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What The Namm Show is and how it works

Latinos and their music have managed to conquer all types of spaces over time thanks to their talent and dedication, and one of them has been The NAMM Show, which is the event to which we are going to dedicate the next lines to be read.

The NAMM Show is an annual trade fair for music producers from all over the world which is organized by The National Association of Music Marchants (NAMM) and is intended to receive suppliers, distributors, social communicators, artists and guests from NAMM member companies. The event takes place in January of each year at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, United States, and the 2024 edition took place between January 23 and 35.

Among the main reasons for the realization The NAMM Show we can mention the promotion of the music industry and the producers offered to consumers anywhere on the planet, which makes it a very important space for anyone who wants to have a place in this highly competitive business.

NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center — The Anaheim Convention Center, where the NAMM Show is held every year

The National Association of Music Merchants

Before delving into what The NAMM Show is, we think it is appropriate to talk about the organization in charge of realizing it and what exactly it does.

The National Association of Music Merchants is a non-profit association that focuses on promoting the advantages and benefits of music and seeks to strengthen the marketing of music products in general as much as possible.

The association was founded in 1901 under the name of The National Association Piano Dealers of America, but since it had much more ambitious aims for the future, the name was changed to NAMM. Today, NAMM and its trade shows function as a meeting center and bank of information for all who wish to stay abreast of the very latest in music products, recording, sound, among other things. However, it is important to note that activities and courses created by NAMM were offered to interested parties of all ages and musical backgrounds.

An important division of Namm that must also be mentioned is The NAMM Foundation, which is a subdivision founded in 2006 of the aforementioned organization that seeks to promote active participation in the creation of music making use of scientific research, donations and public service. A very important element of The NAMM Foundation is that it relies on the generosity of industry members and is based on donations and trade association activities.

This foundation provides opportunities for people of all ages, funding scientific research in music and music education.

The NAMM Show

The NAMM Show is considered as one of the largest trade shows in the music industry to be found on a global level and the most important producers, distributors, artists, record labels, music entrepreneurs and accredited members of the media get together every year at this lavish event to promote everything it has to offer to its audience.

All who enters The NAMM Show will see vendors displaying all kinds of products in stands, allowing traders and producers present to keep up with the latest in music, reach all types o agreements and make purchases of what they need for the next few months of work. In addition to that, the event draws renowned musicians, who also exhibit their own models and equipment to those who may want to acquire them.

Among some important facts about The NAMM Show, we can mention that 2018 was very important for the event, as it was the year in which it began to be held at the Anaheim Convention Center, joined the Audio Engineering Society and organized the Parnelli Awards, which are the prizes that reward all those professionals and companies that work behind the scenes so that everything works such as lights, effects, projection, among other areas.

Three years later, The NAMM Show was not held in January due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so instead, NAMM held a virtual meeting which it named ”Believe In Music Week” starting on January 18 and had over 500,000 views from the general NAMM membership. While it is true that this event was about The NAMM Show every year, its purposes were very similar, as it sought to answer the immediate needs of the companies that are part of NAMM through training for opinion leaders who lead each of the music industry segments, especially at a time as complicated as those experienced back then.

Products at the NAMM Show — Some of the music products offered at The NAMM Show in 2024

Last events of The NAMM Show

Once the pandemic began to decline, fortunately the event was again held at the Anaheim Convention Center in 2022 with a three-day trade show that compensated perfectly for the previous year’s lockout.

In 2023, the trade show held in April of that year welcomed more than 46,700 attendees from more than 120 countries and more than 1,200 exhibitors representing more than 3,000 brands overall, making it one of the largest and most beat-attended editions in recent years. This is not surprising due to the quarantine.

As for this year’s edition, the event had a number of 1600 stands offering their music products, 3500 brands and about 62,000 attendees.

El Tresero Moderno San Miguel Perez

Cuba is and will continue to be one of the main cradles of the best artists in Latin America and San Miguel Perez is one of those cases. The producer, composer and singer gave us an exclusive interview to talk about his musical beginnings, his history and what he is currently working on. Don’t miss it!

Tresero San Miguel — This is San Miguel Perez, ”El Tresero Moderno”

San Miguel, El Tresero Moderno

San Miguel is known in his country as ”El Tresero Moderno” (the modern tres player in English) due to the styles he uses when playing. He chose the Cuban tres as his main instrument because it is a very important icon in the music of his country and the one that most represents Cuba internationally,

His first contact with music occurred at the age of 10, when he began studying classical music, but adding the Cuban tres. He followed this same path throughout high school and university until he became part of some Cuban popular music groups such as Los Jóvenes Clásicos del Son and Adalberto Álvarez y Su Son.

Together with the latter group, he released the album ”Respeto Para Los Mayores”, which was very popular at the time. This success led them to collaborate with great orchestras such as Los Van Van, with whom they shared the stage sometimes.

On one occasion, one of the members of Los Van Van took the stage to jam with the guys of Adalberto Alvarez y Su Son, including San Miguel. Seeing the Cuban’s talent and style with the tres, he baptized him with the nickname ”El Tresero Moderno”. This nickname had to do with his playing and the influences that the artist brings to the instrument when making a solo.

San Miguel playing — San Miguel Perez playing the Cuban tres live

Cubadisco

San Miguel was twice awarded with the Cubadisco Award, one in 2011 in the category of Best Tresero and the other in 2013 in the category of Best Traditional Cuban Music. These recognitions were very important for the musician, as the award was the result of a previous contest, which was focused on the work of treseros, singers and pianists from all over Cuba.

The primary objective of this contest was to rescue Cuban music and give new talents a chance to make their art known. Adalberto Álvarez, Frank Fernández, and Mayito de Rivera were part of the contest’s presidency.

Given that San Miguel was one of the winning treseros, the Bis Music label released an album called ”Treseros de Cuba”, material in which the young man was included. This was the album which won the Cubadisco award in 2014.

After receiving both awards, Adalberto Álvarez met up with San Miguel to invite the Cubadisco winner to join his group. He took advantage of the departure of the former tresero in the group to invite him.

Los Angeles

San Miguel’s move to Los Angeles was due to a purely professional issue at first. He went to play with Adalberto Alvarez, Peruvian-American singer Cecilia Noël, her husband Colin Hay from Men At Work and other artists living in the United States. Due to this and other work proposals, he decided to stay in Tampa and, time later, to move to the city of Los Angeles and make it his permanent residence.

It should also be mentioned that many other artists have had to work other jobs outside of music in order to make ends meet, but fortunately this was not the case of San Miguel, who had the opportunity to work only in music and did not need to resort to other activities out of his passion. He has dedicated himself fully to playing, recording and producing music for the past 10 years.

San Miguel won the Cubadisco Award — San Miguel twice won the Cubadisco Award in his native country

Composition, production and singing

Regarding the areas of music in which he has specialized, San Miguel began by explaining that he made a good improvement in composition during the time he played with Los Jóvenes Clásicos del Son. He also learned to make arrangements based on traditional music, something in which the director of the group, Ernesto Reyes Palma, played a very important role.

Regarding production, the artist did not participate much in that area, but he eventually did in the United States. It is in this country that he officially started his career as a soloist, tresero and artist. Three years after arriving in Los Angeles, he produced a first album called ”Un Poquito de Amor” in collaboration with Cecilia Noël and Colin Hay in 2017, which was a great learning experience for him, as he was able to experiment and mix many seemingly disparate rhythms.

Other areas in which San Miguel would like to specialize are sound engineering and remastering, but he is working hard to do so.

Current projects

As for the current projects, he is currently promoting his single ”Besito Bon Bon”, which is the main song of his new album. In fact, San Miguel and his team are planning to give this same name to the whole album. On this occasion, he mixed electronic sounds with traditional Cuban music to give a much more modern rhythm to the traditional genres coming from the island. The album has nine songs, is produced by Jay Carona and contains some collaborations with Cecilia Noël.

¡Attack Sergio! Unbreakable: A fun read because of the contradictory content

I placed the order online on October 25, 2023. By return email, I received confirmation of payment and a promise to receive my copy the following week.

However, after several days I received a delay notification from the supplier. It was understandable that an artist of Sergio George’s stature would trigger interest in acquiring the work that promised to tell his story, perspective and opinion on the music industry. Exactly on November 25, 2023, the order arrived.

¡Attack Sergio! Unbreakable: A fun read because of the contradictory content

As a reader, I was deeply disappointed with the content of the “book”. Attack Sergio! Unbreakable falls short of being an autobiography. I would classify it as a self-help book with little depth, no substance.

Writing a book requires literary knowledge, basing the content on rigorous research and stating the data with mathematical precision.

The cover of the text is appropriate for the trajectory of the artist who is the subject of the text. However, the data on the cover that assures that he is the winner of 19 Grammy awards contradicts the text. Specifically, on the third page of the introduction it says that he is the winner of 18 or 19. Evidently, the recently launched book should not be taken as a reference for a subject of such seriousness.

From the legal page it is clear that Sergio George is the author and that Janice Rodriguez was in charge of editing. Sadly, the work lacked editorial care, which detracts from the literary value of what is presented. There are many expressions that seem to be literal translations from English and that do not necessarily maintain the idiomatic integrity of what the author wants to express. Now, if that were the case, you should stop counting the missing and extra accents.

Having said that, I am going to manage my criticism, since space is limited and the idea is not to write another book about the “book”. Certainly, in the world of the versed salsero, of which I am one, the most awarded producer in Latin music has a great story to tell. But his literary delivery fell short. I understand the intention to approach his complaint as a self-help book. But that grand intention also failed.

I read in each of the 128 pages discontent, loathing, complaint, frustration, resentment and wounded self-esteem. Objectively, you have to read carefully to see that what he claims to do is the opposite of what has brought him so much controversy.

In his usual combative style Sergio George launches harsh criticisms of salsa artists. Resentment has won out over objectivity. Each blow takes away the value of his exposition, until it becomes the outlet that we all need to have at given moments.

Of course, emotional maturity is what prevents one from publishing matters that should remain in the privacy of conversations between the affected parties.

With a high sense of arrogance, characteristic of narcissistic personalities, the author accuses the “great salseros” of having murdered salsa because of their ego, pointing them out as the culprits of the death of the “musical genre”.

This becomes another of the great contradictions of the text. At times he claims that salsa is not a genre, but on multiple occasions he refers to salsa as a musical genre. On the other hand, he says that salsa is in danger of extinction shortly before assuring that it is dead. His point of view in that sense is not clear either, although he does state near the end that there is a legacy that does not die.

This is the contradictory nature of the reading, whose common thread is the attack. That may be the origin of the idea of the title, although at first glance one might think that “Attack Sergio!” is the repetition of the battle cry that invites him to attack the piano, while he prolifically produces music.

I believe in the evolution of the species and I see that the adaptations through which salsa has gone through are similar to the genetic modifications necessary so that, within each species, the fittest survive.

The text has several anecdotes. However, due to the lack of details, these do not add value to the construction of the history of salsa. In some of them, the names of certain characters are not mentioned. I guess the author did not want to enter into a request for relays or preferred not to risk dealing with legal controversies.

With so much that Sergio George has contributed to the history of Latin music, it is a mistake that the book has not been given more structure and objectivity.

Sergio George has been a cornerstone in the history of Afro-Latin rhythms and is the owner of a brilliant musical career that has made many shine. But to that exposure, the text does not do justice either.

Also Read: Metamorphosis: from music to photojournalism, a reinvention without limits

Orquesta la Identidad is one of the most nationally and internationally recognized groups in the salsa genre

Winner Identidad Orchestra on several occasions of the Cali fair disc with songs such as MUJERES in 1987, QUIÉREME in 1991 and COMO YO TE AME, the most played song at a historical level in the different Latin FM stereo stations in 2003.

Among other works of recognition such as: LAS COSAS SON COMO SON, TU DESDÉN, GOLPE DE GRACIA, SI ELLA VOLVIERA, DESENGAÑOS, among others.

This group was founded by the Colombian composer and musician Carlos Enrique Navia in 1981 in the capital of salsa in the city of Cali – Colombia, which came to fame in 1987.

Following the release of his first album entitled LA IDENTIDAD, under the Codiscos label, musical production that includes the works, LAS COSAS SON COMO SON, Y ME QUIERES, PARA QUERERTE, CADA CUAL, POR SU LADO, LA FUMA, GENTE CORRIENTE, BRABAJE and MUJERES.

Work that was awarded as the official album of the Cali Fair and gave him the opportunity to make his first international tour of the United States, visiting the states of Florida, New York, California, Texas, Illinois, among others.

This group had a very important boom in Colombia and the whole world for being elected revelation orchestra of the year and gave him the participation in the most important events and fairs throughout the Colombian territory.

Thanks to the success and recognition, the orchestra recorded its second album called LA MÚSICA in 1989, album that expanded its audience in other countries such as: Mexico, Venezuela and Ecuador with the works TU DESDÉN, AMOR ETERNO, TE QUIERO TANTO, LA MÚSICA, SON SABORIONDO, SENTIMIENTOS POR TI and BOMBA NAVIDEÑA, work that occupied the first places in the FM radio stations, preselected as Cali’s fair disc and elected the second most important song of the fair.

Orquesta la Identidad is one of the most nationally and internationally recognized groups in the salsa genre

Identidad Orchestra in 1990 the orchestra recorded its third album entitled UN TOQUE DE MISTERIO, album produced by the renowned Venezuelan musician Cesar Monges “Albondiga” who has participated in countless productions of artists and orchestras of international recognition in the salsa genre.

After a long tour in the United States, the orchestra arrives in Colombia to record their fourth album entitled SALSA CON ENERGÍA, a product produced in the studios of Grupo Niche.

This production included songs such as: LA RETIRADA, ESE SOY YO, BOROJO, AGITACIÓN, SI ELLA VOLVIERA, LLEGASTE A MI VIDA, DESENGAÑOS and COMO YO TE AMÉ, one of the hits of preference of our listeners, occupying the first places and beating the record of the most played song in all salsa genre stations in Colombia, United States, Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Spain, Italy and many more countries.

ORQUESTA LA IDENTIDAD is an orchestra that has been characterized by its perseverance.

Identidad Orchestra in 1992 they recorded their fifth album titled PROFESIÓN SALSA and ended their relationship with the record label Codiscos to start their independence as a brand under the direction of composer, singer and founder Carlos Enrique Navia to produce their works as an independent record label.

Orquesta la Identidad is one of the most nationally

This album included songs such as: GOLPE DE GRACIA, PECADORA, COCTEL DE AMOR, SI YO PUDIERA, SEÑORA CALI, MUJER AMADA, TE PILLÉ, NO IMPORTA, among others. This product was widely distributed in countries such as Ecuador, Venezuela, Mexico, Peru, United States, among others.

As a record label Identidad Producciones, ORQUESTA LA IDENTIDAD has recorded albums such as A TIEMPO, a production that has captivated the salsa public with songs like: CUANDO EL AMOR SE ACABA, MI NIÑA, LA ESQUINA DEL MOVIMIENTO, LE CANTO AL PACÍFICO, TE QUIERO Y TE AMO, TU DESDÉN, LA FUMA and singles such as: POR SIEMPRE ELLA, FRACASO, DICIEMBRE EN CALI, SON PA EL BAILADOR, COLOMBIA REAL, A MI PADRE, BENDICIÓN DE MADRE, MI GUAGUANCÓ, HOMENAJE A LA SONORA MATANCERA, GUAYAQUIL among others.

Works that are played on Latin radio stations and massively on digital platforms. Orquesta LA IDENTIDAD is a group that has participated in important Latin music events such as: SEBASTIÁN DE BELALCÁZAR awards on two occasions and nominated for best salsa genre orchestra, event organized by FALCON MANAGEMENT BOOKING & ENTERTAINMENT, INDEPENDENCE FESTIVAL OF GUAYAQUIL – ECUADOR, INDEPENDENCE FESTIVALS OF COLOMBIA IN THE UNITED STATES, WORLD SALSA FESTIVAL, BILLBOARD LATIN MUSIC, FESTIVAL OF ORCHESTRAS IN COLOMBIA AND FAIRS THROUGHOUT THE COLOMBIAN TERRITORY.

ORQUESTA LA IDENTIDAD is currently preparing the celebration of 40 years of artistic career, an album that will include the greatest hits such as MUJERES, QUIÉREME, GOLPE DE GRACIA, MUJER AMADA, LAS COSAS SON COMO COMO SON, TU DESDÉN, UN TOQUE DE MISTERIO, COMO YO TE AMÉ and DESENGAÑOS, which will have collaborations with national and international artists of recognition in the salsa genre and is preparing to make its next international tour of the United States year 2024.

CONTACT Carlos Enrique Navia General Manager Contact: 310 822 8068 – 317 642 1031 Email: [email protected]

ORQUESTA LA IDENTIDAD

Also Read: Colombia’s legendary Grupo Niche and its founder Jairo Varela

Poncho Sanchez visited us at the Salsa Museum

Like every month, we are going to dedicate this edition to a very special name in the Latin music scene and it is about the extraordinary percussionist and conguero Poncho Sanchez, who has given us the honor of donating some of his congas and the suit he wore during the Grammy Awards to the Spaha Salsa Gallery Museum.

In gratitude to such a generous act, we want to dedicate the following lines to his brilliant career and everything he has contributed to Latin music with his work and talent.

Poncho playing the congas — Poncho Sánchez playing the congas live

Poncho’s beginnings in music

Pablo Sanchez, better known as Poncho Sanchez, is currently a percussionist and salsa singer who leads a renowned Latin jazz and Cuban music band. He became such a talented artist after a long journey in the difficult and competitive music industry.

Poncho is the son of two Mexicans from different cities who had eleven children, the musician being the youngest of them all. From a very young age, he developed an intense love for music, which led him to learn to play instruments on his own.

Although Poncho was born in Laredo, Texas, he spent all his childhood in Los Angeles with his family. In that place, he began to have a lot of contact with American jazz, Latin jazz and soul. During his adolescent years, his musical tastes were dominated by artists such as Mongo Santamaría, James Brown, John Coltraine, Miles Davis, among many others.

Poncho at Catalina Bar — Poncho Sánchez performing at Catalina Bar and Grill in Hollywood

When he decided he wanted to take music up professionally, he began to teach himself to play the congas, guitar, drums, timbales and flute. This is how he was preparing for what was to come in his professional life later on.

When he reached adulthood in his twenties, he was playing in various dance clubs for a while, until finally he got Cal Tjader and his group to notice his talent and invite him to join them.

Today, Poncho is very grateful to Cal and said that he learned a lot from him during the time he was in the group. In fact, he even recalled in an interview that he gave him some lessons just as he was a teacher and Poncho was a student. This, in order to be on par with his bandmates and be able to put on a good show to the public.

Poncho and Tito Puente — Poncho Sánchez and Tito Puente ”The King of Timbales”

Poncho as a soloist

In 1980, Poncho finally managed to form his own group with which he began to carry out certain projects, although he had not completely departed from Cal’s band. In fact, the conguero worked with the musical director till the end of his days in 1982.

Just a few months later, he signed with the Concord Records label to release his first official solo album, which he titled ”Sonando”, marking the beginning of a partnership that remains intact to this day. So far, Poncho has some two dozen recordings with Concord.

Following decades of starting his career, Poncho saw his dreams become a reality when he won a Grammy for ”Best Latin Album” in 1999 thanks to the Latin soul album he had recorded at the time. That’s when the artist finally felt that everything he had worked for in the previous years had paid off.

As for his latest album called ”Trane’s Delight”, Poncho seeks to pay homage to the artists who have inspired him and helped him develop his own art, as he considers that these personalities have been a fundamental basis for his growth as a music professional.