Tregar Otton, founder of the orchestra, playing the violin
Orquesta La Moderna Tradición has been one of the most legendary groups of Cuban music in its entire history. It is a group whose members are based in San Francisco, California, and consists of 11 members who play different genres such as danzón, timba, guaguancó, cha cha chá, son, rumba, charanga, among others. They also mix in elements from American jazz, violins, and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
The beginning of this orchestra’s story goes back to 1996, since they started to perform throughout the United States to bring the best of traditional Cuban music to every corner of the country and transport Cuban immigrants back to the Havana’s streets and clubs during the 50’s. All the success accumulated allowed them to perform at the San Francisco Jazz Festival, the Smithsonian Institution, the Lincoln Certer and many other venues of high prestige.
Recently, Orquesta La Moderna Tradición once again displayed their talent at Yoshi’s, a jazz club and restaurant located in Oakland, California, whose reputation in the San Francisco Bay Area is not up for discussion. Our editor Eduardo Guilarte was present at the show to cover the details of the event, which left all those present in awe.
Conversation with Tregar Otton, founding director of the orchestra
Tregar Otton and Maru Pérez-Viana, his wife and an important part of the orchestra
Based on the above, we talked with Tregar Otton, founder, director, composer, and violinist of the group. This talented musician, born in the Marshall Islands and raised in Texas, started to learn about classical music from an early age and joined the Berkeley Symphony while he still was a teenager. By the 1990s, this musical promise worked as a regular part of Virgilio Mart Y Sus Majaderos, La Tipica Novel and the Charanga Orquesta Broadway.
By the year 1995, Otton founded Orquesta La Moderna Tradición with Roberto Borrell. At the beginning, the group started to become well-known for its soft sounds of Afro-Cuban charanga, which are accompanied by a set of wind instruments and violins that give a unique touch to this group’s music.
Today, we have the welcome presence of the musician to talk about each and every one of the issues raised in this brief review and anything he wants to reveal to our dear readers. It is such a pleasure to have you here today, Tregar. How are you feeling?
I am fine here near San Francisco. Good to see you today.
Very good, Tregar. You got started in the world of music at a young age. Could you tell us a bit about your beginnings?
I started playing violin when I was four years old and my family had a violin teacher as a neighbor. My parents did the laundry for all our neighbors, so we met her and she ended up giving me classes every day. After that, I studied a lot of classical music, bought music when I was about 20 and fell in love with it because it used the violins differently from classical music. I really enjoyed playing dance music because the connection with the public is quite different from that of classical music. In the case of classical music, many people get bored, but Cuban music and salsa music make a much more direct connection to the audience. There is nothing like playing for a floor with dancers.
We understand that you were born in the Marshall Islands, but grew up in Texas, is that correct?
Yes. After my dad married my mom, they both moved to Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, in the middle of the Pacific. After that, I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, till I was 13 or 14 about when I moved to California.
I asked because it is very interesting how you set your eyes on Cuban music despite your origins. Where does this interest in Cuban music and the rhythms you play come from?
For the same reasons I play dance music. It caught my attention when I heard Charanga de La 4 or one of these New York bands. I was impressed that violins were part of the percussion and were making repetitive sounds with the refrain and the son montuno. We are more part of the rhythm section than the melodic section in many of our songs. We can dance while we are on stage. I was also impressed by the improvisations of Cuqui and Alfredo de la Fé. I had many Latin friends I met in college while learning Spanish because no one in my family spoke it.
How did Orquesta La Moderna Tradición come about and who joined you in its foundation?
I was working with a group. I was in New York, where I was playing with the Broadway Orchestra and the Orquesta Tipica Novel. I was very lucky to have been in that city because I got to know many veteran musicians in the 80’s like Renato Valdés, Virgilio Martí, and Adalberto Santiago. I visited a Cuban friend from San Francisco named Fito Reinoso, who had a group called Ritmo Y Armonía and he visited us here in New York. I was tired of the cold in New York, so I decided to go to San Francisco, where Tito and I had the idea of creating a group. It was there that I met a great drum instructor and dance teacher Roberto Borrell, who joined us to found Ritmo y Armonía. After two years, we had to be apart, but Roberto and I still wanted to play danzón. At least here in the Bay Area, it is very difficult to get singers. The ones we have are good, but there are not so many. So, we planned to make a danzonera or danzón group. When the orchestra began to work, we only played danzón songs, rehearsed every week and did many tours with this musical genre because there was a boom with swing dancing and dance music during the 40’s. So, we were surfing that wave. So, we were surfing that wave and doing collaborations with swing groups because it was older music. Danzón is a very rich genre, but it is no of interest to many people because they do not know how to dance it, so we started expanding our repertoire to include more modern and dance music. We still play danzones, but only two per set. There are still musicians from the original group in the orchestra including Michael Spiro. Roberto went to Peru about a decade ago, so Michael and I stayed with the group and invited Eduardo Herrera, who is a singer born in Caracas, Venezuela, to perform with us. We expanded the repertoire by doing the best we could with my own creations. Let’s remember I am the arranger of the group, so I do some songs and we have one that is included in the new recording in which I wrote the music and maestro Carlos Caro from Cuba added the lyrics.
Orquesta La moderna Tradición at one of its shows
Although rhythms like danzón are not so popular, did you feel the acceptance of the public?
There were many people who knew danzón who began to notice that it was a very interesting genre due to the presence of the violins. As Roberto Borrell is a dance teacher, he teaches many of his students how to dance danzón, which is not easy because they should be affixed on each turn they have to make according to the sounds of the instruments.
Can you go from one genre to another in the same song?
Yes, we do that a lot. On our new album, we have rhythms with batá drums from music of Santería, which we use for our danzón songs. It sounds complicated when I explain it, but it is easy at the time of listening to it.
What makes Orquesta La Moderna Tradición different from other Latin music groups in the United States?
Well, I know no other group that plays danzón or charanga. There are two genres of popular dance music in Cuba that come from son montuno, which uses violins and flutes. In the case of charanga, the musicians use violins and flutes. Since the 70’s and 80’s, charanga is now no longer heard in the United States. In Cuba, neither do you hear danzón much. We are a group that has so many danzones in the repertoire. There are not too many groups that play cha cha chá. Me being an arranger, I try to create cha cha chá songs that are not copies of what was played by Orquesta Aragón and other bands in the 40’s and 50’s.
Given that music has evolved so much, what reaction do you perceive from the young public when you play charanga, cha cha chá, danzón and other rhythms?
Interesting question. For young people who do not know and are not salsa fans, our music sounds like salsa because it is difficult to distinguish the genres without knowing them well. However, I work as a music teacher and I have many groups of children, in which there are many salsa fans. They listen to Ray Barreto, Willie Colón, and Hector Lavoe. They also like charanga and understand it well. However, I think danzón is more difficult because it has to be a reflection of what people are feeling in their culture. Cha cha chá is simpler and innocent, but danzón is finer and refined. I think music can influence people and play its part in changing the direction of their culture.
Can you tell us a little bit about your performance at Yoshi’s?
Because of COVID-19, for a year and a half, we could not do anything. We could not even rehearse until the vaccine came on the market. We got this date with Yoshi’s because we have played there many times before as well as Yoshi’s in San Francisco. So, they gave us a date and we had the support of local DJs like Luis Medina, Chuy Varela and Jose Ruiz. We also made use of social media to promote us, sell our CDs and attract people to our shows. The staff of Yoshi’s was impressed because it is rare that a local band has been able to sell so many tickets. We were very excited to see so many people loving us and showing how much they love music. We have a large audience that is very loyal to us and has been going wherever we perform for over 20 years.
Orquesta La Moderna Tradición performing at Yoshi’s
What are your future projects?
We get everything ready for the repertoire of the new album. When I was in New York, I was working with Juan Carlos Formell, Juan Formell’s son, who is the bass player and took over his father’s position in Los Van Van. I was one of the first people he met here in the United States and we became very good friends. Then he told me that I could arrange any of his songs without any problem, so I have about four or five of his songs ready and some others that I have not finished yet. We have enough material to make at least two albums, but it is very expensive. One could only cost us about $15 to start with.
Cover art work for the Orquesta La Moderna Tradición new album El Encantado
He was the last surviving member of the glory days of mambo preceding what we know today as salsa.
Ray Santos was a Latin musician, was born to Puerto Rican parents on December 28, 1928, in New York City, attended the Juilliard School of Music where he studied saxophone.
He was a Professor at the City University of New York (City College), where he teaches a Band or ¨performance¨ course.
Ray Santos ¨The last of the Mambo Kings¨
He was a musician in the orchestras of Machito, Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez. He was also was an arranger and musical director for recordings of Tommy Olivencia, Junior Toledo, Willie Rosario, Lalo Rodriguez, and Rudy Victorino and an Oscar winner in 1992, for the music of the film “The Mambo Kings” starring Armand.
Maestro Santos is a Puerto Rican man who has made significant contributions to Latin music as an arranger, bandleader, and musician.
Ray Santos ¨ The last of the Mambo Kings ¨
However, beyond the circles of mambo lovers and Latin music big bands of yesteryear, not much is known about his distinguished professional career in Puerto Rico.
Part of it, happens because of the nature of Ray Santos himself. This is a literate person but with an amiable and accessible character, totally devoid of vanity, presumption, or ostentation exhibited by other music personalities with attainments less than him.
For instance, unless he is asked directly, Ray Santos is not going to say that he participated with three arrangements on the compact disc “Palo Pa’ Rumba” CD of Eddie Palmieri, which received a Grammy Award from the Recording Academy in 1985.
Nor will he say that he also arranged for Eddie Palmieri and Tito Puente on the CD “Obra Maestra” which received a Grammy Award in 2001.
For Linda Rondstat he wrote all the arrangements and was the conductor for her CD “Frenesí”, which received a Grammy Award in 1993.
Cynthia DeCure y Ray Santos
In the movie “Mambo Kings” he was a mambo director and arranger, including the arrangement of “Beautiful Maria of my Soul”, a song that was nominated for an “Oscar®” as “Best Song from a Motion Picture” at the 65th Academy Awards® of the Academy of Picture Arts and Sciences.
In other words, this is a person who has reached a seat of honor in the world of Latin music, is Puerto Rican, and is practically unknown by his countrymen.
On the one hand, the album “Mi Luz Mayor” celebrates the legacy of Machito, Puente, and Rodriguez. And on the other, The great contribution of Ray Santos to Afro-Caribbean dance music.
We would like to present the outstanding professional career of Maestro Ray Santos after he suffered a recent health problem.
Ray Santos y Eddie Palmieri
Ray Santos passed away at his home died on October 17, 2019, at the age of 90.
A Studio Album That Reflects The Multicultural Sound Of Western Europe And Latin America
Cuba Classic was released in August 2021
The son of medical parents and the grandson of a passionate pianist, Fadi Gaziri ventures into the Salsa world with the album Cuba Classic, independent record production in collaboration with his German colleague and great friend Fritz Wengler.
Cuba Classic fuses the incredible universe of emotions that classical music transmits with the passion, conventional melodies of Jazz, and the rhythmic base of the Caribbean that characterizes Latin culture.
“Arranging classical pieces to fit a Salsa vibe was surprisingly easy… The melodies can be rhythmically changed to suit the Latin vibe while keeping authenticity…” Voiced by the talented British pianist.
This masterpiece with hybrid two-language titles strikes a perfect balance between the original title of a classic work and the sensation of the indicated awakening of a Latin melody. “I always liked Salsa for its quality to make people dance, so naturally and with such confidence.
As for the music itself, I love the colorful brass arrangements and Latin percussion. It’s a lot of fun to listen to and to play… ”. Fadi indicated.
The 13 songs on the album are El Capo (Zarathustra, R. Strauss), 5 Sinfonía De Salsa (Beethoven’s 5th Symphony). “I had a lot of fun with this one. …The Reorganization, the phrasing, using repetitions, increases, and the complete brass arrangement to make it sound like a proper Cuban track”. Fadi added recalling his experience with the production of this theme.
The next track on the album is Mambo Loco Nórdico (Grieg’s Piano Concerto in LA minor), resembling Havana at its turbulent peak and with great determination. Continues, the fourth track Mambo Austriaco (Mozart – Symphony No. 40 and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik), and the exquisite mix of Calipso Alemán (Beethoven’s Symphony 9).
In addition, you will also find in Mambo Classic: G-String Bossa (Air on a G string, JS Bach), Salsa Húngara (Brahms Hungarian Rhapsody) thought for the Latin ballroom dance competition tracks, due to the grace of the exuberant exposure of the horns.
Funeral De Che Guevara (Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody in C sharp minor), Havanera (Carmen Bizet) is another of the themes that stand out on this album. “It was inspired by the character of Che Guevara and his revolutionary spirit. Along, with a trumpet blast from Mariachi… Fernando’s lyrics and voice also add to the overall feeling”. Gaziri commented to us.
Rumba Rusa (Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky), La Toccata Loca (Bach Toccata in D minor), Green Leaves (traditional Greensleeves), and finally the piece Lambada A La Luz De La Luna (Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven) beginning with the funeral march played with a trumpet solo intervened with a joyous lambada, ending in a Latin urban sound.
Fadi’s main idea with Mambo Classic is to simplify the music on this album for use in schools across the country and have children perform it by simply playing percussion with the backing tracks.
Similarly, Gazziri hopes to present this record production live in 2021 on the big stages of Berlin and the rest of Europe.
Why The Fusion Of Latin Rhythm With Classical Music?
Fadi Gaziri can handle musical instruments alongside cinematographic elements, folk, and ambient electronic sounds
This talented artist since his return to Hamburg in 2017 has been involved in teaching music to children and teenagers in schools in this port city located in northern Germany.
Gaziri showed signs of concern every day as he observed his students’ reluctance to learn classical music, a feeling already developed as a famed behavior among young people today. But why don’t German students like to learn about their cultural heritage? The main reasons that Fadi realized were that his students were not motivated to continue with their studies due to the complexity of the music and the difficult handling of the instruments that did not allow them to master them quickly.
Realizing this, Gaziri began to devise the fusion of the Latin genre with classical music and thus seek to reverse the discouragement of his students. “I wanted children to learn classical music in a fun and interactive way. Something that would not take long to learn and that could involve all participants, regardless of their age, nationality, or musical ability. Most schools have Latin percussion that sits on the shelves and is rarely used.
So, I thought it would be a great idea to put in some classic melodies and accompany them with this Latin percussion. Wouldn’t it be fun and a good learning experience at the same time? Fadi told us.
Currently, this prodigious pianist is evaluating the possibility of continuing to teach in German schools full-time by 2022.
Fadi Gaziri played the piano first time at the North Pole in August 2021
Fadi Gaziri is a natural music producer and composer for audiovisual media, film, and theater. He was born in Moscow and began his musical studies of piano and violin at the famous Gnessin Music Academy.
At age 12, he moved to Sweden with his family and later to England (1998) where he continued his musical training.
This extraordinary producer studied Music Composition, Piano, and Languages at Durham University in 2004 graduating with great honors and passing his ABRSM piano exams with distinction. Two years later he entered Bournemouth University to study for a Master’s in Film Composition.
That same year (2006) Fadi moved to Hamburg and started working on music for commercials, films, and sound branding. At the same time, he began touring the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Germany accelerating his musical career.
In 2014 Fadi released his first solo album titled Northern Lights, a mix of cinematic and folk sounds that he combines with electronic texture. He used his technological knowledge to loop while playing piano, violin, and adding subtle voices that he performed himself.
Over the next three years, Gaziri released his second EP “The Jump”, founded a music supervision company, and has been dealing with song placement, and licensing for film and television ever since. He assumed a permanent position as an in-house music producer at TUi Cruises in Berlin and composed, and arranged music for more than ten theatrical productions performed on board the ships.
Erika Muñoz, official administrator of the portal “Se Armó la Rumba en México”, www.SalsaGoogle.com and International Salsa Magazine present the Puerto Rican David Morales.
Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Son of a seamstress and a furniture upholsterer. He began his studies at the Federico Asenjo and Albert Einstein School in Barrio Obrero where he grew up.
He graduated from Juan Ponce de Leon High School in San Jose and then entered the University of Puerto Rico completing his Bachelor’s Degree in accounting, through a scholarship that ironically he won through an audition he performed in the UPR choir.
At the age of 11 he began working delivering newspapers and years later he worked selling household products. Since he was a child he had two great ambitions: to be a singer and to be an airline pilot. At the age of ten he was already singing the songs of the orchestras of the moment such as Willie Colón and Héctor Lavoe, Ismael Miranda, Raphy Leavitt (RIP) and his Orquesta La Selecta, Roberto Roena and his Apollo Sound, Oscar D’León’s La Dimensión Latina and Oscar D’León’s La Dimensión Latina.
Dimensión Latina de Oscar D’León and Jimmy Urbina’s Orquesta Revolución 70 among others.
The first time he saw an orchestra perform in person was Orquesta Revolución 70, who sang at the Placita Barceló in Barrio Obrero and while singing their hit song Soy de Borinquén, David was fascinated by the music and discovered that his desire was to become a salsa singer someday. It was precise with Revolución 70 that David years later would be initiated into music as a singer.
David Morales “The Captain Of Salsa”
Maestro Jimmy Urbina, director of Revolución 70 was preparing to record an album and it was in this way that Maestro Mario Ortiz (RIP) recommended him for the orchestra. After auditioning as a singer David joined the group and recorded an album where he sang 5 songs of the production along with singers Dino Guy and Angelo Pacheco.
During his artistic career, one of the orchestras that most captivated and inspired David was Raphy Leavitt’s Orquesta La Selecta.
With him, David had the opportunity to sing and from that moment on, the maestro became his mentor and they created a friendship that lasted forever.
In 1982 David had to give up music because he entered the military service where he achieved his dream of becoming a helicopter and airplane pilot. At the end of the 80’s he returned to Puerto Rico and returned to music, singing with the orchestras of Tommy Olivencia, Conjunto Chaney, Omar Alfanno, Manolo Lezcano, Aldo Mata, José Nogueras and Paquito Acosta. He was also a singer in the orchestras of Willie Rosario, Roberto Roena y Su Apollo Sound, Orquesta La Solución, and Orquesta Costa Brava, where he had the opportunity to record the production “A Pico y Pala”. During this same period the producer and arranger, maestro Carlos “Cuto” Soto baptizes David Morales as “El Piloto”.
David Morales as “El Piloto de la Salsa” (The Salsa Pilot), becoming known by that name within the salsa scene. David Morales had the opportunity to travel to many places around the world to sing with several famous orchestras within the genre.
He has also had the opportunity to sing as a guest with orchestras of the stature of El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Oscar D’León, El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, Tito Nieves, Don Perignon and La Corporación Latina, among others.
David Morales “El The Captain Of Salsa” Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
After the passage of Hurricane María, in September 2017 David was invited to participate in the recording “Entre Amigos in the recording of “Entre Amigos Después de la Tempestad” with Luis González El Tsunami de la Salsa and Nino Segarra; production that took place together with several singers of trajectory in Nino’s recording studio.
Recently he has just recorded his first album as a soloist, under the direction of pianist, composer, and arranger, maestro Pedro Bermudez, who was David’s partner for many years in Willie Rosario’s orchestra. This production is quite varied, as it includes classic salsa, romantic salsa, boleros, and Cuban salsa, respecting the traditions of the masters and founding fathers of the salsa genre.
All the songs are oriented to the dancer.
There are compositions by Pedro Bermúdez, Ángel Santos, Peter Velázquez, Pablo Milanés, Gloria González, Jimmy Sánchez and Osvaldo Noel, Yturvides Vilchez and Michel Puche.
The arrangers are Pedro Bermúdez, Tommy Villariny, Ramón Sánchez, Carlos Torres,
Tito Rivera and Cuto Soto. It also features the participation of José Alberto “El Canario” as a guest singer in the song titled “El Piloto y El Canario”.
Thanks to all who made possible this record production which was always inspired for the dancer.
I have known DJ. Andy since he was the resident DJ. at the Embassy Suites in Isla Verde (Puerto Rico) for the salsa nights that I remember attending religiously every Saturday.
However, everything changed when one Saturday night we went to the weekly event as usual. There we realized that DJ Andy was no longer there. They say that necessity is the mother of invention. It must have been out of sheer necessity that the man who would later become DJ Louie Love suddenly learned to play records on his own and without having planned it quite abruptly.
So, years later, destiny took me to the American capital because of a highlight of which there is no longer only the memory. From that highlight that I would like to forget, in Washington, DC I remember with a deep affection to have met again with the one who had already been called “the most danceable”: DJ Andy. Life and its twists and turns, we lost track of each other again until one day during one of my missions to New York I decided to go for a little dance without knowing that there I would meet again with DJ Andy. Andy was already making his way in the Big Apple, the same place where salsa was cooked more than half a century ago.
Anyway, what we came to, to share with you my impression of the third album in which DJ Andy immerses himself in a parallel way in his facet as executive producer. So, I am reviewing this catchy collection of fifteen tracks because I loved the programming and the variety of what I consider a very complete album, while achieving a first class musical performance.
Consejo Salsero (Venezuela All Stars)
DJ. Andy and his Salsero Council
Despite being performed by Venezuela All Stars, the arrangement of this salsa song is in the best New York style and very well done. The title track opens the listener’s senses in an invasive but good way; something like a sure way to arouse curiosity about the production and the tracks that follow it. Marcial Istúriz is as always a sure shot. Good voice, impeccable rhythm and one of those sonorous sounds that could make him the new owner of sonorous music. I summarize here from my corner without offending anyone, Marcial is a great sonero.
The son came to the city (Secreto a Voces)
If not the most, one of the most danceable songs of the production. Bravo!
Como se atreve (Renzo Padilla y su orquesta)
The singer’s voice is fresh and synchronized with the kind of lyrics that ask for another chance and shout sincerity. Before the second minute, the bongo takes over the transition announcing the mambo and the take-off of the “trip” injected by the pregones and the play on words in the soneos. The winds are carried by a trombone played with cleanness and precision. The end is announced with a percussive interplay between the winds and the piano, which almost takes center stage without dulling the leather beats.
Señora Rumba (Julio Cortez and his court)
The singer, once again, fits the theme like a glove, since his voice recalls the metallic melody that a bravo theme requires. The piano harmonizes perfectly with the coros and percussion. Here there is a perfect harmony between piano, conga and timbales. It seems to me that I hear a xylophone flirting with the conga, without detracting from the piano.
Mary Juana (Carlos Guzmán y su orquesta)
The introduction of the song reminds me of the arrangements of the glory days of Orquesta La Solución, but with a bongó playing in the arrangement. The trombones announce themselves early on and ask the bongo for permission to join them around the first minute. The piano harmonizes and gives way to the brass without conflicting with the musical change that around the third minute adopts a style of those with which Wayne Gorbea established his sound. Masterful the way in which the arrangement moves through varied styles without running over the flow of the music.
Salsa pa’ ti (Grupo Tahona)
This is a very heavy song, one of those that starts with the chorus without shyness. The boldness of the arrangement threatens to go straight to the mambo in a very elegant way. A gentle piano solo crosses over from a minute and a half in. The piano solo gives way to a melodic trumpet solo that doesn’t allow screaming. The conga takes the lead from just before the third minute, making sure that the brass does its thing, in anticipation of the return of a piano that dictates the chords of the distant line. All in all, this is a very tasty track.
Quiéreme (Gumby Navedo and his orchestra)
The interpretation sounds great and the singer’s voice is one of those indisputable and unforgettable ones. The lyrics are worthy of the interplay between the saxophones and the rest of the wind instruments. At three and a half minutes the pregón changes with a lot of class and distinction before handing over to the saxophones at the end to give way to the closing, which the cueros make precise.
I come from New York (Son del monte)
The flute enters quite early and quite forcefully. The violins match the flutes and the typical charanga bell ringing. I imagine that Andy wanted to include a variety of rhythms within the range of Afro-Caribbean rhythms and manages in the process to give us a complete collection. Even dancing pachanga doesn’t let us forget. Thank you!
Vengo del Congo (Julio Estrada y su orquesta)
The arrangement of the song is one of those classics that could be used as an example to demonstrate the salsa sound without pretension or fuss to anyone who has never heard salsa before. At two and a half minutes, Julio Estrada plays a heavy piano solo before the mambo enters in all its splendor. Winds, timbales, conga and piano come together to take us on a journey into a synchronized, non-competitive melody.
Pa’l bailador (La Negramenta)
The introduction of this unquestionably salsa song gives prominence to the baritone saxophone in a flirtation that walks between salsa and boogaloo. However, the boogaloo sound is short-lived, giving way to a well-defined, traditional salsa. At the third minute, the trumpets enter in correspondence with the percussion. At minute 3:45, the conga takes over the distant line, giving way to the trumpets and timbales, announcing that the song is elegantly descending in intensity.
El rumbero (Leo Pacheco Jr. y su orquesta)
This song wants to highlight the essence of African music within the salsa music made in Venezuela. This arrangement seems to be inspired by the evolutionary inventions that today are a winning formula. I am referring to the adjustments that Bobby Valentín made, at the request of maestro Willie Rosario. The big difference is that this arrangement is somewhat louder than the ones that started this formula several decades ago. The trombone and conga take over, anticipating “salsa, guaracha y bembé” as the song says.
Nací pa’ cantar (Wiwi Buznego y su orquesta)
The song is pure salsa, conga, pregones and lots of rhythm for the dancer who responds to a fluid arrangement without much distraction. The first significant percussive cut that captures the dancer’s attention hits the senses at minute fifteen (1:15). From then on, the performer plays between conga beats, trumpet blasts, pregones and soneos. The mambo is unforgiving and if the dancer lets himself be carried away by the music, he can feel it to the last drop of blood running through his veins.
Camina y ven (Charanga Masters)
A Cuban song from the heart made in the best charanga format, taking into account that technology allows to improve the sound of the past. The flute and violins play with the percussion in a daring way, modernizing what was the charanga in its original form.
Mi propuesta (Robert Burgos and Descarga Zason)
The closing track travels to Cuba in pure timba sound. The singer harmonizes perfectly with the arrangement and the execution of the orchestra, his voice being the typical Cuban voice that stands out in timba format. Very successful to close the trip of the compact disc with timba. Very well achieved farewell.
Although the release of this CD was in 2019, for me it is new. So I take the trouble to assure you that if you listen to it you will love it. If you dance, you’ll wear out your sole. And if you don’t, you’ll be encouraged to learn to move your skeleton to the rhythm of this tasty treat.
