Search Results for: Latin Music

The Spaha Salsa Gallery and The Johnny Cruz Show to the order of salsa

Spaha Salsa Gallery

Latino culture has found a large number of icons and places that have shown how wonderful it is and how proud we must be of being born in this land full of colors and talent for export. One of those incredible places is the Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery, which is a cultural institution in which the inhabitants of East Harlem, New York, have the opportunity to learn all about salsa and its unusual roots. To that end, visitors can enjoy a great deal of material, information, resources, and many learning initiatives that will blow everyone’s mind.

The purpose of this wonderful space is to gather as much knowledge as possible about salsa and all the artists who have been responsible for bringing this musical genre to every corner of the planet. That is why its owners have been in charge of offering the most inclusive and diverse gallery to prove everything Hispanic talent has to offer. The institution provides a wide range of possibilities for those who want to learn more about the most well-known Latin music genre in history, and art is the tool used for this purpose.

Jonny Cruz and instruments — Johnny Cruz with some donated instruments at the Spaha Salsa Gallery

What the Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery is looking for

One of the major aims of the Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery is awakening the interest of the inhabitants of Harlem and the surrounding neighborhoods towards the musical styles that have inspired the five continents to dance. This is how this space became a valuable resource for many other public and private institutions, which have used the museum to foster greater interest in their own activities. This is because many of the tourists visiting New York know that it was in that city in which the biggest salsa movement in history took place, so they are particularly interested in going to places where they can learn about how salsa came about and what its roots are. That is when institutions such as the Spanish Harlem Salsa Gallery make an appearance and offer to answer any question on the matter.

Johnny Cruz next to Boris Calderón — Johnny Cruz Cruz next to musicologist and broadcaster Boris Calderón

Johnny Cruz, a noted musician and record producer, has made this place a true sanctuary for Latin music lovers and all that emerges from it. The museum, which was once a hardware store owned by his father, contains some of the most valuable objects in the history of salsa and that have a very special relationship with some of the greatest figures of the genre, such as Héctor Lavoe’s favorite guitar or José Mangual Jr’s bongos. This collection of objects has been made in order to preserve the legacy of the greatest exponents of the salsa genre in New York for people to remember who they were and what they contributed to Latino culture in spite of the years. Something very interesting to relate is that many of these instruments have been donated by artists, family members, or institutions that want the names of their owners to continue to sound as loud as possible.

Undoubtedly, Cruz and his greatest contributors in this noble work have ensured that locals and foreigners see the gallery as a space for recreation and learning in which they can learn about the origins of salsa and go back to the glory days with many of the greatest musicians in history.

The Johnny Cruz Show

In addition to the salsa museum, there is another space where Latin music artists will always feel at home. We are talking about the Johnny Cruz Show, which has a very interesting schedule and shows how wonderful our culture is.

The show is celebrating 25 years on the air and will be co-hosted by animator and show biz reporter Maribel Santos, who will definitely give a very special touch to this great celebration, which makes Johnny too happy. So many years on the air are the reward of the effort made to offer the best salsa content that the public deserves.

Johnny Cruz next to Maribel Santos — Poster announcing The Johnny Cruz Show with Maribel Santos

This show is one of the best options that salsa lovers have to know everything related to its best exponents and the latest news on these issues. The cool thing about this is there are many platforms through which those interested can enjoy the talent of Johnny Cruz as host and interviewer, so it will not be difficult to find each of the editions of this great program. In addition, all five counties in New York City can watch the show on cable television.

If case of not living in New York, you can tune into the show on its social media tools. For the time being, The Johnny Cruz Show is available on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. It can also be watched on Salsa Gallery Radio live at the Live 365 station and the possibility of putting it onto podcast platforms in the future is under evaluation.

A poster with Johnny Cruz and David Marin — A poster announcing The Johnny Cruz Show with David Marin El Chapin y Felix Villalobos *Music Man*

Link to the Spaha Salsa Gallery’s official website: spahasalsagallery.com

By: Johnny Cruz correspondent of International Salsa magazine in New York city, New York

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Flashback: Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill

The Architect Of Afro-Cuban Jazz

Arturo "Chico" O'farrill with reading glasses and sitting — In memory of the 20 years of his physical disappearance

Arturo O’Farrill, better known as “Chico” O’Farrill was born on October 28, 1921, in Havana (Cuba) at the height of Son. He had a normal childhood like any son of a Jewish family raised to continue the family profession, Law.

In the 1930s Chico was admitted to the Riverside American Military School in Gainesville, Georgia. His father, an eminent Irish lawyer recognized in the Afro-Caribbean country, decided to intern him to continue his studies.

During his stay at that institution, O’Farrill discovered the great jazz orchestras that made life in that territory. Those bands were known by the name of Big Bands. He entered that musical environment and began his process of love and passion for the industry. He listened to recordings by Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, and Tommy Dorsey while learning to play the trumpet on his own. In almost immediate time Chico became the trumpet player for the school’s military band and large dance groups.

Years later, Arturo returned to Cuba. He studied the same profession as his father (Law) and at the same time with his studies, he developed his facet as a composer. He received composition and harmony classes from important island musical instructors such as Félix Guerrero.

His progress, determination, and development in music were unstoppable. He was a member of the Armando Romeu Bellamar Orchestra and the Isidro Pérez Orchestra at the time of Mambo and Son, rhythms that prevailed and enhanced Latin music for decades.

MUSICAL HISTORY

Arturo "Chico" O'Farrill seated and in black and white — Chico O’Farrill dabbled in rock

“The Architect of Afro-Cuban Jazz” worked for four years (1943 – 1947) in Montmartre, the Cuban cabaret with the greatest French style. In the same way, he belonged to the Bellamar Orchestra, directed by Armando Romeu with Luis and Pucho Escalante, and Mario Romeu, among many other members.

As a trumpeter, Arturo traveled to Mexico and Europe. He created Los Raqueteros del Swing band, being the director and member of the orchestra. Subsequently, he founded Los Beboppers (the first Cuban bop group) with continuous performances at the Hotel Saratoga. Here, Chico was once again at the helm as director of the band and musician with his related instrument, the trumpet.

In the 1950s he began his successes as an arranger, working briefly for various musical directors such as Gil Fuller, Noro Morales, Frank “Machito” Grillo, and Benny Goodman.

Likewise, he composed his first masterpiece, Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite in five movements: Canción, Mambo, 6/8, Jazz, and Rumba Open. This masterpiece of composition was made and recorded for the imprint of the businessman Norman Granz, with the Machito Orchestra as the rhythmic base and accompanist.

The expert comments on Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite were numerous, but here are two of the most outstanding opinions:

Luc Delannoy: “It begins and ends with a hypnotic flute and conga duo that reflects the essence of Cuban treatment; the union of musical universes: the European (the flute) and the African (the conga). These two instruments are joined by the oboe, followed by the trumpets, saxophones, and the double bass “Tumbao”… After a return to swing and bebop in the fourth movement, Chico takes us back to the origins of Latin jazz with a melody of clear Arabic accents, before immersing himself in the universe of Afro-Cuban percussions.”

And Benny Carter commented on the Afro-Cuban Jazz Suite the following: “The reason for the coherence of the rhythmic parts and their relationships with the solos that have their own life and independence, Masterpiece of a genius.”

Arturo "Chico" O'farrill dressed in black and with a red background — His last album was Heart Of A Legend

After the enormous success of this powerful piece of music, O’Farrill wrote Cuban Fantasy for Stan Kenton during his stay in New York (EE.UU). However, Kenton eventually changed the name of the piece and it was called the Cuban Episode.

In 1953 he moved from New York to the California state and founded his orchestra with renowned musicians such as Mario Bauzá, Doug Mettome, Jimmy Nottingham, Eddie Bert, Fred Zito, Lenny Hambro, Flip Phillips, and the saxophonist Eddie Wasserman. The orchestra used the Afro-Cuban rhythmic section of Machito, harp, and oboe.

Under this concept, he recorded for Norman Granz and performed in two emblematic venues of the American Jazz music scene: Birdland (New York) and Hat Ballroom located in Los Angeles, California. During this period he composed three new movements: “La Jungla”, “Contrast”, and “Rhumba Finale”, baptized as “Manteca Suite”. The latter recorded in 1954 with Jazzist Dizzy Gillespie and an orchestra with 21 talented musicians.

In 1956 he returned to Cuba in search of inspiration and immediately began to work for the best record companies such as Panart and RCA Víctor. In this record label, he made “Chico’s Cha-Cha-Cha”, adapting the Charanga rhythm to the Big band format. This album was released, once again, on compact disc by BMG during the last decade of the 20th century.

Two years later the restless O’Farrill traveled to Mexico due to the great platform that this country provided for Latin American musicians at the time. During that residency, he once again stood out with a special sound. He appears on television as music director for singer Andy Russell, and there his life takes a dizzying turn. He started the semi-retirement period but never stopped composing. By that time, he composed his next and one of his greatest works “Azteca Suite” for trumpeter Art Farmer. And he made history once again!

In the 60s and with the rise of rock, Chico returned to New York and made arrangements for such important figures as La Lupe (They Call Me La Lupe); Cal Tjader (Along with Comes Cal); Count Basie (High Voltage); Gato Barbieri (Chapter Three: Viva Emiliano Zapata); Ringo Starr (Night and Day) and dabbled in Rock music with David Bowie (I Know That It Will Happen and Looking for Lester) and finally was the director of the Venezuelan Aldemaro Romero’s Orchestra.

In this stage that lasted until the end of the 20th century and already in the 70s, the Big bands went from being an innovation to being displaced by other rhythms that were rapidly increasing in popularity. These genres used new techniques, styles, sounds, and harmonies. It led to the appearance of icons in Jazz and the disappearance of the exclusive Bing bands for ballroom dancing.

For this reason, Chico O’Farrill reinvents himself and begins to work in the lucrative field of music for audiovisual advertising.

Arturo "Chico" O'farrill in black and white — Pure Emotion album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Latin Jazz Performance

In the mid-nineties, American Jazz producer and director Todd Barkan contacted the “Afro-Cuban Jazz Architect” to pay tribute to his career with a compilation of his musical hits. The name of the album was Pure Emotion and it got a nomination for Best Latin Jazz Performance at the 37th Grammy Awards.

O’Farrill toured Europe with his orchestra in 1996 and recorded his latest album entitled “Heart Of A Legend” with 14 tracks.

For this album, they had an orchestra of 18 musicians and a collaboration of international artists. The arrangements and musical direction of “Heart Of A Legend” were in charge of his son Arturo O’Farrill Jr. and who continues with his legacy.

On June 29, 2001, at 80 years old in New York City, Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill passed away.

Undoubtedly, Chico O’Farrill was always a visionary, and he was at the forefront for more than half a century of the musical genre today recognized worldwide as Latin Jazz.

In memory of the 20 years of his physical disappearance

Arturo “Chico” O’Farrill Forever!

SalsaGoogle.com is International Salsa Magazine

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Tito Rodríguez, Jr. “The Palladium legacy lives on”

Timbalero, Arranger, Composer, Producer and Band Director, Tito Rodriguez, Jr. is one of the most important timbaleros of Salsa and Tropical Music as well as being one of the heirs of the mambo.

I had previously listened to, analyzed and shared my impressions about Transición (2017), by Tito Rodríguez, Jr. In conversation with Tito himself, he confirmed that Transición is his fourth album and the first to carry a Spanish-language title. We are doing well, Tito. This album was preceded by:

Curious?

Un clásico de 1978, originalmente en el sello TR de su padre. Con Sal Cuevas, Cachete, Ruben Figueroa, Gilberto Colon, un joven José Alberto El Canario en la voz - y una sección de coro con Adalberto Santiago y Ruben Blades. Vaya. ¿Curioso? ha sido una de las reediciones más solicitadas de la línea TR y los arreglos y el groove demuestran claramente por qué — Curious? (1975), featuring Adalberto Santiago, José Alberto “El Canario” and Rubén Blades.

Eclipse (1994) y

A classic! In the summer of '94, the Eclipse cuts and the infectious Erotic Woman. — A classic! In the summer of ’94, the Eclipse cuts and the infectious Erotic Woman.

The Big Three Palladium Orchestra live at the Blue Note (2004).

“The Big 3 Palladium Orchestra already may rank as the most brilliant large Latin jazz ensemble this side of Havana.”

The idea of bringing together the three great orchestras of the Palladium was Machito, Jr.’s, whom I will be approaching soon.

Promise is a promise, so here I am to elaborate a bit on what I left out of the previous report.

Why the title Transition?

For much of his productive life, Tito has held a conventional job so music has been his part-time love. Well, we should clarify what this so-called “part-time” has meant for Tito because even part-time, from 1994 to 1999 his orchestra was performing once a month at the world famous Copacabana in New York City. On the other hand, The Big Three Palladium Orchestra live at the Blue Note secured him a promotional tour – through Brian Theobald of BPR Music – that lasted a whopping eleven years.

Well, now it looks like Tito is getting ready to hit the stages that have been waiting for him so long. So get ready, what is coming is not from friends. I wonder if the title track Volver had something to do with Tito’s dream of surrendering to his first love: music.

Tito has been consistent in following the musical line of his progenitor’s orchestra although he has managed to modernize the baseline, adding his own forceful stamp. That is why the musical line of Tito Rodriguez, Jr.’s big orchestra is more modern without straying from the classical foundation.

Reading several articles, I stumbled upon one by Robin Denselow published in 2010 for the international newspaper The Guardian. My chest swells with Puerto Rican pride when I review the legacy left by the “Mambo Kings”: Machito, Puente and Rodriguez, those 3 bandleaders who transformed the American music scene. The Palladium located on Broadway and West 53rd Street no longer offers mambo, chacha or rumba but the musical legacy of the mambo kings remains more alive than ever. According to Denselow, when that Palladium Orchestra took the stage with a brass section it was Tito Rodriguez, Jr. who first led that historic reunion. According to the British view Rodriguez, Jr. lovingly revived his father’s compositions while showing off his percussion skills.

This was just the hors d’oeuvre for when Larry Harlow arrived to raise the bar even higher. Of course, having the luxury of having the pianist hero of not only the mambo kings but also the Fania All-Stars was no small feat for these virtuous offspring. Perhaps they are the offspring of the most influential trio in Latin music.

Back to Borinquen: In 2009 Tito Rodriguez, Jr. was in Puerto Rico fulfilling one of his musical dreams. With that dream in his suitcase, Tito, Jr. arrived behind his timbal to lead a very large orchestra.

Once on Puerto Rican soil, they joined that dream: Luis Nazario “Güiriche” on conga, Paquito Corselles on bass, Luisito Marín on piano, Pablo “El Indio” Rosario on bongo; Emilio Reales, Darío Morales, Simón Rivera and Edwin González on trumpets; Rafy Ruiz and Al Schnitzler on alto saxophone; Nelson Vega and Wilfredo de la Torre on tenor saxophone plus Angel “Chiqui” Vidal on baritone saxophone.

On vocals, Josué Rosado was backed by José Miranda and Juan Manuel Lebrón on backing vocals.

On that occasion, the orchestra performed in the Chucho Avellanet Show, at the gala of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce, at the Yagüez Theater in Mayagüez with the special participation of Chucho Avellanet.

The show that closed the tour in Puerto Rico took place at the Science Park in Bayamón. It is worth mentioning that Al Schnitzler and Emilio Reales were musicians in Tito Rodríguez’s orchestra in the 1960s.

Searching through the archives I think I fell for the performance of El Mulato Rumbero.

Although Tito, Jr. has not insisted on the label of being the son of the great vocalist Tito Rodriguez, it is not possible to escape the good shadow of being the son of a Puerto Rican glory who, almost fifty years after his death, is still a topic of conversation in musical circles.

WedSite: Tito Rodriguez, Jr.

By: Bella Martinez “La Escritora Irreverente de La Salsa”

Puerto Rico

WebSite: Bella Martinez

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From Aruba and for the World Anoushca Jeandor Noush and Robert Jeandor

It is for me more than a pleasure and great honor to make this release of this song “Me Muero” taken to the rhythm of Merengue. Originally from the 5th Station.

Noush was born in Aruba as Anoushca Jeandor.

Being daughter of the International singer musician Robert Jeandor, she was raised in a musical environment, during her early years she started singing in a choir until beyond her teenage years, after that she was given the opportunity to perform in a local casino as a singer.

She became more popular when she won one of the biggest Carnival Music Contest, which made her the first female overall winner. She has also performed in the Netherlands and Miami.

What started as a hobby, turned into a passion, and is nowadays her living, singing different genres as R&B, Reggae, House and Latin.

I thank Jaime Querol, producer/arranger for his excellent musical work. Thanks to you from SalsaGoogle.com (ISM) for this opportunity.

And there will be many more.

I am a singer since my childhood. I come from a musical family. My dad’s name is Robert Jeandor.

My father worked with great musicians, he was invited by Johnny Ventura to go to the Dominican Republic to live, where he worked daily with hundreds of renowned musicians such as Juan Luis Guerra, Wilfrido Vargaz, Alex Bueno, Manuel Tejada, Jaime Querol, Ramon Orlando and many more.

I am a singer by profession, I have several productions of my own in different genres.

Today I launch myself with a musical theme that thanks to Mr. Jaime Querol for his invitation to make an international production withmy father.

Noush was born in Aruba as Anoushca Jeandor

This beautiful song in merengue version is for you and I hope that this to your liking Thank you very much and God bless you all.

Follow me:

https://linktr.ee/noushmusicaruba

Robert Jeandor and his Solo Banda Show

A live music band from Aruba founded by the famous Aruban musician Robert Jeandor. Known for playing different genres of music, but mostly Latin music.

Without a doubt, maestro Robert Jeand’or is the most Dominican Aruban we have ever known.

Since he settled in the Dominican Republic, where he arrived thanks to the efforts of a giant of merengue, Johnny Ventura, this singer, musician, arranger, composer, music producer and orchestra leader only made contributions to the rhythm commanded by the güira and the tambora and the one that best identifies the idiosyncrasy of the Dominicans.

Always gentle, humble and with a soul devoid of pettiness, this gentlemanly artist put his talent at the service of merengue and, therefore, of all the gear that drives it.

Robert Hubert JeanD’or Bermudez was born on May 10, 1954, in Aruba, a territory that until 1986 was part of the Netherlands Antilles and today is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. He was the son of Francisco Reinier JeanD’or from Curazaleño and Cecilia Bermudez from Aruba, who worked in the Aruban aqueduct and hospital, respectively. Don Francisco died in 1972 and Doña Cecilia in 2005.

Notice that I have written JeanD’or and not Jeand’or, because the first is the correct surname of this family, but for artistic management purposes Robert was given Jeand’or. And lucky he was that they did not remove the apostrophe and left it only as Jeandor!

His inclination for music came from his father, who guided him when Robert took his first steps in musical studies.

“My dad was my first music teacher: he wrote down for me all the chords in a notebook and there, when I was barely six years old, I started learning to play the Venezuelan cuatro and, after some time, the guitar,” he recalled.

But it was not only in Robert’s veins that musical talent ran, but also in his siblings Francisco (Frank), who played guitar and mandolin, Marlene and Percey were equally talented guitarists, Robertina and John sang, Ismael was a trumpet player and Michael was a percussionist. Several of Robert’s siblings are now deceased: Ismael and Sofia (2010), Frank (2013) and John (2014).

In the neighborhood where he was born, called Madiki, he could very often see his brothers playing almost every night, together, as a family, with his dad leading, and so he was caught by the desire to join the family clan as a musician and that led him soon after to play the guitar.

“One night my brother Frank came home and told me that there was an aguinaldo group that needed a cuatrista to reinforce. The group was called Las Blancas Palomitas and was led by Severiano Luidens, with his relatives Evelien and Jossy Luidens also standing out,” recounted Robert Jeand’or, who was only eight years old at the time and, bursting into laughter, added that the only negrito was him.

He told that his relationship with the bass happened in a fortuitous way, because during a presentation of the group the bass player did not show up, due to lack of transportation, and then Robert, being a child of about nine or ten years old, assumed to play the powerful string instrument and solved the problem generated by the absence of the titular instrumentalist.

“I grabbed the bass, without ever having played it before and as the strings are tuned in the same order as the guitar, I said I was going to play it and so I played that night and that’s how I started to play it and to this day it is my greatest pleasure,” he recalled.

The lanky artist said that he entered a music academy to study bass and singing, being instructed in both subjects by the now extinct Aruban professor Rufo Odor and in harmony with the also deceased Argentinean professor Eddy Bennet.

In his youth and as a cuatro player and singer, he briefly played with pianist Albert Dieffenthaler, with whom he performed in several television programs, hotels and bars.

In the early 70’s, he joined Los Juveniles, which was the first orchestra where he participated as bassist, singer, composer and arranger. With this group, with which he became famous in his native land, he won in three consecutive years (from 1976 to 1978) the Tumba award, an annual celebration that is part of the carnivals of Aruba. Incidentally, Jeand’or would later win this award again two years in a row (1990 and 1991).

In 1978 Robert Jeand’or was crowned King of Tumba, after performing the song “Bolombonchi”, authored by Vicente Kelly, Victor Oduber and Jeand’or himself, which was later recorded by popular Colombian artist Joe Arroyo, who died in 2016. That impactful performance was seen by Johnny Ventura, who also performed there with his orchestra and El Caballo Mayor approached the Aruban singer to see if he would be interested in trying his luck abroad.

While that experience unfolded, Jeand’or did not stop his desire to add to his musical knowledge and expand the knowledge he already possessed in harmony and composition.

His inclination for music came from his father, who guided him when Robert took his first steps in musical studies. — Without a doubt, maestro Robert Jeand’or is the most Dominican Aruban we have ever known.

In the first five years of the 70’s, he released his first recording, composed and arranged by the artist himself: “Ta di nos e ta”, a phrase that translated into Spanish means “It’s ours”.

During 1979 he released with his orchestra La Nueva Fuerza the musical production entitled Rey Di Tumba 1976-77-78, recorded in his native island and with the support of Aruba Recording Studio, where he experimented with Latin, folk and country genres, giving us songs such as “Ban bonse”, “Ata mi cos”, “Manera un wiei”, “Slip’e”, “Bolombonchi”, “Pusha bai aden”, “M’y yega”, and “Canta cu mi awor”.

Many people don’t know that Robert Jeand’or was just a few minutes away from joining the Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, after the departure of Andy Montañez. Jeand’or took the stage with La Universidad de la Salsa, during a presentation at the Caiquetio club, and performed “El barbero loco”, “Las hojas blancas”, “Pin pin pin” and other songs that Montañez vocalized. His voice impressed Don Rafael Ithier and the staff of the famous group. After Montañez moved on to La Dimensión Latina, Ventura called maestro Ithier and recommended Jeand’or to fill the position of El Niño de Tras Talleres, to which Ithier replied that yes, he knew him, but he had already recruited Jerry Rivas. It is said that there was also a delay with the American visa.

It was not long before Jeand’or became part of La Dimensión Latina, because both when Oscar de León left this orchestra and when Andy Montañez also left, the name of the Arubeño was mentioned to join this Venezuelan group. In fact, they went to look for him where he worked, but he was already in Santo Domingo with Los Hijos del Rey.

Likewise, during a visit of Larry Harlow to the island of Aruba, El Judío Maravilloso saw Jeand’or singing and told Vicente Kelly, recently deceased this year (2020) and compadre of the popular singer, bassist and arranger, that he would take the Aruban singer to New York, because he needed someone to fill the void left in his orchestra by Junior González (who died on May 10, 2012) and Kelly responded positively, but that promise was never fulfilled.

In the midst of all that, the Aruban artist opted to join the Los Hijos del Rey orchestra in 1979 and settle in Santo Domingo.

Robert Hubert JeanD'or Bermudez was born on May 10, 1954. — Robert Hubert JeanD’or Bermudez was born on May 10, 1954.

“It was Johnny Ventura who talked to me so that I could travel to the Dominican Republic as a musician, and getting there was a great experience. Once in the Dominican capital, the first recording I made was for a commercial and the person who called me for that job was a very respected musician, his name is Jorge Taveras,” he said.

With Los Hijos del Rey, an orchestra then led by maestro Dioni Fernández, he recorded merengues such as the emblematic “Yo me dominicanizo”, by the prolific Puerto Rican composer Catalino Curet Alonso, affectionately known as Tite, “La pilandera” and “La vacuna”, by Porfirio Ruiz, among others, as well as the salsas “El viento”, by Joe Nicolás, and the successful “Puchula”, by Ramoncito Díaz.

While he was performing in Puerto Rico with Los Hijos del Rey, an orchestra that was in conflict with another faction for the use of the name, Jeand’or, who in the middle of that was in a kind of limbo, received a call from composer Curet Alonso (died in 2003), who mediated for him to sing with Roberto Roena & Apollo Sound, and the artist told him that he would think about it because he had to talk first with Ventura, who has always been his advisor.

Another situation that put Jeand’or on the verge of joining a salsa orchestra: in the middle of a tour in Puerto Rico, trumpeter Nelson García, of Los Hijos del Rey, talked to maestro Bobby Valentín to include the arubeño in his orchestra and the Puerto Rican star liked the singer’s voice very much, but then he had Cano Estremera as his star sonero and everything came to nothing.

Source:

Facebook: RobertJeandor

Diario Digital Dominicano

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What causes the birth of salsa in New York and other cities

Background

It is no secret that music has always been a vast source of social expressions that tell an infinite number of stories dating back to the time and focused on the awakening of the personal and collective conscience of the people at the time. This is exactly what has happened with salsa and Latin music in general from its origins.

As is the case for almost all known musical genres, salsa was the result of a set of migration waves caused by the political, social and economic issues that were gestating in a large part of the Latin countries. These people saw in various cities across the U.S. the place they were looking for to start a new life far from the suffering of the past. This is how large Latino communities were growing in the country, New York being one of the cities with the highest number of these new residents.

Although people from all over the continent immigrated to the United States, there is no denying that Puerto Ricans and Cubans started making an impact on their new home, at least in cultural terms. Cities that received these new citizens were already becoming too small for the large number of immigrants who would not stop arriving, which presented a challenge for the old and new inhabitants.

A number of new arrivals were forced to live in inhumane conditions to find themselves in places which did not have minimum conditions of dignity to house human beings. This led many of them to live a life of squalor equal to the one from which they were fleeing, or even worse.

This is how neighborhoods were starting to be born in New York City, which was gradually configured in small communities inhabited only by people of one or certain nationality. It was this mix of old and new culture that gave birth to new rhythms that were born on the streets and began to spread robustly. At that time, we were starting to enjoy the talent of Cheo Feliciano and historic boleros of Pedro Flores were becoming increasingly present in the rickety windows of Latin low-income neighborhoods.

Picture of the Bronx in the 70's — The Bronx during the 70’s

This social situation coincided with the creation of the record label Fania Records from the hand of the legendary Johnny Pacheco and Jerry Masucci. The early work of the label attracted a great deal of attention due to its freshness and novelty in comparison with what was being done at the time. Fania All Stars, Bobby Valentín’s orchestra and a few other groups, not noticing it, began to start a trend to the sound of timbales and claves whose rhythm was increasingly fast and furious.

The young people of the time were clamoring for music far from art academies and social circles which became more and more unattainable for them. Something that many would call music closer to the street and much more like them. The black population had ceased to be represented by much acclaimed jazz artists at the time and could feel its purest essence in boogaloo.

For those who do not know, boogaloo can be defined as a genre of Latin origin resulting from the mixing of Afro-Cuban rhythms and American soul, which was already beginning to be sung in both English and Spanish. This last shows the widespread influence of the arrival of so many Latinos to the United States in such a short amount of time.

This is what made the figures that would later emerge so famous. In addition to Pacheco and Valentin, names like Pete Rodriguez, Monguito, Ismael Miranda, and Ismael Rivera were also popularized. And of course, nor can we fail to mention the explosive duo formed by Héctor Lavoe and Willie Colón.

Hector Lavoe and Willie Colón singing — Willie Colón and Hector Lavoe

What the term salsa means

After the emergence of the already mentioned artists, there came about a great confusion concerning the meaning of the term salsa, as that was the word chosen to refer to the music done by a growing group of singers in New York. This, of course, did not make Tito Puente and Machito content, who saw the pioneers of this new trend as intruders who came to take the place they had already earned by pluck and application.

Some scholars of the subject have stated that the term salsa comes from a kind of like campaigning in which this rising genre was likened to the seasoning used in food to make it more appetizing. Others said that it was just a phrase that says échale salsa (salsa in Spanish can also refer to sauce used in the kitchen) used by various musicians for sudden changes in rhythm. Fania Records used this to make its artists famous and it worked as well as expected.

During the 1970s, the genre hung over the youth of the time and the old school that took quite a lot to impress.

The Fania in japan — The Fania is arriving to Japan

What part Cuba and the Cuban Revolution played in all this.

It is undeniable that Cuban music had a before and an after due to the Cuban Revolution. When Castro came to power, high tensions began to arise between the island and the United States, which caused the Caribbean country to be perceived as a threat by the media of the time. This made its cultural and artistic expressions to be no longer seen with good eyes. This led artists who were afraid of being censored to rename it as salsa and pass it off as Latin music.

This salsa ended up by uniting an entire continent in a single voice, for it spoke of a shared culture and a common origin that not only stood for Cuba, but also for Latin America in full. This was what turned the genre into an identity movement for countries such as Puerto Rico, Colombia, Venezuela, and many more. There was a time all these nations were competing to be considered the official home of salsa.

This brought about a countless number of historic concerts in which the Fania All Stars, other groups, and artists proved that the Fania got huge potential as a product. This was the exact same Cuban music with certain variations that never left the art world despite pressures to do so.

Johnny Pacheco smiling with a tobacco — Johnny Pacheco

If you want more information, you can read Génesis of Salsa, its essence, characteristics, rhythm, history and expansión

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