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The best jazz and cuts of meat at Willie’s Steak House

What is Willie’s Steak House

Willie’s Steak House is one of those places where The Bronx visitors have to go, whether tourists or local residents. This spectacular restaurant with live music has absolutely everything anyone may need to have a nice and lovely time in the company of friends and relatives. The best of cuts of steak mixed with live jazz result in a heady combination that is hard to ignore.

This restaurant specializing in meat offers an impressive menu to be enjoyed by all those who visit at its facility to take their minds off of the routine and the health situation in the world during the last year and a half. In its wide catalogue of options, we can find pork leg, crispy chicken, flame-broiled, pork chop, among many other dishes. As for the side dishes, there are also various options that can be included such as rice with pigeon peas, fried yucca, hash browns, potato chips and much more.

Although the food is wonderful and one of the biggest attractions of the place, we cannot ignore the fact that this space also includes the best jazz that can be found across the Bronx and its surroundings. In addition, it is also very common to invite groups from Puerto Rico to play the guitar, mostly on Saturday. However, the place is not only limited to these musical styles to harmonize the environment for diners, but further has been responsible for bringing artists linked to all kinds of genres and instruments that can make an evening a great opportunity to enjoy the best Latin music.

Image of the ar and the tables at Willie's Steak House — Bar and tables at Willie’s Steak House

The best music and food in the same place

The owners and those responsible for handling the advertising side are always announcing new events and shows suitable for the whole family, primarily related to music. In fact, last month the return of Live Salsa Wednesdays was announced with a different live singer or orchestra each week. This had been suspended indefinitely after the pandemic broke out in New York and other American cities. This was big news for regular customers of the restaurant, who cannot wait to see a live show again after all this time.

Against that background, it is safe to assume that the place provides facilities for private parties, banquets and all kinds of meetings and social events just by contacting the staff of the restaurant to make the necessary reservations. If that is the case, all one has to go into the web portal www.williessteakhousebronx.com, go to the Contact section, leave a comment with the required information or call (718) 822-9697.

As far as open hours are concerned, the place runs on Mondays between 4 p.m. and 12 midnight, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 12 noon to 2 a.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 12 noon to 3 a.m. and Sundays from 12 noon to 12 midnight.

So any of our readers who want to enjoy an exquisite cut of meat with the side dishes from the Island of Enchantment and listen to the best Latin music bands and orchestras, they only have go to Willie’s Steak House to spend a time they will never forget.

Imagen of some tables at Willie's Steak House — Some tables at Willie’s Steak House

Website: www.williessteakhousebronx.com

Phone: (718) 822-9697

Opening hours:

Monday and Tuesday: from 4:00 p.m. to 12 midnight.

Wednesday and Thursday: from 12:00 noon to 2:00 a.m.

Friday and Saturday: from 12 noon to 3:00 a.m.

Sunday: from 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight

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Johnny “Dandy” Rodríguez Jr. Growing Up in Latin Dance Music and Jazz

Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez Jr. is a salsa legend and world-renown, pioneering bongocero.

His “Dream Team” is currently regarded as the hottest salsa “conjunto” performing In New York City.

It is rare, and ever increasingly so, that a musician would spend a lifetime in a band. But percussionist Johnny “Dandy” Rodríguez Jr. who was a teenager when he was allowed to sit in with the Tito Puente Orchestra and be an apprentice for a few months before earning a place in its rhythm section, was also there at the end, playing alongside Puente until his death, after a concert on May 31^st, 2000.

“I went from being a kid, coming into the band as a 16-year-old to being the man running the band at the end,” said Rodríguez, 70, in a conversation from his home in Las Vegas.

Johnny "Dandy" Rodriguez Jr. Growing up in Latin dance and jazz music — Johnny “Dandy” Rodríguez Jr.

Between that beginning and end, Rodríguez also contributed, in prolonged stints, to the sound of the Tito Rodríguez Orchestra, Ray Barretto, his own band, Típica ‘73, and more.

The son of Johnny “La Vaca” Rodríguez Sr., a respected percussionist who also played with the Puente and Rodríguez orchestras, “Dandy” Rodríguez is one of those essential musicians who have created and shaped the sound of contemporary Latin Jazz yet are little known by the public at large.

"When they called me to talk about the concert I thought it was a great idea," Rodriguez says. — Johnny “Dandy” Rodríguez Jr. y Pedro Bermúdez en New York

While some of the great players in Duke Ellington or Count Basie bands have long been recognized for their contributions, their counterparts in the Latin orchestras, for the most part, have not. Rodriguez will be honored by Arturo O’Farrill & the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra in their concert “Tribute to the Great Sidemen of Latin Jazz” alongside Sonny Bravo, Ray Santos, Papo Vázquez, Reynaldo Jorge, José Madera, Joe González, and Bobby Porcelli at Symphony Space, in New York City, January 29^th and 30^th.

“When they called me about the concert I thought it was such a great idea,” says Rodriguez.

Johnny Rodríguez — Johnny “Dandy” Rodriguez Jr. is a salsa legend and a world-renowned pioneer bongocero.

“Usually people just know the name of the bandleader and it’s fine,” he says. “But they must remember that there is a good team behind that leader which makes him look so much better.

There’s a way of playing that music that makes it sound the way they wrote it and the way they wanted it and these guys knew it and they knew how to do it.”

Rodríguez grew up in Spanish Harlem, Manhattan, in a house with “a great music collection, a good, what was then called, hi-fi system and always full of musicians,” he recalls.

“It was great but I was interested in baseball, in stickball. I didn’t get involved with music until later, but the music was always in the background, in my house.” By the time he was in junior high, Rodríguez played bongos, congas, timbales, and set drums and, as he puts it, “started to get into it.”

“Remember, I lived in El Barrio and back in those days, in that area, there was a lot of music in the air.

There would be speakers outside the furniture store or the bodega or the record shop, and music would be playing. This shop would be playing this radio station, the butcher would have another, so walking one block you’d be hearing three different pieces of music. It was an environment full of music.”

During the first two decades of the new century, the musical work of maestro Johnny Rodriguez continued; thus, his musical imprint has remained in other publications with The Latin-Jazz Coalition, Frankie Morales, Eddie Palmieri, Gilberto Santa Rosa, George Delgado, Victor Manuelle, Rick Arroyo, Orestes Vilató, Mitch Frohman, Cita Rodriguez, Doug Beaver, Adalberto Santiago and Jeremy Bosch.

In addition, special mention must be made of the participation of maestro Johnny Rodríguez with a group called The Latin Giants Of Jazz, in the best style of the classic Big Bands, made up of great teachers, among them, some of the former members of the band of maestro Tito Puente; with this group they have released four albums; this project gave rise to another band called The Mambo Legends, who recorded the album titled: Watch Out! ¡Ten Cuidao!

John Rodriguez is, without any doubt, one of the most prolific percussionists in the world of Latin music called Salsa; the nickname “Dandy” goes back to his childhood, when the car in which he was taken was bought in a warehouse or a store called “Dandy”, and people said: look how cute the “Dandy”, and from there he kept that nickname. In music he is better known as Johnny instead of John.

In the (year 2022) the experienced Johnny Rodriguez had three or four groups with which he is playing, among them Dandy Rodriguez and his Dream Team, and at the same time he teaches percussion classes over the Internet. He is part of the true legends of Latin music, not to mention that his talent has also been reflected in recordings for other musical genres such as: Electronic, Folk Rock, Folk, World & Country, Funk / Soul, Heavy Metal, Jazz, Stage & Screen, Jazz-Funk, Merengue and Pop.

In his very extensive artistic career, the master Johnny Rodriguez took part in historical and iconic recordings of our musical culture, some of these albums have been worthy of awards such as the Grammy Award, among which are:

Homenaje a Beny Moré – Year 1978.
On Broadway – 1983
El Rey: Tito Puente & His Latin Ensemble – Year 1984
Mambo Diablo – 1985
Goza Mi Timbal – Year 1990
Mambo Birdland – Year 1999
Masterpiece / Masterpiece Tito Puente & Eddie Palmieri – Year 2000.

“In 2008, Johhny entrusted LP’s Research and Development Department with the design of the John “Dandy” Rodriguez Jr. bongoes in the Legends series. John is proud that these drums, which bear his name, feature such outstanding sound and visual characteristics.”

He died on August 17, 2024 in New York City of a stroke.

Facebook: John Rodriguez(Dandy)

Article of Interest: José Madera Timbal de Machito and his Afro-Cubans, Tito Puente, Mambo Legends Orchestra and Fania Record Co.

Johnny "Dandy" Rodríguez Jr. y Frankie "El Sonero del Barrio" Vázquez — Johnny “Dandy” Rodríguez Jr. y Frankie “El Sonero del Barrio” Vázquez

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The Superimposition of Conguero Eladio Pérez

Conguero Eladio Perez was born on May 5, 1946, in Cataño Puerto Rico

He alternated at the side of renowned orchestras and stellar figures of Salsa. He was a great percussionist with a career that includes collaborations with Tito Puente, Tito Rodríguez, Tommy Olivencia, Justo Betancourt, and Puerto Rico All-Star, one of the main ones is the one he did with Eddie Palmieri, with whom he recorded nine albums, four of which won Grammy awards.

Eladio gained fame as a member of the Orquesta del Maestro Eddie Palmieri, appearing in the band for the first time in the album Superimposition.

The Superimposition of Conguero Eladio Pérez — Conguero Eladio Pérez was born on May 5, 1946, in Cataño, Puerto Rico.

His first recording was with La Orquesta del Maestro Eddie Palmieri in 1970.

“A real scorcher from Eddie Palmieri as much a transition as Superimposition and the kind of record that would have a huge impact on Latin jazz in the 70s! Eddie’s got one foot in the small group styles of his 60s work, but he’s also reaching forward in a mode that’s rootsy and modern at the same time a back-to-basics approach that’s tremendously focused on the rhythm, and which mostly uses heavy percussion and piano to layout the grooves then tops them off with some jazzier riffing on brassy horns.”

Eddie’s piano is sublime throughout — crackling with life and energy that barely made it onto record before, and hitting notes that are modern, yet which sit comfortably next to the earthier grooves of the rest of the band. Ismael Quintana’s on lead vocals.”

He was a member of that “Ecuación Palmeriana” of the song 17.1 (download included in that LP) together with Chucky López and Nicky Marrero (it was said that 17.1 was the average age of the three young percussionists).

Eladio Pérez participated in the recordings of Vámonos Pa’l Monte, Harlem River Drive, the live LP at the University of Puerto Rico, and the two Salsa Grammy winners (Sun of Latin Music and Unfinished Masterpiece).

He was a member of the "Ecuación Palmeriana" of the song 17.1 (download included in that LP) together with Chucky López and Nicky Marrero (it was said that 17.1 was the average age of the three young percussionists). — Eladio Perez participated in the recordings of: Vámonos Pa’l Monte, Harlem River Drive, the live LP at the University of Puerto Rico and the two Salsa Grammy winners (Sun of Latin Music and Unfinished Masterpiece).

In the anthological song “Un Día Bonito” there are two congueros: Tommy López Sr. is the soloist in the opening rumba guaguancó and Eladio descarga in the solo accompanied by the entire band.

Around the same time he formed the Orquesta La Única with Julio Castro, Carlos Santos and Junior Córdova.

Years later, in 1976, Pérez was recruited by Frank Gregory to be part of the Puerto Rico All-Stars.

Charlie Palmieri and Roberto Roena also enlisted the services of the percussionist. When Eddie Palmieri returned to Puerto Rico and formed his new orchestra, he again called upon the conguero from Cataño, who shared credits with Giovanni Hidalgo (bongo) and Charlie Cotto (timbales).

1973, unloading of timbales in Panama with the man from Toa Baja Héctor Endel Dueño Rivera and the orchestra of maestro Tommy Olivencia in the song Cuero Na’ Ma where Eladio Pérez on congas, Papy Fuentes on bongos, with the intermission between each unloading of Reynaldo Jorge, Victor Candelario on trombones, the voice of Sammy González with the chorus of Paquito Guzmán and Papy Fuentes.

This song comes from Tommy Olivencia’s album “Cueros…Salsa y Sentimiento” from 1971 for the Inca Records label, but it was originally composed by Tito Puente in 1949 when he had Vicentico Valdés on vocals and Manny Oquendo on bongos.

In 1973 the Orquesta LA UNICA and Friends with the song PA’ LA RUMBA that comes on the album of the same name, composed and sung by Junior Córdova, with the direction and bongos of Julio Castro, the congas of Eladio Pérez, the timbales of Pedro Roque, Angel Rivera on piano, the trumpets of Joe Cepeda, Roberto Ramírez and Norberto Torres among others.

One of the last times we saw his name in recording credits was on Justo Betancourt’s Mató album.

On July 30, 2018, he dies while hospitalized at the Puerto Rico Veterans hospital.

El Conguero Eladio Perèz…Caballero

Around the same time he formed the Orquesta La Única with Julio Castro, Carlos Santos and Junior Córdova. — The Superimposition of Conguero Eladio Pérez

Facebook: Eladio Pérez

Article of Interest: Bella Martínez presenta “Las memorias de Jimmie Morales: un conguero para la historia”

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Productions and El Gran Bamboo Restaurant & Bar present “Rumba Salsera for the Exigente Dancer”

For the first time in the city of Miami, a new Salsa Dura movement for the demanding dancer is emerging.

International Salsa Magazine and/or www.SalsaGoogle.com recommend and invite you to enjoy a night of Salsa with the best sound of the city of Miami.

For the first time in the city of Miami, a new Salsa Dura movement for the demanding dancer is taking shape. — Salsaoco Productions and Gran Bamboo Restaurant & Bar present “Rumba Salsera for the Demanding Dancer”

Carla Duque daughter of the renowned Betty Salsa Rumba pioneer of the clubs in Caracas, Luis Gudiño “El popular Hueso del 23” and one of the pioneers of Salsa activities in Caracas Dr. Ernesto Mendoza, are the drivers of this movement.

These three Venezuelan Rumberos Salsomanos decided to join forces to provide the South Florida salsero with musical events, dances, Salon Parties and in the not too distant future presentations of singers and orchestras of the salsa scene.

The Hosts have extensive and impeccable experience in organizing events, concerts, and parties in the city of Caracas -Venezuela, among these activities we can highlight presentations such as Bobby Valentin, Willie Rosario, Ray de la Paz, Mulenze, Pedro Brull, Bailatino, Frankie Vasquez, Herman Olivera among many others and as good RUMBEROS were assistants of emblematic salsa places such as Tio Pepe, O’ Gran Sol, Casa Latina, City Day, Status’ , El Sarao, El Sarao, El Maní es Así, Hipocampo, Hawai Kai, La Pachanga, Rincón Caribeño, La Asunción to mention the most attended.

The music will be provided by the famous Dj Jean Castillo, who has a good musical repertoire that we are sure will make the audience dance to this great Rumba.

Dj. Jean Castillo is characterized for making the salsa dancers dance until they get tired, he has dreamed in different locations in the city of Miami managing to captivate the Rumberos with the best of the best of Salsa and his extraordinary and excellent performance as far as musicalization is concerned.

El Gran Bamboo Restaurant, Specialists in extraordinary y Colombian cuisine.

Bamboo Restaurant, the best Colombian food in South Florida! — Bamboo Restaurant, the best Colombian food in South Florida

The chosen venue will be at BAMBOO RESTAURANT & BAR which is located in Hammocks Kendall Miami Florida.

This place is a family site and has a spectacular sound, large stage, giant screen, air conditioning, and an extremely spacious and safe park, has a variety of typical Colombian dishes and very affordable prices, drinks and cocktails are handled at very competitive prices and within reach of the pocket of its attendees, all under the supervision of their own owners.

The sum of all these local ingredients, sound, DJ, food, drinks, and the excellent attention of Carla, Luis Gudiño “El popular Hueso del 23” and Ernesto will guarantee you a first-class evening since the mission of your hosts is to provide a show difficult to forget where the joy, elegance and the SABROSITY OF THE SALSERO DANCER will prevail.

We are waiting for you and that’s why we invite you to come and guarachar next Friday, August 13th from 9:00 at night until dawn in the best Salsero style! And what else is left for us to toast with you for this event and those to come in the future.