Search Results for: Latin dance world

Maelo y su Klan want to bring tropical rhythms to the whole world

Maelo y su Klan is the latest project, and one of the dreams, of the producer with more than twenty years of experience, Johnny Ysmael Salaverria Dicurú. The popular “Maelo” as his dearest friends call him, continues his career by working and pouring his heart into this project. With them the first genre fusion between Son and Kizomba is known. In the following lines we will talk about Maelo and his most beloved project.

Who is Maelo?

Johnny Ysmael Salaverria Dicurú was born in San Juan parish, in Caracas, capital city of Venezuela, where he spent his childhood surrounded by the joy of the Caribbean “soneros and salseros”. He was a child when he first expressed his interest in one of the most popular tropical Caribbean rhythms, salsa. Part of his influences came from his uncle, Héctor Bruno Dicurú.

Ysmael D´La O, is his artistic name on stage and producing, but his closest friends call him “El Tiburón de la Salsa”. He left with $80, and a luggage full of dreams, to look out for adventures abroad. His destiny was Tenerife, where he quickly earned the love and respect of the natives, and was embraced as an adopted son.

Maelo as a producer has worked with renowned soloists and groups, from all over the world. To name a few: Nicky Jam, El Binomio de Oro, Tito Rojas, Oscar D’León, Porfi Baloa, Tony Vega, La Dimensión Latina, Ray Sepúlveda, Guayacán, El Grupo Niche. As a promoter and producer of events, one of his greatest achievements was El Gran Combo De Puerto Rico who celebrated their 50th anniversary, and visited Europe hand in hand with him.

We can call Maelo, the cultural ambassador of Caribbean rhythms, making more than 30 countries listen and enjoy them. He was the first Latin American to have 100 continuous virtual conversations during the pandemic, a time when creativity was the escape of many artists.

Among his awards and recognitions is being nominated as International Producer of the Year in 2020, Producer and Promoter of the Virtual Euro Festival in the 20/21 edition. But soon more will come, since Maelo’s talent is infinite.

Defining Maelo and his Klan

The band stands out in danceable rhythms such as: Son, Charanga, Guaguancó, Salsa, Tropical, Latin Jazz and a lot of fusion with an original sound, which is inspired by African rhythms. Of course, with the influences of great masters of the old tropical school. In this way, a combination is created that generates a modern sound, worthy of the new generation. But what most characterizes this Klan is the creation of the fusion of the genres between Son and Kizomba.

The works of Maelo y su Klan have the collaboration of the renowned arranger and director of Billo’s Caracas Boys, the Venezuelan Julio Cesar Estrada. Also by Paquito Barón, ex-member of the Orquesta Bronco of Venezuela, in the musical production.

The Klan has all the merits and the support of the Anglo-Saxon and Asian public. One of his productions entitled ¡Cultura viva! Fusion is positioned as the new sound in Afro-Caribbean music. Maelo not only puts his talent for the band, but also puts all his knowledge of the tropical rhythms of Latin America, as well as its movements through Europe and Asia. Let’s hope that the journey of Maelo y su Klan will be a very long one, full of great successes, so that they can continue to please the public that loves these tropical rhythms.

The world congress you were waiting for is in Spain

Salsa returns to Spain in April, after the successful Congress in 2022, this year it was decided to hold the Salsa Spain World Congress in a new city, Valencia. The entire event will take place very close to the sea, and will be full of great artists in different fields of this tropical genre, along with demonstrations of other genres. Know all the details in the following lines.

Valencia receives the Salsa Spain World Congress

Valencia is a charming and welcoming city with a beautiful Mediterranean climate. Modern architecture mixes with ancient art, the city’s history and culture, to offer visitors a unique destination. The beaches, museums, parks, and festivals contribute to its vibrant cultural scene.

The City of Arts and Sciences is the pride of Valencia. Here, you can explore historic temples or ultra-modern buildings, surrounded by gardens paved with colorful mosaics. This Spanish city also offers numerous culinary options, from traditional tapas to excellent restaurants serving modern Spanish and international cuisine.

And it is precisely this destination that has been chosen to host the Salsa Spain World Congress 2023. The Salsa Spain World Congress is an annual salsa dance festival that is expected to take place every year in Spain. The event highlights the main styles and trends of salsa dedicated to professional dancers, dance enthusiasts, musicians and followers of the genre.

Last year the festival attracted hundreds of attendees who enjoyed spectacular dance shows, master classes, hands-on workshops, musical showcases, and some well-organized competitions. This colorful event will have a program dedicated to salsa and other tropical rhythms.

From April 14 to 16, Valencia will open its doors to all those professionals, and lovers of Latin dance to enjoy everything that the Salsa Spain World Congress will offer. All the events will take place at the Hotel Versus Gandía Palace, a beautiful brand new hotel, whose facilities are only 100 meters from Playa Gandía.

Great artists will highlight each activity

There are many artists confirmed for this great congress and there are still many who are confirming their participation. There will also be incredible performances by the following DJs, who will further elevate the party mood.

Regarding programming, the following information is handled, but is subject to change:

THURSDAY (a pre-party is not included):

23h – 24h Workshop
00h – 04h Part

FRIDAY:

15h – 20h Workshops
11:30h Doors Open
24h – 1:30h Shows
01h – 06h Party

SATURDAY:

11 – 14h Workshops
14h – 20h Workshops
Doors Opening 11pm
23:30h – 1h Shows
1:30 – 06h Party

SUNDAY:

11 – 14h Workshops
17h – 20h Pool Party
22h – 23:30h Night workshop
23:30h. – 04h Party

To know the price of the tickets, which will depend on what kind of ticket you are looking for, and in what condition you go, you can check the prices on the LaSalsaDelBaile portal. They also make available a WhatsApp number, and an email for any questions or doubts: [email protected].

Carlos “Patato” Valdés one of the best percussionists in the history of Latin Jazz.

On November 4, 1926 in the Los Sitios neighborhood of Havana, Cuba, Carlos “Patato” Valdés was born. Known as Patato, he is, quite simply, one of the best percussionists in the history of music.

Patato was born into a very santera and very musical family, his father was a tres player of Los Apaches, the port germ of two illustrious sonera groups: the Sexteto Habanero and the Sexteto Nacional.

He learned to play the tres and the botijuela before turning to percussion, first on the cajones and finally on the congas.

He was an extraordinary percussionist of outstanding participation with the “Conjunto Kubavana”, “La Sonora Matancera”, “Conjunto Casino” and the “Orquesta de Tito Puente”, among other groups, both Son and Latin Jazz.

Formed in rumbero gatherings and carnival groups, Valdés became a professional in the early forties, after trying his luck as a boxer and dancer.

Carlos “Patato” Valdés uno de los mejores percusionistas en la historia del Jazz Latino

He played with Conjunto Kubavana, La Sonora Matancera and El Conjunto Casino. He accumulated nicknames: Zumbito (for his performances at the Zombie Club), Pingüino (for a dance he did on television) and Patato (for his small size), and in those days, dedicating oneself to music in Cuba guaranteed hardship. Besides, Patato wanted to experiment and that was not possible playing for dancers or tourists.

In 1954, he emigrated to New York, like his leather friends: Cándido Camero, Armando Peraza, Mongo Santamaría and the pioneer Chano Pozo (murdered there in 1948).

He immediately began working with Tito Puente. His first recording in the United States was the album Afro-cuban, by trumpeter Kenny Dorham, which opened with the intoxicating Afrodisia. Those were good times for tropical music.

He was the first percussionist to improvise “Solos” with 3 or more Congas at the same time. In addition, he was the creator of the “Congas Afinables”, instruments on which he would ride to dance making them sound rhythmically.

Patato Valdes was an excellent musician, an unforgettable person. Nervous and diminutive, he spoke with an impenetrable Cuban accent; he dressed elegantly, hiding the necklaces and bracelets of Changó and other “orishas”. He looked like a living caricature, but when he hit the percussions he became a divine creature: he had power, spectacularity, sense of melody.

Those skills made him an ambassador of Afro-Cuban rhythms in the jazz world, although he will also go down in history for his extraordinary rumba recordings.

In 1956, Patato appeared in the film Y Dios creó a la mujer, teaching the dances of his homeland to Brigitte Bardot. A great moment, although an implacable Guillermo Cabrera Infante criticized the actress’s movements: “she seems to commit suicide by dancing a cross between mambo and chachachá, a really toxic cross between mambo and chachachá”.

A flexible musician, Valdés sounded as comfortable playing with Machito’s big band as with Herbie Mann’s group. However, he felt indebted to the “rumba de solar” and in 1968 he recorded a revolutionary album with his friend Eugenio Arango, alias Totico.

The exuberant Patato & Totico had genuine Havana flavor, but enriched the basic percussion instrumentation with Cachao’s contrabass and Arsenio Rodriguez’s tres.Patato expanded the creative possibilities for percussionists by playing with three or more congas.

He also made their lives easier by developing a tunable conga: fed up with the traditional method (heating the leather over fire), he installed a metal hoop and keys for tensioning.

Carlos "Patato" Valdés — Carlos “Patato” Valdés

The LP company mass-produced his model, which was to become the standard for conga players. To promote it, he formed the Latin Percussion Jazz Ensemble with Tito Puente, Jorge Dalto and Alfredo de la Fé, among others, an orchestra that would end up becoming Puente’s big band in the early 80s.

It was during this period with Dalto that the album we have chosen for today began to take shape. It was titled “Patato, Master Piece” and it synthesizes all of Patato’s genius.

“Masterpiece” is an album that travels first class through tango, jazz, descarga, guaguancó and bolero, always in a masterful way and with a luxury crew made up of names like Jorge Dalto, Artie Webb, Michel Camilo, Jerry and Andy González, Nicky Marrero, Ignacio Berroa, Joe Santiago, Néstor Sánchez, Vicentino Valdés, and Sabú Martínez, among others.

The Art of Flavor.

Unfortunately Dalto had already passed away when in 1993 the project was released by the venerable German label Messidor, the same label that had already financed some impressive sessions of Patato with Mario Bauzá or Bebo Valdés, with whom he would later record the famous El Arte del Sabor.

In fact, the great Argentine pianist had to be replaced for the last recording sessions that were made 6 years ago since his illness was too advanced, but he left us some incredible arrangements that were kept in the great majority of the themes.

Dalto left us in 1987 when he was only 39 years old. His replacement was nothing more and nothing less than a very young Michel Camilo.formed by 9 cuts among which we especially want to highlight the huge versions of Cute and Nica’s Dream, Masterpiece is an essential album for all lovers of Latin-jazz with capital letters and that is why we wanted to share it on a day as special as today.

Already recognized as a legend, Patato became more visible in the last 25 years: he had his own band, Afrojazzia, although The Conga Kings, with Cándido and Giovanni Hidalgo, turned out to be more popular.

The Conga Kings Giovanni Hidalgo, Cándido Camero y Patato Valdez

He even made his way onto the modern dance floors, with a remix of San Francisco tiene su propio son. Just as he was returning from playing in California with the Conga Kings, his breathing began to fail.

The plane he was on had to make an emergency landing in Ohio to admit him to a hospital. The 81-year-old percussionist, a heavy smoker, was on his way to his beloved New York, but he would never get there. According to his relatives, he held out until December 4, the day of Santa Barbara, the Afro-Cuban equivalent of Changó, when the cables and tubes that kept him alive were removed.

Valdés died in Cleveland, USA, on December 4, 2007.

Fuentes: http://www.herencialatina.com/Patato/Patato_Valdes.htm

Imágenes: Martin Cohen de Congahead.com

Carlos “Patato” Valdés

You can read: Irakere was a Cuban group that developed an important work in Cuban popular music and Latin Jazz under the direction of Chucho Valdés

Irakere was a Cuban group that developed an important work in Cuban popular music and Latin Jazz under the direction of Chucho Valdés

Irakere was formed as such in 1967 but had begun to work much earlier; in that year precisely they went to a selection called in Havana to organize with the best musicians of that time the Cuban Orchestra of Modern Music; already in 1972 they were approaching to what they currently produce deciding in 1973 to call it Irakere, which in Yoruba language means Vegetation and that is how, starting from its name, they work based on the Afro-Cuban musical roots.

In this way, through the combination, mixture and interrelation of classical, impressionism, jazz, rock and various compositional techniques they managed to walk through all styles such as dance music, concert, traditional and popular Cuban music.

Thanks to the impulse of pianist Chucho Valdés, the Cuban group Irakere took off in 1973, nourished by Thelonious Monk’s bop.

Founders

Grupo Irakere: It was founded in Havana in 1973, by:

Jesús Valdés(Chucho) composer, director and pianist;

Paquito D’Rivera (Paquito), alto and tenor saxophone, flute and clarinet;

Carlos Averhoff, tenor saxophone, soprano, flute and bass clarinet;

Jorge Varona, trumpet, trombone and percussion;

Carlos del Puerto, bass, bass guitar and tuba;

Carlos Emilio Morales, guitar;

Bernardo García, drums and batá drums;

Jorge Alfonso, batá drums;

Enrique Plá, drums;

Carlos Barbón, güiro, chekeré and tambourine; and

Oscar Valdés, singer, tumbadora (conga), batá drums and bongo.

Irakere, fue un grupo cubano que desarrolló un importante trabajo en la música popular cubana y el Jazz Latino

On the founding of Irakere, Chucho Valdés expressed:

“For us the group always existed, it was present at all times; it was like something pending. At the beginning it had no name, it was just an idea we were working on: to use Cuban folkloric percussion in dance music, and to look for different timbres with a common characteristic: “ours”.

Then Oscar Valdés came up with the idea of combining the not easy and little known batá drum with the tumbadora, güiro and cowbell and so, step by step we arrived at the current group…”.

About Irakere’s first stage, the musicologist Leonardo Acosta points out: “one of the successes of Irakere had been not to try to invent and identify itself with a “new rhythm”, according to the old guidelines of advertising so much used from the forties to the sixties.

The slogan about the “new rhythm” was until recently the “open sesame” on which the musicians counted to become famous overnight, and by that way sometimes quite commercial results were achieved.

Apart from the fact that no “new rhythm” is so new, they all come from the alteration or amalgamation of pre-existing rhythms.

Irakere’s only alchemy comes from the spontaneous creativity of its members. Since there is no commercial endeavor, laboratory practices are unnecessary, and the group can perform a contradanza, a danzón, a son montuno or a cha cha chá without fear of seeming “old-fashioned”, since they are in fact playing something else at the same time. And without setting themselves the goal, nor having to invent a “pega” name, almost by an imperative of the material they are working on, new rhythmic combinations are emerging, to the point that Irakere’s rhythm is unmistakable among Cuban listeners or dancers.

Certainly, and in spite of their triumphs in international jazz festivals, Irakere is not a jazz group. But these successes are not gratuitous either, because as we have seen, they have formidable musicians with great experience in the jazz field, especially in the aspect of improvisation, the great discovery of jazz and perhaps its greatest contribution to the music of the 20th century.

“Paquito D’Rivera: Irakere was born against the will of the Cuban authorities”.

When talking about Cuban music, the name of one of the most emblematic groups in the country’s musical history comes to mind, Irakere, which in Yoruba language means vegetation, jungle.

Irakere became the seed that would germinate a lush forest of rhythms and sounds, a school through which many of the great stars of Cuban music have paraded.

Founded more than four decades ago, this legendary band has been a pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz and the initiator of the musical revolution in the seventies.

Gracias al impulso del pianista Chucho Valdés, el grupo cubano Irakere levantó vuelo en 1973

Irakere emerged at a time when, due to political demands on the island, music and culture were treated as an instrument of revolutionary identification and jazz was branded as imperialist music.

It was at this time, in the late sixties and early seventies, that a group of great musicians founded a band whose main goal was to enrich Cuban popular dance music with Latin jazz as essential elements.

Under the direction of the outstanding pianist Jesús “Chucho” Valdés, excellent musicians came together in search of a different sonority, based on the use of Afro-Cuban folkloric percussion together with the renewed timbres of the popular rhythms of the time that fused jazz, rock, funk and popular Cuban rhythms such as son, mambo or cha cha chá, together with classical or concert music.

“Irakere was the Musical Generation of change”.

Sources:

https://www.ecured.cu/Irakere

Leonardo Acosta

Radio Televisión Marti

Mirna Guerra

Irakere

You can read: Israel Kantor was an excellent bassist, arranger and composer who achieved great popularity in Cuba for his vocal technique and original “Sonear” style

Founder of the Son Latino de Orlando Orchestra Carlos Rodríguez

Who is carlos Rodríguez?

We have been fortunate to talk with founder and bongo player of the Son Latino de Orlando Orchestra, Carlos Rodríguez, who started out with him thanking us for the opportunity to talk a little about the group he leads and how has the process of reaching more and more audiences been.

Founder of Son Latino De Orlando and bongo player Carlos Rodríguez

Rodriguez started in the world of music in the 70’s in his native Puerto Rico, where he was part of a few orchestras. His first group was Imperial Orchestra and later he played percussion with Conjunto Secas in the town of Sábana Seca, but it was not long before he created the Sabrosona Orchestra. He started making vocals with Tony Vega and very small performances until he decided to retire for a while and go to Florida.

While in the United States, he realized that his love for music was still intact and decided to form another orchestra in the city of Orlando about eight years ago, which he decided to name ”Son Latino de Orlando ”. It was Carlos himself who decided to name his group that way while he was at home one day, which was when he thought of ”Son Latino” and decided to add ”de Orlando” in honor of the place where they are living and working.

In addition to being the owner and founder, he also plays the bongo, does vocals and plays minor percussion. Another role he plays in the orchestra is to carefully select the members who will become part of his orchestra, but he confesses that he has been lucky enough to have several of the same collaborators for many years, such as Davin Rojas, Rafael Rico, Luis Soriano, Danny Rojas, Chris Torres and Kevin Figueroa (music director of the orchestra and pianist). All of them have been very important in the group’s growth in recent years from their very specific roles. If there are any changes, they are made known to the fans so that they keep it in mind.

Danny Rojas, Rafael Rico, and Luis Soriano from Son Latino de Orlando

Biggest challenges

Carlos tells us that one of the biggest challenges faced by he and his guys is that those who usually hire their services do not pay what is fair for their work. Club owners are not really interested in paying for a good orchestra that offers a quality show, so they just choose the cheapest.

One of the biggest problems they have had to face is that if contractors consider that those in charge of the orchestra are asking for a very high payment, they will always choose the group that less money demands, no matter its quality is not the best.

Rodríguez makes it clear that at no point does he criticize any colleague for this, since all musicians do what is necessary to survive and excel in the industry through the work they do. However, he thinks that club owners and managers should modify the elements relied upon by them to choose their artists, since the bigger loser is always the audience.

How to balance business affairs with the love for art and music (título 3)

”You have musicians behind you and you have to meet with them. To be able to keep your orchestra, you have to go outside to look for your events and guarantee your work” was the first thing the musician said when we asked him how he balances business with the love for music. It is he himself who is in charge of knocking on the doors of the establishments, making his proposals, waiting for calls, indicating prices, signing contracts and arranging dances.

He also stated that it is very important to always lay out the terms of each contract so there are no unpleasant surprises such as last minute cancellations or misunderstandings.

How to balance original music with covers

”We always try to have a balance between romantic salsa, melodic salsa and hard salsa,” says Carlos. The orchestra has three singers who take turns on lead vocals depending on the type of salsa to be played, but there are mamy times when they are all combined in one song and adapt to the rhythms.

In all its performances, the orchestra sings both covers with different arrangements and original numbers. Depending on the place and the type of event, they always try to combine the music and build up a whole repertoire based on that specific audience preferences.

Opinion on new talent

On this topic, Rodriguez said that there are very talented new artists, but they must be allowed to grow and be original. ”Just because you have a middleweight name doesn’t mean you have to be arrogant and put aside humility. You have to be willing to listen and learn from the older guys in the business” said the artist.

For the bongo player, the speed of progress in this career makes many talented kids lose the north and get carried away by arrogance and the desire to know everything. He always tries to give advice to the kids who want to devote themselves to music with whom he has the opportunity to talk so that they can do their best.