessions for the company’s biggest artists, including Johnny Pacheco, Celia Cruz and Cheo Feliciano. He also recorded and toured with the Fania All Stars.

This compilation pays tribute to the art of Papo Lucca through 14 classic songs recorded between 1967 and 1981. Although Lucca has recorded as a solo artist and also collaborated with a multitude of salsa stars, it is his work with La Ponceña that best expresses the clarity of his vision.

The music we make has to make people happy, as well as make them dance. That’s what it’s all about, says Lucca from her home in Puerto Rico. When the public can dance, no matter how complicated the music is. The first theme that this genre had was to divulge the things that happened in the different communities, as if it were a newspaper.

Our journey begins with two fiery songs from the beginnings of La Ponceña: “Hachero Pa’Un Palo” and “Fuego En El 23” are versions of songs by Cuban Arsenio Rodríguez. La Ponceña always had a soft spot for Puerto Rican folklore, but she also found inspiration in the golden age of Cuban music.

The precise moment in which La Ponceña becomes a mature orchestra in total control of its aesthetics can be found in the six songs from the Musical Conquest/Conquista Musical and El Gigante Del Sur albums. Launched on the market in 1976 and 1977 respectively, they represent the pinnacle of the salsa movement.

These songs combine a musical skill that approaches virtuosity with deep lyrics and a generous sense of humor. “Ñáñara Caí” is a hilarious narrative of pure magical realism, describing a world where everything is turned upside down (my favorite phrase: I saw a cow/Hit with Pacheco). Also included in Musical Conquest, “El Pío Pío” achieves the perfect cross between Afro-Cuban rhythm and contagious pop. This hit is a mandatory part of all La Ponceña concerts.

The opening theme of the El Gigante Del Sur album, “Boranda” seems to offer a salsa version of progressive rock. Its lyrics contain an important sociopolitical message, and the sophistication of its arrangement is a slap in the face for all those who believe that this music is only for dancing. “Soy Tan Feliz” combines bolero climates with an electric piano solo that recalls the psychedelic sound of jazz-rock from the ’70s. “Noche Como Boca ‘E Lobo” creates a tasty collision between salsa fever and Brazilian rhythms.

Lucca was not alone in his mission to reinvent the rules of Puerto Rican dance music. It was also benefited by the prowess of some of the best instrumentalists on the island. Furthermore, his instinct for choosing singers was always irreproachable.

Some of the vocalists of la Ponceña that appear here are Tito Gómez, who would later find fame with the Grupo Niche de Colombia; the inimitable Luigi Texidor, who gave a sense of placidity to all the songs he performed; and Yolanda Rivera, who added variety to the band’s sound with her unique timbre.

One of Rivera’s happiest moments is included here: Coming from 1980’s Unchained Force, Johnny Ortiz’s “Borinquen” is a soulful anthem to Puerto Rico, blessed with a sinuous melody and subtle instrumental arrangement–one of Rivera’s happiest moments. transcendental within the Ponceña canon.

The golden days of salsa are a distant memory in the new millennium, but Papo Lucca hasn’t stopped shining. Perhaps precisely because he continues to record new music, he refuses to idealize the past when I ask him what his favorite album with “La Ponceña.”

The last one, the most recent, he explained in his characteristically introverted tone. All the albums are very important in the career of the orchestra. They all fulfilled their mission at the time, which was to reaffirm the previous one. That’s the way to maintain a pool after 50 years.

The teacher was a little more direct when I asked him about his favorite concert of all time.

It was my first concert with the Fania All Stars at Madison Square Garden, back in 1974, he said. All the stars of the Fania were still alive. A few years later we played in front of 47,000 people in Cali. My knees always shake before I go on stage, but this time they shook a little more.

Vocalist of La Moderna Tradición Eduardo Herrera and his fascinating story

This time, we are very pleased to have been able to talk with a talented Venezuelan who has left the name of his country well off thanks to his talent and professionalism. We are talking about bandleader and singer Eduardo Herrera, who was kind enough to speak exclusively to us and give us details on his personal and professional life so that we can get to know a little more about him.

This is vocalist of La Moderna Tradición and Venezuelan singer Eduardo Herrera

How did Eduardo Herrera become interested in music?

Eduardo comments that his parents always spent their time singing in a very cheerful way since he was a child, so his best childhood memories are with music.

He grew up in Caracas, so he always had close contact with all kinds of music and listened to a great variety of artists starting with Celia Cruz, La Sonora Matancera, La Billo Caracas Boys, Los Melódicos, Benny Moré, Oscar D’ León, Daniel Santos, Los Adolescentes La Dimensión Latina, La Fania, among others. These artists strongly encouraged him to lean towards salsa in the 1970s.

In his hometown, he began playing with the Teresa Carreño Chamber Choir, which was his first professional contact with music and, in his own words, was a great school for him during his time there.

In 1987, being already in the state of California, United States, there was an orchestra called Radiante that played Puerto Rican salsa. Eduardo worked with them for a year until he joined Orquesta Sensual, whose strength was romantic salsa that was fashionable at the time.

After that, he also worked with Orquesta Charanzón, which at that time was led by Anthony Blea, a famous violinist from the Bay Area. It was with this band that he began to fully discover Cuban music and develop a great passion for it, which would lead him to continue along this path in the following years.

In those years, he played with an unlimited number of orchestras with which he gained a lot of experience and learned to perform properly on stage. However, his big break came with the Orquesta La Moderna Tradición in 2021, when he was offered to participate with the group in some projects.

Even so, the latter did not prevent him from working with other groups of this style throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, as he has no problem with playing with anyone who wants to invite him.

Eduardo Herrera and Tregar Otton — Eduardo Herrera next to director, arranger, composer and violinist Tregar Otton at Yoshi’s

Reasons to leave Venezuela and go to the United States

Like any other immigrant, Eduardo’s primary reason for leaving his country was the search for new opportunities. Eduardo goes on to explain that he was awarded a scholarship by the famous Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho fellowship programme and managed to obtain his degree in biology in the United States, but unfortunately with the change of government, the things that were promised to him and other fellows such as jobs and revalidations were not kept. As a result, the young man was left in a limbo that made it nearly impossible for him to practice biology.

With his options reduced to almost zero in Venezuela, Eduardo had no choice but to return to the United States, where he started working as a high school teacher until 2023, when he finally retired from his basic profession. In total, he taught for more than 40 years at the secondary level. During most of this time, he combined his school activities with his second profession, which was music.

Other areas of music explored by Eduardo

The singer explained to us that his voice has always been his most important instrument when he gets on stage, but he also confesses to having experimented with hand percussion instruments such as the maracas and the güiro. He pointed out that both are very easy to learn at first glance, but they have their level of complexity once you try them.

At present, he only uses his voice in the orchestras in which he currently plays.

Orquesta La Moderna Tradición

”La Moderna Tradición reached out to me at the beginning to record one of their CDs and I started singing backup and the harmonies, which is how you should always get you started in any group. When you master those areas and have the talent, you may think about being a soloist and that’s exactly what happened with me” Eduardo started saying about the issue.

La Moderna Tradición’s music was mostly instrumental at that time and they wanted Eduardo for their second album, which would include choirs for the first time, but the group had no singer at that time. In view of the good results offered by the vocalist, he found himself in frequent demand to give voice to other old numbers, but now with a singer.

Years later, he finally received the proposal to be part of the orchestra as such, together with Ramón ”Monchi” Estévez on vocal. Already for the third album, all the songs had a singer, who was Eduardo most of the time.

From then on, the artist has continued to be part of La Moderna Tradición with some interruptions because he moved from the Bay Area to the Central Valley in Manteca, which made it more complex for him to play with the orchestra on weekday evenings.

At the same time, he worked with the group Vissión Latina, Carlos Caro’s orchestra or any other that invited him to play on weekends, which were on his days off.

What Eduardo has learned from La Moderna Tradición and other artists he has played with

The most important things Eduardo says he has learned from the great artists he has played with are the study, humility, knowing your limits and the development of the love of music. He says the latter is fundamental, because if you do not love music, you will not do the job right.

”With music, you sacrifice your time and the pay you receive in return does not always go according to what you do, but it is something you’re supposed to do for the love you have for the craft. If you do not love what you do, you will hardly do it well and use your skills in it” said Eduardo. He added that ”you are an eternal student and you never know everything about everything. There is always something to learn from other singers and seeing any of them on stage is an opportunity to emulate what they do as long as it is useful for your career.

He also said that ”the ego of many artists is a really depressing thing because it prevents them from moving forward and takes their focus away from what is really important, which is the love of the genre and the opportunity to learn as much as you can”.

Complex moments for Eduardo personally and professionally

Eduardo mentioned to us that one of the hardest moments for him personally and professionally was his move outside of the Bay Area, which we had already talked about. Being so far away from the area where he did most of his performances was a blow to him, as he had to be near his wife and children.

Eduardo was very late from work and his wife had a job which made her to leave home for several days, so it was up to him to stay with the children during all that time. For the artist, his family comes first every time and no job or hobby goes above that.

His responsibilities with his children let him to distance himself from music little by little, since not being always available to play, orchestras would look for other singers to replace him. This made his opportunities to sing to be reduced, but Eduardo assures that the sacrifice has been worth it, as quality time with his children is the most main thing for him.

Eduardo’s plans to create his own orchestra

Eduardo was able to conduct an orchestra for a few months, which allowed him to see what the work of a director would be like and the truth is that he did not like it. ”During the time that I was conducting an orchestra, I could see I don’t have the right personality for it. I’m not good for working with adults who are irresponsible and many musicians tend to be late for the engagements and not to take this profession very seriously. I’m a very perfectionist person who has very high standards and I don’t expect anyone to work less than me, so I know it would be torturous for me to have a responsibility of that magnitude,” Eduardo said.

He says that being a bandleader is far beyond what he wants to do with music and that he wanted to keep developing as a singer. In addition to this, going back to the family issue, such a position would have forced him to be away from his family again and that was something he was not willing to do.

He also took into account the little stability offered by music as a profession. His work as a biology teacher was much more stable and allowed him to have secure income without having to worry about the bad times of orchestras. He loves music to a fault, but does not like uncertainty and insecurity.

Eduardo Herrera and Maru — Eduardo Herrera performing with Maru Pérez-Viana, La oderna Tradición manager and chorister

Other groups

In addition to playing with La Moderna Tradición, he also works with a Cuban group called Pellejo Seco, with which he recorded an album that is currently being remastered in Cuba. The material was recorded just before September in California, but will soon be released to the public.

Eduardo works directly with Ivan Camblor, director of the orchestra and professional tres player. In this part of the conversation, the artist was very complimentary about Camblor and highlighted his great potential as a bandleader and musician.

Something he likes about Pellejo Seco is that his main genre is Cuban son and it focuses a lot on very rural and traditional Cuban rhythms, so he can explore other elements different from what he does with La Moderna Tradición. They are very different groups with different genres and different characteristics.