Search Results for: Salsa Orchestra

From Peru and based in France we have Wálter Antonio Rebatta Hinostroza is a brand new and spectacular percussionist.

We are honored to present in this new release, one of the most outstanding figures of Latin music, representing the brother country of Peru, who has put the name of the musicians born in Inca lands very high in the world.

With you, directly from France, we have as a special guest Wálter Antonio Rebatta Hinostroza, a brand new and spectacular percussionist, who was born on September 14, 1973, in Bella Vista, Callao, Peru, being artistically known as “El Chato”.

Welcome Wálter to Salsa Escrita “La Columna Salsera de Barquisimeto, Venezuela”. It is a great pleasure to have you as a special guest in International Salsa Magazine, www.SalsaGoogle.com.

Thank you very much to you, my friend, Professor Carlos, for the invitation to your well read and recognized column and I take this opportunity to give a sincere greeting to all Venezuelans who are like my brothers.

How did you start in music? Well, teacher in my neighborhood called Ventanilla, in Peru, I grew up and since I was a child I breathed musical air, where at the age of 6 years old I was already playing “El Cajon”, traditional Peruvian Creole instrument, under the tutelage of my older brother Kike Rebatta, who took me later to learn other percussion instruments and prepare me with music theory, and then enter the music school of the renowned teacher Edelmi Chavez, and thus join the ranks of the most renowned orchestras in my country, such as: La Iniciativa, Orquesta la Grande, Banana Latin Jazz, among others.

Wálter, which international orchestras and artists have you accompanied? I have accompanied and worked with “Los Hermanos Colón” from Puerto Rico and among many groups, I have had the honor of being on stage with my Venezuelan brothers, Hildemaro “El Sonero del Amor”, with whom I have a great friendship, as well as with the master timbalero Alfredo Villamizar, from whom I have learned a lot and from whom I must thank through his column Salsa Escrita. “Chato”, you are currently based in the French city of Grenoble and we would like to know how is the salsa movement, especially in Europe. In fact, professor, in 1995, I came to Europe with the “Orquesta Salsa Perú” and I met Mr. Rodolfo Guerra, with whom a great friendship was born and I became part of the “Orquesta Sincopa Latina”, directed by him, being present in his productions: Salsa que te pasa, Demasiado corazón, Mi bachata, Puerto Rico, Todo, Escándalo, Mi silencio, Mi toque, Habla conmigo and Azafata. Wálter, I have heard that you have accompanied great salsa artists in their presentations, tell me who? I have had the honor of accompanying the late Tito Gómez, Willie González, Luisito Carrión and the great Venezuelan sonero Orlando José Castillo “Watussi”.

Also, let me tell you professor, that I have worked in the Italian television Media Set, in the very popular program “Notte Vola”, also in 2002, I participated in the Tour of the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz, along with the orchestra of the prestigious world famous violinist Alfredo de La Fe.

Likewise, my friend Carlos, in 2004, I performed in numerous events with Latin jazz groups, among them “El Royal Cuba”, of the Cuban musician and singer Eduardo Céspedes.

In 2007, I participated in the prestigious and famous festival of San Remo with the singer Daniele Silvestri, with whom I have recorded in his productions. In 2009, I participated in the Italian tour “Terromotati Dil Abruzzo”, conducted by the famous singer Laura Pausini and later that same year I participated again in a tour in the United States for charity with Pausini again.

Excellent Wálter, and what can you tell us about the orchestra you are currently working with and what are your future projects? Professor Carlos, at present I am an official musician of the renowned orchestra “Mercadonegro” and in relation to my projects, is to form my own group and perhaps dabble in bachata, but without leaving aside the salsa, since living in Europe I have met many bachateros. And something very important, my friend Colmenárez, I am also working on the project of my Venezuelan compadre, the musician Edwin Sanz, whom I would like you to interview at some point.

Very good Wálter, congratulations for your career, what are your contacts on digital platforms? My Facebook is: Wálter Antonio Rebatta Hinostroza and my whatsapp: +41 77 5122633.

We want to wish you the best on behalf of Salsa Escrita “La Columna Salsera de Barquisimeto” and that you continue to put the name of Peru on high in all the stages of the world.

Thank you a thousand times, Professor Carlos Colmenárez, for taking me into account and thus make my career known and offer my greetings, thanks and respect to all the salseros of the world through International Salsa Magazine, www.SalsaGoogle.com and long live salsa, Peru and Venezuela, united forever…!

Chucho Valdes and Paquito D’ Rivera Will Tour for Europe

Jazz virtuous will offer a series of concerts from June to November

Paquito D’ Rivera and Chucho Valdés

The pianist, composer, and conductor Jesús “Chucho” Valdes and the saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Paquito D’ Rivera come together again to offer a tour called Reunión Sextet.

This tour of 2022 begins at the Mastercard Jazz Festival (Puerto Rico) and will pass through Poland (Bielsko-Biala), Spain (Pamplona, Marbella, Madrid, and Girona), and Germany (Essen) in June and July, and will end on November 30th in Zurich, Switzerland. Tickets range from €25 – €65 and you can get them in advance on Chucho Valdés’s website. www.chucho-valdes.com

The history of this long friendship dates back to the 1960s when they began their musical partnership as partners in the Havana Musical Theater Orchestra and the Cuban Modern Music Orchestra. With the founding of the Irakere orchestra by Maestro Valdés in 1973, Chucho and Paquito worked together again promoting the fusion of elements of Jazz, Classical music, Rock, and Afro-Cuban music that meant a transcendental development in Latin Jazz, and where Paquito and Chucho were the key figures. “Paquito was the heart of Irakere,” Chucho said.

Eight years later, Paquito went into exile in Madrid and later moved to New York. He developed a successful career as a leader & composer and won recognition as a Jazz Master from the National Endowment for the Arts of the United States in 2005. At the same time, Paquito also maintained his passion for classical music, receiving a Guggenheim Scholarship and commissions for quartets of strings, chamber groups, and symphony orchestras.

Meanwhile, Chuco remained in Irakere until 2005. He led trios and quartets, and established himself as a solo pianist. He produced his most recent production La Creación, a three-movement suite for small ensemble, voices, and Big Band. The masterpiece had its world premiere on November 5th, 2021, at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami and after was presented in Lyon, Paris, and Barcelona.

Now, after four decades, they come together to present Reunión Sextet accompanied by an extraordinary ensemble that includes Diego Urcola (Trumpet), Dafnis Prieto (Drums), Armando Gola (Bass), and Roberto Vizcaino Jr. (Conga). The repertoire will include old Latin Jazz hits, Latin American classics, and new compositions from the I Missed You Too album.

The two Cuban virtuosos have accumulated more than 25 Grammys and Latin Grammys. “I’ve always had the hope of being close to Paquito again and playing with him again,” he said. “I’ve always had that hope. Well, this is our moment.” The Maestro Chucho expressed.

His first tour in Spain was in 1981

Chucho Valdés, an icon of modern Afro-Cuban Jazz, told for a digital medium that practices the piano from six to eight hours a day. During the confinement, he was in Florida and composed La Creación (a tribute to Olodumare, the god of the Yoruba religion). This instrumental musical gem is sung, composed, directed, and performed by Valdés, and tells the story of the meeting of Afro-Cuban music in the Caribbean and the United States and how this has influenced globally. He also composed minor works and dedicated part of his time to teaching and virtual concerts.

Likewise, he added that the country that he would contemplate for a possible retirement would be Malaga (Spain) because his great pleasures come together: the Mediterranean, the diet, and many friends in the city.

The Tempo Latino Festival is Back

The major European festival of Latin and Afro-Cuban music will present Los Van Van, Pacific Mambo Orquestra, Interactivo, and Minyo Crusaders (H2)

The benchmark Festival of Latin and Afro-Cuban music in Europe, Tempo Latino, resumes its activities after the forced cessation of its activities for two years due to the Pandemic.

From Thursday, July 28^th to Sunday, July 31^st, on the main stage Les Arènes, the whole family, heterogeneous public, and inveterate traveler will enjoy the performances of Los Van Van, Pacific Mambo Orquestra, and Interactivo, as well as an exceptional set & exclusive presentation on Saturday, July 30^th at 11 PM of “Con Tumbao All Stars” with the winners of Best Traditional Tropical Album at the Latin Grammy 2021 for their album “Chachachá…Homenaje a lo Tradicional”, Issac Delgado and Alain Pérez, as well as Oscar Hernández, Robby Ameen, Tony Succar, and many more.

Minyo Crusaders rediscovered the songs associated with the working classes.

The festival to be held in Vic-Fezensac, the heart of the Gers de Gascony department (France), will open its doors on Thursday, July 28^th, with Tempo Latino Social Club on the stage of its satellite “Geo-rhythmic” Conga with a special performance by the Tokyo band, Minyo Crusaders.

This Cumbia band with a Japanese identity aims to make reversals between the traditional and foreign rhythms. Guitarist Katsumi Tanaka was in charge of bringing together the twelve musicians to perform these magnificent melodies with a fusion of the Caribbean (Reggae, Cumbia, and Cuban Salsa), Africa (Afro-Blues, Afro-Funk, Ethiopian rhythm), and Asia (Thai Pop) after of the Fukushima accident in 2011. The ticket for this show costs €15.80, and the opening is at 6 PM.

Pacific Mambo Orchestra is the only active Latin Big Band on the West Coast of the United States.

Continue on Friday, July 29^th with the concerts of the Pacific Mambo Orchestra and Los Van Van together with the Cuban trumpeter, composer, singer, and leader of the band Havana D’Primera, Alexander Abreu.

The first orchestra to perform at the festival in its twenty-eighth edition at 9 PM will be the Pacific Mambo Orchestra. This North American band, a winner of the Grammy Award in the category “Best Tropical Album” in 2014, is the revival of the Latin sound of the Big Bands of the 40s with the combination of Mambo, Pop, Cha Cha, Timba, and Bolero. Pacific Mambo Orchestra founded 12 years ago by the Mexican pianist Christian Tumalan and the German trumpeter Steffen Kuehn has collaborated with renowned artists such as Carlos Santana, Poncho Sánchez, Pete Escovedo, and Arturo Sandoval.

Currently, this Latin Big Band performs on the West Coast of the United States with elite musicians from the Bay Area, and their repertoire is in English and Spanish. Their third album “The III Side” (2020) fuses the traditions of the Mambo of the 50s with the musicality of the moment. This Latin Big Ban considered one of the best in the United States will also is at the prestigious San Francisco Annual Jazz Festival on Wednesday, June 8^th from 7:30 PM to 9 PM. Address: Miner Auditorium, 201 Franklin Street, San Francisco (EEUU).

“Legado” is an album in homage to the legacy left by maestro Samuel Formell.

The second orchestra is to take the stage on Friday at 11 PM and will be Los Van Van with their special guest Alexander Abreu. The emblematic Cuban music orchestra will celebrate its more than 5 decades of history.

Los Van Van known by many as the “Rolling Stones of Salsa” was founded in 1969 by bassist and composer Juan Formell, a legend of Cuban music, who accompanied by José Luis Quintana, known as “Changuito” and César “Pupy ” Pedroso, invented the “Songo”, a Cuban rhythm predecessor of the “Timba” or “Salsa Cubana”, which generated the “Salsa – Son” with a Cuban sound that has made generations dance.

In 2018, they recorded their first record production “Legado” since the physical departure of Juan Formell in 2014. This tribute album has 14 songs with 3 new versions of the international singles Te extraño, Por qué lo haces y Amiga mía.

On the third day of the Festival, Saturday, July 30^th, the Latin sound will be awakened by the performances of the Interactivo group and the exclusive presentation of “Con Tumbao All Stars”. On Sunday, July 31^st, Tempo Latino will close its doors on the Les Arènes stage with London Afrobeat Collective and Alain Pérez & La Orquesta Bassiste.

Most of the members of Interactive are representatives of currents such as Nueva Trova, son, and Cuban jazz.

The avant-garde collective, Interactivo, is one of the most representative bands of the current Cuban generation and will take to the Tempo Latino stage at 9 PM.

This emerging orchestra of international stages brings together the most brilliant and eclectic composers and producers in Havana. Each member contributes their specialty: Timba, Funk, Jazz, Hip Hop, Rock, Rumba, traditional Cuban music, and Soul for a result of great richness, where individual originality, musical creativity, and avant-garde ideas enrich the group.

London Afrobeat Collective has hypnotic flashes and powerful percussive beats.

Similarly, the addictive London Afrobeat Collective has been offering festive music based on Jazz, Funk, Rock, Dumb, and African Vibes for ten years. Its international DNA made up of nine members from England, Italy, France, Congo, Argentina, and New Zealand with the powerful voice of the Congolese singer Juanita Euka has made its rhythm addictive music with powerful and committed messages. The London-based band will open the night of concerts on Sunday, July 31^st at 9 PM.

Alain Perez and the Bassiste Orchestra will offer a mixed show of Salsa, Son, Timba, and Latin Jazz

This musical evening ends with Alain Perez, bassist, singer, arranger, and who composes his orchestra of 13 young musicians on stage to offer a mixed show of contemporary Cuban Salsa, Timba, and Latin Jazz. His talent has given him wonderful experiences with internationally famous orchestras and musicians such as Los Van Van, Irakere, Issac Delgado, Paquito D’Rivera, and Celia Cruz. Always accompanied by his elephant-headed cane, in homage to Cuban musician Benny Moré, Alain has been influenced by flamenco through his work with Cuban artist Paco de Lucía.

The versatile artist born in Havana was twice-nominated for the Latin Grammy Awards in the category of Best Traditional Tropical Music Album with “El alma del Son, tribute to Matamoros” (2015) and “ADN” as Best Salsa Album. (2017).

El Cuento de la Buena Pipa (2020) is his most recent record production, and you can enjoy it on the main stage of the festival at 11 PM.

You can get the tickets for Tempo Latino 2022 on their official site http://www.tempo-latino.com/ for a four-beat tempo. The Tickets for the four nights of concerts are €86.70.

And while you wait for the Tempo Latino Festival (28th edition) you can enjoy its free predecessor event Clutcho at La Grainerie this May 4^th. This place is emblematic of the circus and itinerant disciplines that take place with a large space that involves a large open-air square, and a performance hall with a capacity for 230 people through an “interior street” that serves for creative studios and workshops.

Tromboranga Will Visit America And Europe With Their World Tour 2022

France, Norway, the Netherlands, and the United States will be some countries that will dance to the rhythm of Salsa Dura

Músicos: Joaquín Arteaga, Diego Coppinger, Freddy Ramos, Rafael “Madagascar” Arciniegas, Lorenzo “El diablo” Barriendos, Vladimir Peña, Albert Costa, Miguel Moises, Oriol Martínez, Climent Campa.

With the solid and unmistakable sound of the trombone & percussion sections and the strong influence on Salsa from the 60s and 70s, Tromboranga with their Hot Salsa will visit France (Festival Corazón Latino 2022 – Bordeaux), Norway (featuring the trombonist, Jimmy Bosch at Kafe Sync – Oslo), the Netherlands (Summer Breeze Latin Night 2022 – Amsterdam), Spain (Pamplona and Barcelona), the United States (The Great Colombian Festival Miramar – Florida), and Ecuador (Guayaquil ) with its World Tour 2022 from May to September.

The friendly musicians residing in Barcelona (Spain) will offer a series of performances to captivate Latin audiences in Europe and America to celebrate their tenth anniversary on the music scene.

The orchestra will play all their hits including Agua que va caer, Alabanciosa, Humildad, Mi china Colombiana, Ah Caraj, Palo pa’ la campana, Charrupi, Como la marea, Sangre sudor y Salsa, Esclavo de tu apariencia, Que linda que estás, likewise the nine unreleased songs from their album Te voy a contar, released to the Salsa scene in 2019.

Te voy a contar has the participation of the Jazz and Salsa master, the trombonist Jimmy Bosch in the song Te perdono. Oscar Hernández (the Spanish Harlem Orchestra leader and winner of several Grammy awards) arranged the Latin Jazz theme, Sal de la Cueva. In addition to this, Huracán no me tumbas (dedicated to the Island) was recorded in Puerto Rico, and they shared voices with one of their idols from the Fania All-Stars, Ismael Miranda.

The followers of Tromboranga call themselves “Salseros Tromborangueros”.

During the pandemic in 2020, Tromboranga http://www.tromboranga.com/en continued with their new record production Salsa Terapia. Melodies such as El cuero del tambor, Devuélveme mis discos, Pachanguera y El mundo al revés are part of this album that has gone viral in choreographies on social networks in addition to being reproduced as multimedia content by Latin radio stations around the world.

“Our success is the dedication and love in selecting the songs, most of them are my authorship, I carry out the general production and the concept of each album”, said the Venezuelan musician Joaquín Arteaga (Director of the orchestra and known for his extensive career as a percussionist and Timbales expert).

In 2021, this Salsa Dura orchestra released the single “Baila Africa” sharing with African artists such as Msaki (voice of the promotional theme) while they toured South Africa (2020). The authorship of this salsa melody was in charge of the leader of Tromboranga, Joaquín Arteaga.

Telling a little about their history, the orchestra made up of ten Latin and European musicians released their first studio album in April 2012 titled Salsa Dura, rated among the top ten of that year by DJs, dancers, and specialized bloggers of the genre.

The stellar and Sabrosa Salsa reunion will be from May to September.

In 2013, Tromboranga recorded Al Mal Tiempo Buena Salsa, rewarding them with their first international tour in Europe and Latin America. During that same year (November 2013), they released the Special Edition Vinyl “Solo para Coleccionistas Vol. 1” exclusive for 300 people.

The sum of the rest of their recordings reaches a total of five albums published in successive years: Como La Marea (2014), Sangre, Sudor Y Salsa (2015), Golpe Con Melodía (2015), Tumbando Fronteras (2017), Una Noche En Bangkok (2018).

Incredible conversation with Felipe Martínez about his career in the SF Bay Area

Here is the conversation

We are here with Felipe Martínez. He is a dance instructor, broadcaster and event organizer. Good afternoon, Mr. Martinez, how are you today?

Very good afternoon. Thank you very much for the invitation.

How did you start your way in the world of music? Did you do it in your native Colombia or there in the United States?

It officially started officially here in the United States, but Colombia also played an important role in this process. In my country, I played soccer and many of my football buddies came from the coast or north of Colombia. I am from the center of the country in Bogotá. When it was our turn to meet in the bus that would take us to our place of practice, each one of them carried a cassette tape to listen to salsa or music from the Colombian Caribbean. That is how I was gradually introduced into the world of music and got interested in salsa and Caribbean music, but I grew up listening to rock and pop.

Felipe Martínez in his studio

So, we can say that your taste in music started in Colombia, but you developed professionally in the United States, is that right?

That is correct. When I came to the United States, I started dancing professionally.

You started working as a dance instructor and then as a DJ when you arrived in the United States. Meaning that you had no experience in these things from your country, but you gained it in your new country of residence.

That is right. In the case of locution, I worked as a radio host for about three years in Colombia. I hosted a show with my friends while attending high school, but we were dedicated to rock because it was the genre I listened to the most. When I came to the United States in 1998, I started dancing, working with several dance companies, and studying for a while before I started teaching, so it did not happen immediately. I studied for about four years, and after that, I decided to teach. As for my work as a DJ, that almost happened immediately. In 1999, I started making music in a little club called Café Caracas in Berkley. It was by pure chance because the hired DJ didn’t show up, so the owner of the club asked me to play for a while to cover that space. I replied yes, so I started playing music that night and it all worked out. They proposed me to keep doing it permanently, I accepted and that’s how my career as a DJ began.

Luis Medina told me in his interview that he is sometimes forced to play music he doesn’t really like, but it’s what the public wants. Apart from salsa, what other genres do you play or mix?

Salsa is just a general term for all these rhythms we have. I usually mix salsa with bachata, merengue or cha cha chá. However, I don’t usually include reggaeton in my repertoire despite its popularity.

Felipe Martínez in his work as a DJ

How World Salsa Radio started

How did World Salsa Radio start? What drove you to found it?

Worldsalsaradio.com (www.worldsalsaradio.com) started as an adventure alongside a friend at another radio station. The main idea was to educate listeners about the history of records and what they include such as singers, artists, musicians, etcetera. These days, you buy an MP3, but all you can see is the name of the song and the picture, so you lose all the album information such as credits, recording place, among other details.

In my travels around the world, I have known many DJs, whom I contacted when this project started to get them to this station to do shows. Remember that the main objective was to educate the public, then, the guy with whom we started the station took a different path because we had artistic differences, so we decided to separate.

That’s how World Salsa Radio started. During the pandemic in 2020, I was here at home for about three or four months arranging everything. I invited two other friends from the Bay Area, one of them was DJ Orlando Felix, DJ Boricua, and Ivette Fuentes, DJ La Coqui. The three of us started shaping the idea of World Salsa Radio with the same goal of educating as in the beginning. I take care of all the technical part, invite DJs to play, teach them to use the software and tell them what to say. We are already 27 DJs from all over the world and, at the moment, DJ Boricua and I are the ones who run the station.

Indeed, you have DJs from the five continents. How did you manage to unite them all in the same project?

I think the idea that brings us together is the goal of educating the public that listens to us. We want to play great music, but we also want to educate people about what we play. This is something that attracks music collectors because all that information is being lost due to the digital age. I know many who are on World Salsa Radio in person, but I heard the rest of them by other means such as a Facebook Live or YouTube. I contact the ones I like, we exchange ideas and it is explained to them what they should do.

Cuban singer Omara Portuondo and Felipe Martínez

What have been the most noticeable differences in the team?

Each DJ has a different style. We all have a different style even though we are playing Afro-Latin music. Everything played here in California is very different from everything played in Lithuania. Although we all collect the same music, everyone plays it differently.

How dod the public receive World Salsa Radio?

At first, the audicence reception was very small. The first month, we had barely 300 listeners, but we have a very large group of listeners who stay tuned to us despite the time. There are about 100 listeners who are permanently connected with us. We started the project during the pandemic, which was very good for us because everyone was home. So, people who enjoy this music, dancers or musicians listened to our shows on a recurring basis. Two years later, there are already 16,000 people who tune us in every month.

There are many people supporting us without any profit motive because we do this for free. No one is paying us to move the project forward, so we are financed by donations. We also have great support on the advertising side, which has helped us grow.

World Salsa Radio is now ruled by Felipe Martínez

As a dancer and instructor, what do you think people are most passionate about in your classes? What rhythms do they enjoy the most?

As to how I teach, I use percussion much. Since I play the conga, I use this tool to give my classes. I try not to give so much importance to numbers. Many instructors use counting to teach their students, but I try to keep out of it and use percussion. For example, I use the clave and the tumbao.

I think this method works best. If you go to a club with an orchestra playing, the singer is not going to be counting on you to dance, he’s going to be focused on making his music and providing entertainment. For the same reason, you must learn to follow the music without counting.

What have you done to balance all your activities in music?

My activities are linked, but they are separated at the same time. My personal projects have nothing to do with World Salsa Radio. However, when an event invites several DJs from the station, the World Salsa Radio logo joins that production. However, I try to take things apart most of the time.

Your pages, social networks and links to financially support the station.

You can find all the information through worldsalsaeradio.com. In the main part, there is a button that says Donations, which takes you to the station’s PayPal account. People can donate whatever they want to help us, but nothing happens if they can’t. In that case, they can spread the word about the station. In that case, they can show what we do through their social networks and give us publicity.

Felipe Martínez does not combine his activities

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