Search Results for: All Stars

Then professionally with Tito Allen and Gunda Merced (Salsa Fever).

In 1977 he started with his father at the Caribe Hilton Hotel accompanying local and international figures.

In 1979 with Willie Rosario with whom he recorded 3 albums.  He directed the album Nuevo Horizontes which featured Gilberto Santa Rosa and Tony Vega.

In 1984 he started with Mario Ortiz y Su Orquesta with whom he recorded six albums.

Mario Ortiz Jr. studied at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music.

From 1991 – 1994 he traveled extensively with Juan Luis Guerra.

Mario Jr. has participated in recordings for Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tony Vega, Oscar de Leon, Ismael Miranda, Cheo Feliciano, Tommy Olivencia, Andy Montañez, and Willie Chirino among others.  He has accompanied artists such as Juan Gabriel, Raphael, Donna Summers, Gloria Estefan, Rocio Durcal, Julio Iglesias, José Luis Rodríguez, Frank Valli, Vic Damone, among other international artists.

His albums 45 Aniversario (2010), 50 Aniversario (2014), and 55 Aniversario (2019) have been nominated for a Latin Grammy.  For the past 23 years, he has worked in the public school system as a music teacher in Miami, Florida.

The late musician Mario Ortiz opened the doors of the artistic world to figures such as salsa singer Gilberto Santa Rosa. His contributions as musical director, instrumentalist, and arranger marked the careers of many artists, who did not hesitate to donate their talent for the making of the album Mario Ortiz All-Star Band, as a tribute to his 45 years of career.

Mario Ortiz, the son, summoned musicians and singers who shared with his father at a time when salsa was at its peak in the 1960s and 1970s.

The musician also managed to bring together Cheo Feliciano, Tony Vega, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Ismael Miranda, Richie Ray, Bobby Cruz, Roberto Roena, Andy Montañez, Elías Lopés and others in this record production.

“We recorded a tribute album, based on my father’s 1963 orchestra. Everyone told me that this group was ahead of its time. Some time ago, Gilberto gave me the LP On the Road (the orchestra’s first album), and that inspired me to make the record.

The first person I called was Elías Lopés and he told me to call everybody and that I would be surprised. And so it was because everyone was willing”, explained Mario Ortiz, son, in a press conference, attended by about twenty artists who recalled the times of the 60s and 70s.

The creator of the project said that the album contains 16 songs and an introduction featuring the original music of the All-Star Band, which became the first Puerto Rican orchestra to play at the Palladium in New York, where figures such as Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez, and Frank “Machito” Grillo performed.

She mentioned that in the last track of the album, El Cid, she “played” the trumpet with her father thanks to technological advances.

Musical director Elías López and singers Gilberto Santa Rosa and Cheo Feliciano agreed that this production served as a pretext to recall anecdotes they lived together with the musician, who died on November 4, 1999.

“He was the only artist I have ever seen doing arrangements without piano and listening to other music on the other side. He had the virtue of concentrating and producing something well in advance,” said Elías Lopés.

“I had the joy of knowing Mario for a long time because he and Marito used to pick me up to go to school. I have always said that he is my dad in music…He told me to study because the music was a hobby, but when he realized my interest, he gave me that first opportunity,” commented El Caballero de la Salsa, adding that Mario Ortiz “was an outstanding musician and represents the heart of the career of many of us”.

Mario Ortiz All Star Band includes songs such as Chinita, with Gilberto Santa Rosa; Se acabó el bembé, with Ismael Miranda; Rumberito, with Bobby Cruz and Roberto Roena, and others.

Source: Primera Hora, Puerto Rico. By: Jaime Torres Torres

At the age of 64, trumpeter Mario Ortiz was a man brimming with health and life. Death took him by surprise on November 4, 1999.

Thus came down the curtain on one of the most brilliant careers in Puerto Rican salsa and jazz.

His wake was attended by practically all the musicians of the country to bid farewell to the virtuoso trumpet player, accomplished arranger, and experienced orchestra conductor.

His son Mario Jr. inherited part of his arrangements because the maestro was so generous that he gave his music to his friends and colleagues. To commemorate his memory on the 10th anniversary of his passing, Mario Jr. celebrates his father’s contribution to salsa and Latin jazz with the historic recording “Tribute”.

“I was able to transcribe the arrangements that I didn’t have and thus confirmed what the musicians at the wake were saying in terms of his music being ahead of its time. With the help of Lenny Prieto, Ernesto Sánchez, and Tito Rivera I was able to decipher what Papi did in terms of harmonics and rhythm,” said Mario Jr.

In “Tribute” Mario Jr. recorded without alterations the orchestrations and arrangements of “A quitarse”, “Yaré yaré”, “Chinita”, “Move”, “Se acabó el bembé”, “Mambo infierno”, “Güiro y pandereta”, “El soplo”, “Rumberito”, “Que bonito es Puerto Rico”, “Maina” and others.

“What I did to make them sound more harmonically updated was to extend the duration with more participation of the singers and with additional solos and moñas,” he explained.

Coining the name “All Star Band”, as his father’s group was known during the 1960s, Mario Jr. brought together a core of the most respected soneros and instrumentalists in salsa.

On “Tribute”, arguably the Afro-Antillean music album of the year, Cheo Feliciano, Andy Montañez, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Ismael Miranda, Adalberto Santiago, Tony Vega, Chico Rivera, Pedro Brull, Tito Allen, Primi Cruz, Anthony Cruz, Ismaelito Rivera and Bobby Cruz joined their talents.

And, representing the musicians, he recruited as soloists Papo Lucca, Bobby Valentín, Richie Ray, Elías López, Roberto Roena, and others.

None of the artists were paid, out of respect for Mario’s memory and in reciprocation of their friendship.

“It’s incredible. Elías was the first one I told to do this. He was so happy that he suggested I call everyone who knew Mario. And Gilbertito quickly said yes because his first recording was with Papi.”

The presentation of “Tribute”, in honor of the forty-fifth anniversary of the founding of the All-Stars Band, was held yesterday at the Alquimia Bistro Restaurant in Condado.

The album, a Zamora Music Group production, will be distributed by Sony Music. The first single is titled “Chinita” and is performed by Gilberto Santa Rosa.

“Sony is interested in my project because Gilbertito interceded on my behalf. He wanted to release it with his label Camínalo, but he thought it would have more possibilities with a multinational”.

Source: https://www.radioelsalsero.com/2009/09/se-viene-la-mario-ortiz-all-stars-band.html

Articles of Interest: Celso Clemente Torres is considered one of the best sounding bongos in the world

By: Diana Marie International Salsa Magazine Correspondent

60 years in the business in the “Salsa” music industry, Héctor Maisonave says: “I have not seen anyone who surpasses the talent of Héctor Lavoe”.

You have managed the careers of so many salsa luminaries, how do you consider Héctor Lavoe’s talent?

I saw in Hector a supreme talent, to this day I have not seen anyone who can surpass him.

Not only as an artist selling tickets, selling records, but also as a human being.

There is no comparison of any kind, no matter who the artists are that are current today, to this day there has been no one that can replace Hector Lavoe.

He continues to this day as the most successful artist in all aspects.

He has managed and catapulted the careers of stars such as Héctor Lavoe, La Lupe, La India, Ismael Rivera, Tito Rodríguez, Gilberto Santa Rosa, among others.

“I continue to derive satisfaction from my work, my main addiction,” said the Puerto Rican producer.

With almost 60 years in the difficult and no less unpredictable music industry, today, on his 81st birthday, the artistic promoter Héctor Maisonave looks back to see that nothing remains the same in the business, but even so, his “musician soul” does not allow him to give up.

He has been a faithful witness and an important part of Latin American musical history, as a tireless promoter of the salsa rhythm in every corner of the planet.

His resume is impressive; he has produced more than 6,000 events; he has managed and catapulted the careers of some 80 artists, including stars such as his namesake Héctor Lavoe, Tito Rodríguez, La Lupe, India, Ismael Rivera, Raphy Leavitt, Gilberto Santa Rosa and La Sonora Ponceña.

And his experience has been recognized on more than one occasion by the artistic world.

In 2010, this veteran businessman received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Lincoln Center of New York, a distinction for his years in music production and management.

On that occasion, Diana Cortot, executive director of International Concert, the non-profit institution that presented Maisonave with the award, said that he was chosen because of the great help he has given to so many artists and his efforts to create a market for Latin music in the United States. “The Latin music industry, and salsa in particular, owes him a lot,” she said.

To this, the award-winning businessman, with the humility that has characterized him in each of his acts, simply said: “I don’t feel special, but privileged and honored”.

Born in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, Maisonave was part of a great migratory stampede of Puerto Ricans who traveled to New York in the 1940s to escape poverty.

“It was here, in this city, where I took my first steps as a producer in the summer of 1950.”

Even at this age, memory remains one of his best attributes.

“I began to organize concerts in open spaces that attracted hundreds of people, who arrived in some buses that we arranged for the public, and they were like a kind of patron saint festivities in which transportation, food, dessert and dancing were offered… That was the beginning of everything,” he recalls while, suddenly, a special gleam begins to appear in his eyes.

That was the time when she discovered what her vocation was. But he also had to raise his voice, fight hard for his goals and defend his roots. He was even one of those who protested on New York’s iconic Fifth Avenue so that the New York City government would grant him permission to hold a Puerto Rican parade.

“There were many inconveniences that got in the way, but there are more beautiful memories that light up my mind when I think of the dreams achieved,” confesses the man who had the idea of organizing Latino shows aboard boats that crossed the Hudson River to Bear Mountain.

And aware that, as he says, “turning 81 is not an everyday thing,” he says he is very happy to continue fighting the battle. “I continue to get enormous satisfaction from my work, my main addiction,” said this industrious Puerto Rican with his usual good humor.

Lately, his schedule has been as active as ever. From April to date, he has organized concerts for Grupo Mania and Tito Rojas (both in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania); José Alberto, “El Canario”, and Andy Andy at Six Flags New England, Springfield, Massachusetts, and next month he will be in charge of the presentation in Panama that salsa singer India has scheduled.

Source: Frank Manuel Orellana Rosas

Article of Interest: Richie Bonilla Management is a Latin Music booking and Managing Agency

The ultimely passing of El Judio Maravilloso

On August 20 this year, salsa fans around the world received of the devastating news about the death of Larry Harlow Kahn, who was one of the most transcendental figures of the Fania All-Stars at the time and Latin music in general. There have been many artists, writers and the general public have expressed their profound regret at the departure of pianist, leaving an unforgettable legacy and a profound mark in the minds of all those who admired him throughout his career. 

According to what writer specialized in music Aurora Flores said, Harlow, also known as “El Judio Maravilloso”, marked a unique style with great ease and innovation while staying attached to his traditions. From the hand of Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci, this musician became a talented producer and creator for much of the work done by orchestra La Fania, resulting an approximate of 270 recordings for other artists and a good number of hits that continue to be heard today. 

This extremely talented pianist broke down all sorts of cultural barriers during his lifetime thanks to his great talent. He reached corners he has never dreamed of and will always be remembered for his great artistic endeavors. 

Ricky Gonzalez and Angel Fernandez make donations to support the Salsa Museum 

In recent days, it became known that both Ricky Gonzalez and Angel Fernandez have met with the director of the Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery Museum, Johnny Cruz, to bring him with some highly valuable objects. Gonzalez is Marc Anthony‘s pianist and Fernandez is the musical director of his orchestra, so both musicians have much to contribute to the historic museum presided by Cruz. 

In the particular case of González, he plans to offer some jackets that were worn by the famous Puerto Rican singer, while Fernández will offer a trumpet played at one of the many concerts offered by the boricua and his team. Together with the already mentioned objects, both artists pledged to collaborate in every way necessary to continue donating valuable acquisitions to the cultural institution.  On the official Facebook account of Johnny Cruz, the president of the museum can be seen in the company of both musicians and some thanks from his part to both of them for supporting the Spaha Salsa Gallery, as this place is also known.  

Migdalia Sánchez joins the Salsa Museum 

It has been announced that Migdalia Sanchez, the head of Latino 99 FM in Florida, has agreed to join the Salsa Museum with Johnny Cruz. This means that the aforementioned station will start broadcasting the programme hosted by Johnny Cruz at the same time so that all its listeners can enjoy it without a single problem.  

Salsa returns to New York 

Following the restrictions imposed by the local authorities due to the advance of COVID-19, many clubs and nightclubs have decided to open their doors again, but meeting each and every one of the health requirements for these places can be considered safe for the clientele. 

Every day there are more well-known names that join the list of places that are working almost normally after all this time. Here we mention some of the places that have reopened their doors:  

• La Marqueta  
• S.O.B’s  
• González y González  
• El Sanjuan  
• Taino Towers Crystal Ballroom