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Search Results for: Jazz
Large projects of Mexican pianist and composer Irving Flores
It is always a pleasure for us to talk with important figures from the Latin music industry in the United States and today it was the turn of the incredibly talented producer, arranger, composer and pianist Irving Flores, who has been kind enough to connect via Zoom and talk a little about his career and personal life.
After the usual greetings and introductions, Irving started talking about what inspired him to get started in music which, in his case, was his father.
Irving’s father as a source of inspiration
Irving’s first important contact with music was his father, who was a professional saxophonist in the 60’s and even worked for a big band in Tamaulipas, Mexico, the artist’s native country.
He was his first musical maestro and the one who helped him take his first steps in this complicated world, to the extent that Irving also started playing the saxophone encouraged by his father. The young man always wanted to learn how to play piano, but the high level of salinity in the city of Tampico damaged this type of instruments. It is then that he chose the organ which, being electronic, withstood the weather conditions, but he never discarded the instrument he was most passionate about.
Once he began his career as an orchestrator and arranger, he was exploring all wind instruments such as the saxophone, trumpet, and trombone and string instruments such as the guitar. He played the saxophone professionally for some years, studied at the National Conservatory of Music and received private music lessons to strengthen his knowledge.
Roles as a producer, an arranger and a composer
So, as was the case with many other Latin musicians, Irving perceived music as a job in which experience has been much more important than the academic part. In fact, he told us that, as a child, he saw his father sitting writing music and making arrangements, which led him to imitate him and do the same.
When he has beraly 15, he was perfectly capable of arranging at a professional level, an experience that served him well in Mexico City when dealing with the best composers of his native country, such as Luis Demetrio, Vicente Garrido, Eugenia León and maestro Armando Manzanero. He was also Paulina Rubio’s musical director for many years.
For years, Irving spent three or four days each week in a studio, which gave him the necessary experience to prepare for what was to come in his professional future.
San Diego
Irving married a U.S. citizen and had a daughter with her, which made it much easier for him to get a visa to travel to the United States. After he split up with his wife, he specifically chose the city of San Diego because his daughter lives here and he wanted to see her grow up.
Although that was the primary reason for his move there, he immediately noticed that there was much scope for him to work on his own stuff and make many contacts. One of them was Dave Scott, thanks to whom he was able to write music for the San Diego Symphony Orchestra.
The artist assures that, regardless of the place he used to live, he never lost his way and never stopped learning everything he could about music.
One of the greatest experiences he had in this city had to do with taking the place of Oscar Hernandez in the Spanish Harlem Orchestra. It turns out that Hernandez lost his luggage and passport on a flight, so someone had to take his place in the concert the band would have the next day in Mexico City. It was then that Gilbert Castellanos recommended Irving for this task.
Hernandez and Irving met, each one put their terms and reached an agreement. The founder of the orchestra bought the artist a plane ticket and went to assume the role of pianist that Hernandez could not take that night and the result could not be better. Since then, Irving and the orchestra has been on excellent terms and both he and the world famous pianist became good friends.
Working for great artists
According to Irving, one advantage Latin musicians have is that they are able to play all styles of music, which gives them a greater range of action compared to other artists. We are also influenced by Latin music, Afro-Antillean music and Afro-Cuban music. These elements help us a lot to do our job. American musicians tupically specialize in a single context or genre, but Latinos don’t have those limitations,” Irving said on the subject.
Although the pianist specializes in makings arrangements for jazz, the above mentioned shows that he is perfectly capable of entering any other genre, which has led him to work with great artists with many styles.
One of the most interesting cases was Luis Miguel. One of his most important producers, Alejandro Carvallo, spent some time in Los Angeles, where he and Irving met and forged a friendship. That is how he started writing arrangements for ”El Sol de Mexico” and had a very good experience working for him and his team.
In the case of the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, a composer working for the institution (and Irving’s friend) named Dave Scott needed an urgent arrangement at that time, but they did not have the budget for the relevant work. So, he asked Irving what they could do, to which he replied that he needed a few days to write a new arrangement. The following two weeks, the pianist had no time even to sleep, but he achieved the goal and wrote ”A Tribute to Frank Sinatra”. According to Irving himself, this has been one of the most important projects he has had in his entire career.
American Citizen
In the year 2021, Irving became an American citizen, which is certainly a great honor for anyone who lives in that country and also a great responsibility. The artist seems to know this very well.
When we asked Irving about this topic, his answer was not so much based on the artistic aspect, but on everything that involves the acquisition of citizenship as a Latino. In this sense, the artist emphasized that the cultural and even judicial environment in which we grew up in most of our countries are completely different from those of the United States, so adapting to this country is a real challenge, but well worth it.
In his case, the pianist also says that he was as disciplined as possible in each of his decisions to be able to get to the point where he is now. In that sense, he has always done his best to exercise his career as a musician with excellence, but always respecting U.S. laws at all times. He said this because he knows many talented people who were unfortunately imprisoned or deported for making mistakes in this regard.
On the same subject, he also said that it is very important to follow the rules for American society to accept you as a member and give you all the opportunities you are given as a citizen with all the letters.
Musically speaking, having a U.S. passport has provided him with the possibility to travel and tour anywhere in the world without any problem, which is extremely important for the growth of an artist’s career.
The Royalty of our Latin Music Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez first singer signed by Fania Records label
Pedro Juan Rodríguez, Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez “La Realeza de la Salsa” (Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on January 31, 1933).
First singer signed to the Fania Records label in conjunction with the Johnny Pacheco Orchestra and of outstanding participation with the Fania All Stars and his own orchestra.
His father, who made his living as a musician playing in a string quartet that entertained parties and social gatherings, guided him during his first steps as a musician.
By the age of 6, little Pedro was very skilled with the bongo and singing popular Puerto Rican songs of the time.
Things became difficult after the death of his father and as a teenager Pete had to emigrate to the United States (1946) to live with his aunt in New York.
Once in New York, Pete managed to establish himself as a percussionist in the Orquesta Oriental Cubana. Before, long before joining the great Pacheco, Pete had to go through several orchestras among which stand out: Las Jóvenes Estrellas de Cuba (57), the Típica Novel and the Broadway from which he left for personal reasons.
In May 1962 Pete Rodriguez (he was not yet called El Conde), joined Pacheco in a Charanguero orchestra (flute, violin, rhythm and chorus). The first album with Pacheco was Suavito in 1963.
By 64 Jhonny Pacheco and Jerry Massucci founded Fania Records and created the internationally recognized Fania All Stars.
Pete was the first singer that Fania had, and on his shoulders was the responsibility of taking that project forward. On Fania’s first album Cañonazo (1964) Pete performs the song Fania, a composition by Josualdo Bolanos, with which the orchestra was inaugurated.
Rodriguez’s first appearance with Fania was at the Greenwich Village Red Garter Club in 1968.
For reasons of life Pete had to leave Jhonny Pacheco’s group; the concrete reasons for this separation will remain a mystery, but it seems that his departure was due to personal disagreements with other members of the group.
After Pacheco, Pete packed up his motets and moved with Rey Roig and the Sensación group (1964-1968). From his time with this group w For the years 66-67, Pete returned to the ranks with Pacheco. This was a more mature stage where the marvelous duo achieved their greatest hits: Azuquita Mami, Convergencia, La Esencia del Guaguanco, Sonero, Viralo al Reves and others.
The turmoil of the time, the world events, the new way of dressing and people’s way of thinking made Pete change his appearance; he let his beard grow and changed his hairstyle a little. This change gave him a new image and a new name “EL CONDE”.
The Pacheco-Rodriguez duo lasted approximately 8 years, since in 74 El Conde decided to go solo.
That same year El Conde released his best selling and Grammy award winning album El Conde (1974). Two years later (1976) El Conde became part of the Salsa Hall of Fame immortalizing himself with Catalina la O.
With the appearance of Salsa Romántica and the onslaught of Dominican merengue in the markets, salsa entered a crisis which was reflected in the musical work of El Conde. So between 1983 and 1990 El Conde managed to record only 5 albums of which Salsobita (1987) stands out.
In 1993 El Conde made way for his son Pete Emilio and his daughter Cita Rodriguez who joined the group as second voice and backing vocalist.
The family was already complete because Francis Rodriguez, his wife, was in charge of the administrative and financial part of the group.ere the following songs Salsa, Bailando Conmigo and his hit El Rincón.
El Conde made his last recording on the Masterpiece Album (1999) with Tito Puente (1923-2000) and Eddie Palmieri. This album is considered posthumous because in that same year (2000) Tito and El Conde passed away.
El Conde had suffered from heart problems for many years, but was always reluctant to have open heart surgery. Pete “El Conde” Rodriguez passed away of a heart attack on Saturday, December 2, 2000.
His remains were taken to his native Puerto Rico. He is survived by his wife Francis, his two sons Cita and Pedro Emilio, and his grandchildren.
Remains of Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez finally rest on the island. December 7, 2023 – After his death in 2000, the remains of Ponceño singer Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez were transferred from New York to the National Cemetery for veterans in Bayamón.
Source: El Pozo de la Salsa
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Tracy Jenkins from Lula World Records spoke exclusively with us
There are many Latin artists residing in Canada who have gone to the North American country to seek opportunities in music and, little by little, they have found them thanks to people like Tracy Jenkins and her label Lula World Records.
Tracy Jenkins, with whom we had the opportunity to talk a few days ago, is one of the co-founders of Lula World Records, part of the Lula Lounge nightclub team and an artist manager.
We found it very interesting to discover a record label belonging to a project focused on managing artists who make Latin music, which is a great opportunity to further promote our culture and genres that have been disseminated throughout the world in recent years.
Tracy has done an immeasurable work to guide and make known soloists and groups from all over Latin America and we want to recognize her great work with the most important details of the conversation we had with her.
Lula World Records
When we wanted to know a little about the context of creating Lula World Records, Tracy told us that this was a project born from the vibrant Latin music scene at the Lula Lounge club, which has 21 years of operation in the city of Toronto.
During this time, the venue has established itself as one of the best places to enjoy live Latin music throughout the city of Toronto and Canada in general. Attendees can usually enjoy live singers, orchestras and DJs on Fridays and Saturdays, although there can be more days.
Currently, it is the only place in Canada that offers a total of 12 salsa orchestras and each one has its own sound and repertoire. It is the club that gave rise to what would later become known as Lula World Recodrs, which was born as a means to share the best quality salsa music produced in Toronto with a much more global audience.
The first official release of the project took place in 2012, but in the form of a musical complication under the name ”Lula Lounge Essential Tracks”, including the best tracks from artists such as Roberto Linares Brown, Yani Borrell, The Puentes Brothers and many other important names in the Canadian music industry.
Tracy says that, from that moment, they saw the opportunity to continue producing and releasing albums and tracks from other renowned singers and groups such as Lula All Starts, Conjunto Lacalú, Lengaïa Salsa Brava, Salsotika, La Borinqueña and El Charangon del Norte led by Wilver Pedrozo.
Why Lula World Records focuses on Latin Music
”We have centered our efforts on Latin music because of the relationship this project has with Lula Lounge, which opened its doors in 2022 with a concert by Isaac Delgado. From that point, the club has been remaining current for more than 20 years, time in which it has been the birthplace of new projects and emerging artists who have used the venue as a platform to develop and promote their music to local salsa fans,” Tracy said.
Among the many genres supported by Lula World Records all this time, we can mention salsa, Latin jazz, merengue, Cuban son, samba, bossa nova, reggae, classic tumbao, Latin-leaning funk, among many others. However, Tracy and his team are not limited to Latin genres, as they have also promoted Caribbean, Arab and European styles.
Something else Tracy said is that it is highly unlikely that the line followed by the label will change, since there are many migratory waves from Latin America that Canada continues to receive, so he knows that the Latin scene will keep growing in the coming years.
What Lula World Records looks for in an artist
As with any other music label, Lula World Records has its own requirements for managing an artist, Tracy explained that she and her team generally engage with artists who have made great strides in recording, mixing and mastering their own music.
During the evaluation process carried out by them, aspects such as the quality of the songs, excellence in production, catchiness of the tunes and the overall authenticity and originality of the project are taken into consideration.
The label has a particular interest in original and innovative mixes of diverse musical elements and used as an example an Afro-indigenous punk rock group of Brazilian origin called Xocô, which recently released one of its latest albums. Two other great examples of this diversity are Ahmed Moneka, the creator of Arabic and Afro-Iraqi jazz, and Nastasia, a Ukrainian soul singer.
Another detail they take into consideration is the artist’s ability to collaborate with them during the process of releasing their albums. Releasing a record production requires a lot of work from start to finish and a lot of things to do such as marketing and promotion of music. Lula World Records wants artists who fully live up to their commitment and use all the platforms and tools available to promote what they are doing.
To close the conversation, Tracy told us that any artist who want their musical work to be promoted can submit their EPK to the company for evaluation by the board of directors. They are still a small label, but hope to grow a lot more over the next two years and even manage artists outside of Canada.
Read also: Christmas salsa albums to listen to this December
Musical history of Roosevelt Cordova ”El Presidente de La Salsa”
Just as the case of Cuba and Puerto Rico, Peru has also given birth to many salsa exponents worthy of being highlighted and one of them is the talented Roosevelt Cordova, artistically known as ”El Presidente de La Salsa”.
The sonero has a very interesting career behind him, so we decided to contact him and know a little more about his personal and professional life. Roosevelt responded by thanking us for the opportunity and finally, we were able to agree on a day and time to talk about issues of interest around his figure.
His taste in music since he was a child
As has happened with many other salseros, Roosevelt also fell in love with music when still a child, but without knowing at the time that this is what he would dedicate his life to later.
He always saw his family enjoying music at amateur level, which awakened in him a taste for this branch of art. However, his journey in this world did not begin with salsa, but with Peruvian waltzes and Creole music. It was not until he turned 17 that he became interested in salsa because an uncle of his signed him up for a contest called ”Buscando Un Sonero”, taking third place among 84 participants in total.
Thanks to his performance in the contest, he was proposed to join the orchestra Camagüey, but his father refused because of all the excesses that an artist must face and he considered that his minor son was not ready for that. On the contrary, he preferred his son to be interested in other activities such as sports and leave music for later.
In addition to this, the great references in which Roosevelt was inspired to follow his path have been El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Willie Rosario, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Héctor Lavoe, La Fania All Stars, among others.
Roosevelt in Los Angeles
It wasn’t until Roosevelt, at the age of 25, left for the United States that he could pursue his dreams and become the artist he dreamed he would be.
He did not initially plan to devote himself to music, as he simply wanted to progress in life like any other immigrant, but it was not long before he decided to take the bully by the horns and return his great passion. It is then when he recorded an entire Peruvian Creole music album, but soon left this genre to return to recording salsa.
This is how he began to seize every opportunity to participate in salsa orchestras to gain experience little by little.
The first group he belonged to was La Sonora Santiaguera, which he joined in 1998, but from then on, there were many others with which Roosevelt learned much of what he knows today as an artist.
One of the most important orchestras he belonged to was Johnny Polanco Y Su Conjunto Amistad. After all the experience gained so far, Roosevelt was encouraged to personally look for Johnny to talk to him at El Floridita, where El Conjunto Amistad performed weekly.
The artist told the leader of the group he was a singer and wanted a chance in his group. After hearing him sing with his musicians that same night, Johnny invited him over to his home to give him a cassette with all the songs he had to learn to work formally with them. Two weeks later, he was already making his debut with Johnny and El Conjunto Amistad. His entry into the group coincided with the farewall of the lead singer, something that was just perfect for Roosevelt.
Other groups
After leaving El Conjunto Amistad, Roosevelt continued his career and joined Ángel Lebrón y Su Sabor Latino, with whom he recorded a full album. Some time later, he joined Guapacha Latin Jazz led by the Venezuelan Gil Tower, with whom the Peruvian has an excellent personal relationship, despite having separated professionally.
In 2011, he became part of Conjunto Oye, which Roosevelt thinks is the best moment of his career because he was able to be himself within the orchestra and express his art with independence, something difficult in his previous groups. It was here that he had the growth he really needed to get ready and to take up greater challenges in the future.
Solo career
The information we found about his solo career revealed that Roosevelt went solo in 2019, but he corrected us by saying that, in reality, his first solo album ‘‘Un Nuevo Cantante” was recorded in 2018, which is when he really decided to open paths on his own.
Although he says he is grateful to all the bands he has played in, he also adds that there comes a point in life where every artist wants to build his own path when he already fulfil the conditions for that. In his case, he already had experience in singing, composing and creating useful contacts, so he gave himself the opportunity to try. The best thing is that his wife supported him at all times and, today, she continues to be his rock in whatever he sets out to do.
He also noted that he dreams of having his own orchestra someday and that it is important to have dreams in order to get where you want to be.
Roosevelt Cordova ”El Presidente de La Salsa”
When we wanted to know the origin of his artistic name, he laughingly told us that it is all abut his first name. Let us remember that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was President of the United States and his last name coincides with the singer’s first name.
When someone approached him to ask for a picture and asked his name, he said he had the same name as former U.S. President Roosevelt. Since this situation constantly repeated, his wife proposed him to use this to create a stage name for himself. That is how ”El Presidente de La Salsa” was born.
Llegó La Navidad
Currently, Roosevelt is currently promoting his new Christmas song ”Llegó La Navidad” of his own authorship. The idea of composing the song came from his wife and daughter, who insisted that it was time for him to release music written by himself.
So, he started the writing with the chorus and, from there, continued with the rest of the song. This is a technique he uses regularly when composing, as he ensures that people always remember the chorus more than the rest of the lyrics, so he always strives to have a catchy chorus that stands out in the public’s mind.
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